Since the establishment of the state, Israel has passed many laws which are a reflection of the Jewish identification and values of the vast majority of its citizens. However, the secular versus religious debate in Israel - in particular - has been focused on the Jewish nature of the state. There has been ongoing talks in Israel on the character of the state, regarding whether it should enshrine more Jewish culture, encourage Judaism in schools, and to also enshrine certain Jewish laws of Kashrut and Shabbat observance. A few days ago Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, mentioned he will introduce a law defining Israel as a Jewish state, giving high level support to a controversial idea that has long been a demand of many conservative Israelis. However, because of the various religions in Israel, most notably a large group of Christians and Muslims coexisting with the Jewish majority, establishing Israel as an official Jewish state brings many fears for religious minorities. Because of overwhelming Jewish authority in government, religious misrepresentation may intensify for deep rooted religious minorities in Israel. Although Palestine is no longer in control of Israel, they do not agree with the notion of Israel being considered a Jewish state and this could bring further tensions between the two. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to recognize Israel as the nation state for the Jewish people. However, by recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, Palestinians would be reassuring Israel that a future Palestinian state would not try to take back that territory and would essentially be giving up their national rights to that land. Lawmakers have proposed bills over the past three years to define Israel’s nature as a Jewish state, including how that applies to the 20 percent Arab minority. However, wide disagreement on the issue prevented any of the bil