Israel's parliament has passed into law a controversial bill that defines the country as an exclusively Jewish state.

近日，以色列议会通过了一项颇具争议、将以色列定义为只有犹太人的国家的法案。

The "Jewish nation state" bill downgrades Arabic as an official language and says advancing Jewish settlement is a national interest.

“犹太国”法案废除了阿拉伯语的官方语言地位，并称建立犹太人定居点是一项关乎国家利益的大事。

It also states that the "whole and united" Jerusalem is its capital.

该法案还声称“完整统一的”耶路撒冷是其首都。

Israeli Arab MPs condemned¹ the legislation but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised it as a "defining moment".

以色列阿拉伯裔议员谴责了这项立法，但总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡却称赞这是一个“决定性的时刻”。

The bill, backed by the country's right-wing government, says "Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people and they have an exclusive right to national self-determination in it".

该法案由以色列右翼政府支持，称“以色列是犹太人的历史家园，他们拥有民族自决的专有权”。

It was passed after a stormy session in the Knesset that lasted more than eight hours. Sixty-two MPs voted for the bill, with 55 against.

这场以色列议会持续长达八小时，在一阵激烈的讨论后通过了该法案。62名议员投票赞成该法案，55人反对。

However some clauses were dropped following objections by Israel's president and attorney-general, including a clause that would have enshrined in law the creation of Jewish-only communities.

然而，在以色列总统和总检察长提出反对意见后，有些条款被撤销，其中包括一项法律规定只建立犹太社区的条款。

Arab MP Ahmed Tibi said the bill's passing represented the "death of democracy".

阿拉伯议员艾哈默德·提米称，该法案的通过代表了“民主的死亡”。