Israeli officials argued that the law had remained necessary for security reasons, but some have also acknowledged that the law was a demographic tool to help Israel maintain its Jewish majority. Raam and the left-wing Meretz party had initially refused to support the extension of the law in its current form. Mr. Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party and its ultra-Orthodox allies voted against extending the law despite having supported it every previous year. Other predominantly Arab nationalist and leftist parties in the opposition also voted against the law, joining the Likud in a rare celebration of a joint victory. Mr. Netanyahu’s allies turned the vote into a no-confidence motion at the last minute, but that required an absolute majority of 61 in the 120-seat Parliament to pass, and the government survived.

Source: New York Times July 06, 2021 05:03 UTC