Agreement has been reached between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and chairman of Bayit Yehudi, Minister Naftali Bennet.

The problematic paragraph is 7, which permits Jews to exclude non-Jews from communities, resulting in protests from Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit and President Reuven Rivlin, among others. Amid Mandelblit’s fears is the fact the bill might set precedent, permitting the exclusion of Jews from communities in the Diaspora.

According to reports on Sunday, 3 Menachem Av, the objectionable paragraph has been amended to read, “The state views the development of Jewish settlement as a national value and priority and will work to support and promote its establishment and consolidation”.

The new wording has reportedly been approved by the legal experts of both Likud and Bayit Yehudi. Now, the newly-worded bill has to be approved by the committee in time for its first vote in Knesset on Monday.

Bennet’s Bayit Yehudi party threatened to prevent the passage of the law, objecting to the fact the bill does not recognize the significance of halacha in Jewish life. This is the bill defining the State of Israel as the nation of the Jewish People, Hebrew as the official language, and the Jewish calendar as the official calendar; however, no mention is made of the significance and importance of halacha. The new wording according to reports makes no mention of amending this issue.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)