Israeli govt rejects loyalty oath
11:31, 1 June 2009
RAMALLAH. June 1. KAZINFORM. An Israeli ministerial committee for legislative affairs voted down yesterday a controversial proposal which would have required a loyalty oath and service to the state for citizenship; Kazinform refers to Arab News.
Media reports said only one party in the coalition - the ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) supported the bill, while ministers from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conservative Likud part, the center-left Labour Party, and the religious- nationalist HaBayit HaYehudi (Jewish Home) and ultra-Orthodox Shas parties voted against it.
The proposed bill would have required anyone seeking Israeli citizenship to state that "I pledge to be loyal to the State of Israel as a Jewish, Zionist and democratic state, to its symbols and values, and to serve the state in any way asked of me in military service as required by law', Kazinform cites Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version.