Rivlin: Proud of 'Jewish' title on ID

Knesset Speaker says questions of Judaism could resurface following restoration of nationality clause

Moran Azulay|Published: 06.21.11 , 19:21

Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin said Tuesday that Interior Minister Eli Yishai's decision to reinstate the nationality clause in Israeli identity cards, removed nine years ago, could cause questions over the definition of Jewish identity to resurface.

During a Knesset plenum meeting Rivlin said: "I'm proud that my Jewish identity is displayed on my identity card, not because of the conflict between Jews and Arabs but because of the conflict between Jews. We need to take into account that reinstating the clause could lead to a flood of questions."

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Rivlin mentioned that he and Minister Yuli Edelstein were members of the committee that determined that the clause should be removed.

In 2002, Yishai decided to eliminate the nationality section from IDs altogether but has recently signed a measure to reinstate it.

The regulation must first be approved by the Justice Ministry and the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, but sources close to Yishai said that it is "just a formality that can be easily completed."

Rivlin spoke in response to MK Tzipi Hotovely's (Likud) statements in which she expressed support for reinstating the nationality clause.