Resistance A woman flashes a peace sign as Arab Israelis and their supporters protest against the “Jewish Nation-State Law’’ in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv. AFP The state of Israel is the national state of the Jewish people

TEL AVIV, Israel — Tens of thousands of Arab Israelis and their supporters chanted against “apartheid” and for “equality” on Saturday in central Tel Aviv at a rally protesting a law that declares Israel the nation state of the Jewish people.

Israeli Jews also joined the demonstration, the second since last Saturday, when thousands from Israel’s Druze minority took to the streets in Tel Aviv to denounce the law they say makes them second-class citizens, Agence France Presse reporters said.

Protesters waved Palestinian and Israeli flags at the rally, which Israeli state television said drew a crowd of more than 30,000 people.

Several clauses contained in the law that passed last month are sources of concern, especially since the text is part of Israel’s so-called basic laws — a de facto constitution.

It makes no mention of equality or democracy, implying that Israel’s Jewish nature takes precedence — something for which Israel’s far-right religious nationalist politicians have long advocated.

One section refers to Israel as the historic homeland of the Jews and says they have a “unique” right to self-determination there.

Others define the establishment of Jewish communities as in the national interest and make Hebrew the sole official language, downgrading Arabic to special status.

Israeli Arabs, the descendants of Palestinians who remained on their land when Israel was created in 1948, make up around 17.5 percent of the Israeli population.

They are concerned the new law could allow for open discrimination against them in everything from housing to budgeting and land allocation.

Members of Israel’s 130,000-strong Druze community — who serve in the police and military — have been among those strongly denouncing the legislation.

Protesters accused the Israeli government of being an “apartheid regime.

At Saturday’s rally, protesters accused the Israeli government of being an “apartheid regime,” shouting in Hebrew and in Arabic, “equality, equality” and “apartheid will not pass,” AFP reporters said.

The rally was organized by groups representing the Arab Israeli minority, while the one that took place last Saturday had been organised by the Druze.

Amos Shoken, publisher of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, was also present at the rally and urged Arab Israelis “not to despair” and to continue to mobilize against the controversial law.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has remained defiant.

“The state of Israel is the national state of the Jewish people. Israel is a Jewish and democratic state. Individual rights are anchored in many laws,” Netanyahu said Sunday. AFP

AFPAgence France-Presse is an international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835, AFP is the third largest news agency in the world, after the Associated Press and Reuters.