Roman Catholics in the State of Israel have demanded -- and have been granted -- permanent exemption from military service. They refuse to do national service, too. They are a smallish community, but they do not recognize the legitimacy of the State of Israel, and do not pay taxes. Israel picks up the tab for maintaining their churches. Do you perhaps recall a number of years ago when Israel banned lit candles in the Church of the Nativity unless the Vatican permitted the construction of fire doors? The pope went apesh*t. Never mind the fact that Israel pays for all repairs and construction and maintenance for the upkeep of all Christian houses of worship in Israel. That's gratitude for you! So yes, being a Roman Catholic in Israel does not comport with good citizenship. But fear not -- I feel the same way about the Neturei Karta and the Satmar.

It is the British White Paper banning Jews from coming to Israel that was illegal. It had the effect of locking the Jews in Europe at a time when they most needed to escape. In fact, following the War, the British continued to enforce its White Paper -- this despite the revelation of the death camps and six million Jews who perished -- and imprisoned Jews attempting to reach Palestine in concentration camps on Cyprus! The illegal immigrants in Israel show absolutely no interest in acclimating to Israel. They are not interested in contributing to the State. They do not invest in Israel; they send their money home to their families. There is also a significant portion who are criminals, and some who work as caregivers abuse their elderly charges. That hardly comports with the conduct of Jews who entered Palestine "illegally," now, does it?

First of all, being born in the United States to parents who are illegal aliens -- emphasis on the word "illegal" is not an automatic grant of citizenship. That's a common myth. Only children who are born to legal residents in the United States may claim U.S. citizenship. Of course, having a child which is an American citizen is no guarantee that the parents cannot or will not be subject to deportation. They can choose to take their child with them or not, as they prefer. Of course, if the child remains away for a specified period of time (ten years, I think), his citizenship is nullified. Israeli law works very differently. Children born to foreign guestworkers -- whether in Israel legally or illegally -- are not entitled to Israeli citizenship. That's simply Israeli law. Other countries have far more restrictive citizenship laws -- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Monaco, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Switzerland -- to name but a few.