Israelis from the Druze community participate in a rally against Israel's Jewish Nation bill in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018. Thousands of members of Israel's Druze minority and their Jewish supporters packed a central Tel Aviv square Saturday night to rally against a contentious new law that critics say sidelines Israel’s non-Jewish citizens. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
Israelis from the Druze community participate in a rally against Israel's Jewish Nation bill in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018. Thousands of members of Israel's Druze minority and their Jewish supporters packed a central Tel Aviv square Saturday night to rally against a contentious new law that critics say sidelines Israel’s non-Jewish citizens. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) Credit: Sebastian Scheiner

Tel Aviv, Israel — Tens of thousands of people rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday to protest a new law that declares Israel the exclusive homeland of Jewish people.

Minorities and many Jewish Israelis alike have criticized the law, adopted last month, for recognizing Israel as a Jewish state and saying “the right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people.”

The law also downgraded Arabic from an official language to having “special status.”

Druze community members organized Saturday’s march.

The Druze, numbering around 130,000 in Israel, have had special status since the 1950s, when they were drafted into the military, unlike Israel’s Muslim and Christian populations.

The Druze feel especially discriminated against by Israel’s new law. A third Druze officer resigned from the Israeli army this week in protest, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported.

The bill was passed on July 19 by the right-wing governing coalition in a 62-55 vote.

President Reuven Rivlin is among Jewish Israelis who have criticized the law.