With a 48-41 vote in the 120-seat Knesset, Israeli lawmakers gave initial approval to a bill to redefine Israel as "the national home of the Jewish people." Authors called the bill, which would enshrine Hebrew as Israel's official language, "especially crucial in times like these, when there are those who seek to undermine the Jewish people's right to a national home in their land." The bill revokes the status of Arabic as an official language, even though it is the mother tongue of one in five citizens.
