The law describes Hebrew as the "state's language", effectively prioritising it above Arabic which has for decades been recognised as an official language alongside Hebrew.
In which other countries has the choice of language proved politically controversial?
LATVIA
Image copyrightAFPImage caption Plans for Latvian to be the teaching medium in secondary schools also led to protests This Baltic state and former Soviet republic has a sizeable Russian-speaking minority, but the government recognises only Latvian as the official state language. A referendum held in 2012 rejected a plan to accord Russian the status of a second official language. The authorities also have plans to promote Latvian as the language of instruction in all secondary schools, although for the moment, teaching in Russian and other minority languages will still be allowed at primary-school level.
CROATIA
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption Croats use Latin rather than Cyrillic script After its independence in 1991, Croatia abolished the Cyrillic script, which had been used when Croatia was part of the former Yugoslavia. Croats write using Latin script and Serbs use Cyrillic. However, when Croatia joined the EU in 2013, it did allow signs in both Cyrillic and Latin script in areas with a significant Serb minority, leading to angry protests by some Croats.
INDIA
Image copyrightAFPImage caption Tamil Nadu state has its own distinctive culture and traditions Plans to make Hindi the sole official language of India in place of English after independence met resistance from non-Hindi-speaking states in a country with a multiplicity of languages. Tamil Nadu - with its own ancient language and traditions - suffered riots over the issue. The central government continues to use English as well as Hindi for official purposes, and individual states have largely been left to decide their own language policy.
TURKEY
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption Kurdish areas of Turkey have long had restrictions on the use of their language Turkish is the only official language and there have long been restrictions on the Kurdish minority regarding the use of their language. In 2002, under pressure from the EU, Turkey allowed some teaching and broadcasts in Kurdish. University-level language courses in Kurdish and other minority languages were introduced in 2009 as part of reforms.
CANADA
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption French speakers in Canada worry about the dominance of English Canada is officially bilingual, with the constitution stating that English and French have "equality of status" in all government institutions and the parliament. However, historically there's been concern in largely French-speaking Quebec about the dominance of English, given Canada's proximity to the US. In 1974, Quebec made French the official language in the province. It's also taken measures to promote the use of French, for example, policing restaurants which use non-French words on their menus.
In his first major foreign-policy speech as U.S. president, Joe Biden declared to the world that America was back. The international sigh of relief was almost audible amid hopes that former President Donald Trump’s disruptive style was a relic. Biden has pursued an ambitious agenda to repair alliances and forge new ones, curb corruption, arrest democratic backsliding, and tackle climate change, all while managing the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, Russian threats to Ukraine, and escalating tensions with China. It hasn’t all been plain sailing. The decision to withdraw remaining U.S. troops from Afghanistan precipitated the collapse of the country’s government and chaos in Kabul as hundreds of thousands of people fled the Taliban. Plans to share nuclear submarine technology with Australia, at the expense of Canberra’s submarine deal with Paris, soured trans-Atlantic relations. Ahead of the anniversary of Biden’s inauguration, Foreign Policy ’s Amy Mackinnon spoke with one of t
Dear Friends and Colleagues, I thought you would be interested in reading George's remarks he delivered at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this evening. Best regards, Michael Vachon George Soros Remarks delivered at the World Economic Forum Davos, Switzerland January 25, 2018 The current moment in history Good evening. It has become something of an annual Davos tradition for me to give an overview of the current state of the world. I was planning half an hour for my remarks and half an hour for questions, but my speech has turned out to be closer to an hour. I attribute this to the severity of the problems confronting us. After I’ve finished, I’ll open it up for your comments and questions. So prepare yourselves. *** I find the current moment in history rather painful. Open societies are in crisis, and various forms of dictatorships and mafia states, exemplified by Putin’s Russia, are on the rise. In the United States, President Trump would
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