Bennett
BennettHezki Baruch

Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) on Wednesday suggested a compromise to allow the Nationality Law to pass, Israel Hayom reported.

The Nationality Law would establish the status of the State of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people and the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in its homeland as a unique right for the Jewish people. It would also anchor the symbols of the state, Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the Jewish calendar as the country's official calendar, and the Hebrew language as the official language.

Several MKs, as well as Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit and President Reuven Rivlin, have opposed Section 7 of the law, which allows Jewish communal settlements to refuse to accept non-Jewish residents.

The proposed compromise would divide Section 7 into two parts. The first section part would allow the State to designate certain areas of Israel as intended for the settlement of Jews only, and would provide incentives to Jews who settle in those areas deemed to be of national priority, such as the Negev and the Galilee.

The second part mandates that "national institutions, independently or in cooperation with the government, will work to settle Jews in all parts of Israel."

Bennett worked with Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) and MK Nissan Slomiansky (Jewish Home), who co-chairs the committee for the Nationality Law, to amend the bill.