Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People (), informally known as the Nation-State Bill () or the Nationality Bill, is an Israeli Basic Law which specifies the nature of the State of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. The law was passed by the Knesset—with 62 in favour, 55 against, and two abstentions—on 19 July 2018 (7 Av 5778), and is largely symbolic and declarative in nature. However, it was met with sharp criticism internationally, including from several prominent Jewish American organizations, and has been branded as racist and undemocratic by some critics. Following the passage of the law, petitions were filed with the Supreme Court of Israel challenging the constitutionality of the law. In January 2019, the Supreme Court announced that challenges to the constitutionality of the law would be heard by an 11-justice panel and would decide if the law, in whole or in part, violates the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, passed in 1992. Additionally, the hearing would also be the first time the Supreme Court addressed the question of whether it had the authority to strike down another Basic Law in whole or in part on the basis of constitutionality. In July 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that the law was constitutional and did not negate the state’s democratic character. Writing the opinion for the majority, President of the Court, Esther Hayut, stated that this "basic law is but one chapter in our constitution taking shape and it does not negate Israel's character as a democratic state." The court's majority opinion concurred with arguments that the law merely declares the obvious — that Israel is a Jewish state — and that this does not detract from the individual rights of non-Jewish citizens, especially in light of other laws that ensure equal rights to all. Legislation history On 3 August 2011, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Avi Dichter, together with 39 other Knesset members, filed the Basic Law proposal: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People which seeks to determine the nature of the state of Israel as the Jewish people, and as such it interprets the term "Jewish and democratic state" which appears in the Israeli basic laws Freedom of Occupation and Human Dignity and Liberty. In July 2017, a special Joint committee headed by MK Amir Ohana (Likud) was formed to revive the Nation-State