The Nation State bill, which seeks to legislate Israel’s standing as a Jewish state into law, was approved for a second and third reading Wednesday on the Knesset floor by the special committee drafting the law.

Supporters of the bill are working feverishly to bring the measure to a vote before the parliament breaks for the summer recess later today. The law was approved in the committee by an 8-7 majority.

Following the bill’s approval, MK Ahmad Tibi of the Joint List Party and an outspoken opponent  of the bill “sadly announce(d) the death of democracy. There is no doubt that the Nation State bill is the low point of diseases that plague (Israel’s) democracy. The funeral will be held today on the Knesset floor.”

The approval of the bill comes after much disagreement between members of the committee, surrounding issues such as the legal establishment of Jewish-only communities, as well as the legal standing of the Sabbath.

While debate on the bill has centered on wording of a clause that defines the state’s right to establish Jewish-only communities, and its definition of Hebrew as the only official state language, stripping Arabic of its de facto status, ultra-Orthodox MKs have criticized the bill for failing to adequately define the role of Judaism in matters of state.

Monday , MK Yisrael Eichler (United Torah Judaism) warned members of his party and members of Shas, the second ultra-Orthodox party,  that the proposed legislation “transfers the debate on matters of religion and state from the Knesset to the High Court of Justice.”

“That poses a terrible threat to the haredi public,”Eichlelr said, because it would give the High Court the jurisdiction to define what constitutes a Jew, a nation, or a state, and would allow them to strike down any law that doesn’t fit their interpretation of those terms.

“(Supporters of this law) will bear the responsibility for the consequences for decades to come,” he wrote.

“We must remember that the haredi public has representives in the Knesset and in local municipalities, but none in the legal system,” Eichler added.

Fellow UTJ party member MK Uri Maklev cited the fact that the new law does not include language legislating the Sabbath as a holy day of rest. “We will not allow the Sabbath’s honor to be desecrated,” Maklev said. On Tuesday, the Ultra-Orthodox MKs’ demands were met, when an agreement was reached to include wording in the bill which leaves more room for legal interpretation.