Israeli professor renounces 'royal part' of Canadian oath of allegiance
Prof. Dror Bar-Natan received Canadian citizenship, but came out against requirement to pledge fealty to Queen Elizabeth the II, calling the oath 'repulsive.'
Dror Bar-Natan, a professor of mathematics from Israel, received Canadian citizenship at a ceremony in Toronto on Monday, but made waves when he renounced an oath of allegiance to the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who is considered the symbolic head of state.
"I won't renounce the entire oath, just the royalty part," Bar-Natan, 49, said the day before the ceremony.
The University of Toronto professor was one of three Canadian residents who challenged the constitutionality of making citizenship conditional on the pledge to the Queen, her heirs and successors.
Ontario's top court, however, upheld the requirement, saying the queen remains Canada's head of state and the oath is a "symbolic commitment to be governed as a democratic constitutional monarchy unless and until democratically changed."
Bar-Natan made the mandatory oath of allegiance during the ceremony along with 80 others.
Following the ceremony, he informed the judge who granted him citizenship that he renounces the part in which allegiance is sworn to the queen.
Bar-Natan called the oath "repulsive" and said he hoped his actions paved the way for others.
