Amid a furor over the cabinet's endorsement of a bill that will effectively provide for "Jews-only" communities, Cabinet Secretary Gideon Sa'ar said Wednesday that the Israeli government would hold a re-discussion of the controversial proposal.
Following an appeal Tuesday by Labor Party Chairman and Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, who has indicated that Labor would oppose the law in its current form, Sa'ar said that the cabinet had "appointed me to weigh the changes needed in the law, so that the cabinet can support it."
According to Haaretz, most Labor ministers were absent from the Sunday debate over the bill, as was Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Ben-Eliezer later denounced the vote as a dishonest "grab".
Israel’s President Moshe Katsav said Tuesday that the bill contains elements of discrimination, but was not racist.
"I don't see (in the bill) an expression of racism or apartheid," Katsav said in an interview on Israel Radio. "It does contain discrimination, which runs completely counter to our norms and should be prevented. Therefore I believe changes need to be made to the bill." (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
