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27 Cheshvan 5768 - November 8, 2007 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Bill to Make Loyalty Oath Condition for Citizenship

By Eliezer Rauchberger

This week Yisrael Beiteinu tabled a bill that would require anyone applying for Israeli citizenship to take an oath (or declaration) of loyalty to the State.

According to the proposal, those born in Israel and those requesting citizenship for a minor would have to take the oath when applying for an ID card. According to the proposal the Interior Minister would be authorized to revoke the citizenship of any individual who did not serve in the IDF or in an alternative framework.

The proposed declaration of loyalty reads as follows: "I pledge to be loyal to the State of Israel as a Jewish, Zionist and democratic state, to its symbols and values, and to serve the state in any way demanded of me, through military service as defined by the Security Service Law or an alternative form of service as determined by law."

According to the explanatory material for the proposed law, "The bond between citizenship and the State is a bond that cannot be broken...In recent years it has been found that citizens in the State of Israel who owe their loyalty are not in fact loyal to the State."

MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni voiced staunch opposition to the proposed law. "This is a wholly anti-democratic proposal. We do not live in a communist regime or a totalitarian regime. To legislate a law requiring a citizen to declare loyalty is a delusional proposal. This is not a case of an officeholder, such as an MK a minister or a judge. A citizen is a citizen with his rights and obligations. This has a bad smell to it and it won't pass."

 

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