The bill, which downgrades Arabic as an official language, incurred the wrath of Israeli Arab MPs, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called it a watershed moment in the country's history.

"Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people and they have an exclusive right to national self-determination in it," the bill says.

It was passed with 62 MPs voting for it, while, 55 went against.

Following the event, Arab MP Ahmed Tibi termed it as 'the death of democracy'. It has also come under criticism from Adalah, an NGO which looks after rights of Arab people.

It said that the bill advanced 'ethnic superiority by promoting racist policies'. 

Israel's 9 million population consists of about 20 percent Arabs.

 
Image: Beny Shlevich/Wikipedia