There has been a chorus of criticism against the Zionist state of Israel after a controversial law ‘Nation-State’ bill, declaring that only Jews have the right of self-determination in the country was passed this week. The European Union, Turkey, Qatar, Bahrain are among the voices to have roundly condemned the legislation, with the view that it is essentially a form of ‘apartheid’.

A number of Israeli Arab political leaders, Israeli opposition politicians and liberal Jewish groups have also rejected the bill, which defines the country as a Jewish Homeland, with Jerusalem as its capital. The law strips Arabic of its designation as an official language alongside Hebrew, downgrading it to a “special status” that enables its continued use within Israeli institutions.

In response to the passage of the Nation-State law, Israeli parliamentarian Ayman Odeh, secretary general of the communist Hadash party, a Jewish-Palestinian party, and head of the Joint List, expressed his anger.

“Today, I will have to tell my children, along with all the children of Palestinian Arab towns in the country, that the state has declared that it does not want us here. It has passed a law of Jewish supremacy and told us that we will always be second-class citizens. But I will also say to them, and to all minorities in this country: we refuse to be second-class citizens; we will not allow the majority to humiliate and destroy us. Netanyahu’s regime is digging a deep pit of fear, racism, and authoritarianism to divide us from each other. But they can never erase us from the homeland we share. We know that the way forward, the struggle of our lifetime, is to build a future for all of us with democracy, equality, and justice,” he said in a statement,

In South Africa, the Muslim Judicial Council strongly condemned the divisive law, saying it further entrenches Zionist Israel racist and Apartheid agenda – “the annihilation of Palestine”. The MJC said the Zionist regime was seeking, through legal processes, to legitimate their occupation of Palestinian land and present it to world leaders to ratify.

“What is crystal clear is that Zionist Israel has no intention of pursuing peace with the Palestinian people and as recently as a few days ago, bombed Palestinian recreational facilities, which killed two children and wounded 10 others. They were playing on the field at the time. Yet world leaders are silent,” said MJC secretary general Shaykh Isgaak Taliep.

As the world celebrates the anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, who until his death continued to support the Palestine struggle for liberation, the MJC has urged world leaders who celebrated Tata Madiba’s legacy, to condemn and reject Israel’s draconian, Apartheid laws.

“Failing to do so, amounts to hypocrisy. The South African government must show its displeasure by closing its embassy in Israel and removing the Israeli ambassador from our shores. Mainstream media too, are quiet about this newly accepted bill, most likely, with the aim of protecting the Zionist state of Israel,” said Taliep.

“Now, more than ever, we need the alternative voices published and the outcry of this irresponsible bill to be heard, loud and clear for all to acknowledge.” VOC