Ministers to vote on 'Loyalty Law' next week

Yisrael Beiteinu's proposal for amendment to Citizenship Act to be brought to government's approval. According to new clause, people who refuse to declare willingness to serve in army or perform alternative service will be deemed ineligible for Israeli citizenship

Amnon Meranda
Published: 05.25.09, 09:42 / Israel News

Next legislation row on its way? After the Ministerial Committee for Legislative Affairs approved a motion barring the marking of Nakba Day, including punishments for every infringement of the law, the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party is now preparing for the next step: An amendment to the Citizenship Act.

The amendment to the law, previously called the "Loyalty Law", is expected to be discussed by the ministerial committee next week. Clauses added to the law state that "a condition for receiving a citizenship in accordance to this law will be that the citizenship receiver pledged loyalty."

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The proposal also includes the oath of allegiance, which is expected to stir a row: "I pledge to be loyal to the State of Israel as a Jewish, Zionist and democratic state, to its symbols and values, and serve the State, as required, be it by military service, or alternative service, as stated by the letter of the law."

The new amendment also suggests that signing this declaration would be a condition for receiving an identity card for people born in Israel. It also determines that the interior minister would be allowed to annul the citizenship of a person who did not fulfill the duty of serving in the army or performing an alternative service.

Knesset members David Rotem, Robert Ilatov, Moshe Matalon and Alex Miller, who initiated the amendment, detailed in their briefs that "the link between citizenship and loyalty to the State is inseparable."

They also explained that "the past few years have revealed that the citizens in the State of Israel are not loyal to the State, to its symbols and values, and evade military service or national service."

This proposal was one of the main clauses in Yisrael Beiteinu's platform before the recent Knesset elections.

The new law is expected to spark a row after the ministers approved a bill stating that all public events which refer to the establishment of the State of Israel as a calamity will be prohibited by law, and that any infringement on the law would be punishable by up to three years in jail.

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