Israel’s Cabinet Approves Loyalty Oath
Israel’s Cabinet approved a loyalty oath requiring non-Jews wishing to become citizens to pledge allegiance to Israel as a “Jewish and democratic state.”
Following several hours of debate, the vote was approved Sunday by 22 ministers and opposed by eight – five from the Labor Party, including party head Ehud Barak, and three from the Likud Party.
“There is no other democracy in the Middle East,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the beginning of the Cabinet meeting before to the debate and vote on the amendment. “There is no other Jewish state in the world. The combination of these two lofty values expresses the foundation of our national life, and anyone who would like to join us needs to recognize this.
“To my regret, today there are those who are trying to blur not only the unique connection between the Jewish people and its homeland but also the connection between the Jewish people and its state. Democracy is the soul of Israel and we cannot do without it. No one can preach democracy or enlightenment to us. Zionism established an exemplary national state, a state that balances between the national needs of our people and the individual rights or every citizen in the country.”
During the meeting, Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman proposed that in addition to non-Jews seeking Israeli citizenship, Jews seeking Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return also should be required to swear allegiance to Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Sunday that he would vote in favor of the amendment only if it included his suggested change, adding the phrase “In the spirit of the Declaration of Independence.”
Neither change was adopted.
The amendment advances to the Knesset’s legislative committee and then to the full Knesset.
The loyalty oath amendment fulfills part of the government’s coalition agreement with Avidgor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
