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Ear to the Ground

Israel Invokes a Loyalty Oath for Non-Jews

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Posted on Oct 10, 2010
AP / Gali Tibbon

The oath is a victory for Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who pushed hard for its passage.

Not Jewish in Israel? Repeat after me: Because I’m not Jewish, and because the Israeli government thinks non-Jews are potential threats to its security, I do solemnly swear my allegiance to Israel as a “Jewish and democratic state.”

Israel’s Cabinet easily passed a controversial bill Sunday to require non-Jewish citizens to swear an oath to the “Jewish and democratic” state. —JCL

The Guardian:

The Israeli cabinet today approved a bill requiring new non-Jewish citizens to swear an oath of allegiance to Israel as a “Jewish and democratic state”, in a move that has brought accusations of discrimination against Israel’s Arab minority. One dissenting cabinet minister referred to a “whiff of fascism”.

The bill, originally promoted by the rightwing foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, who has made the issue of loyalty a hallmark of his political career, was passed by a big majority despite the opposition of Labour party members.

The loyalty oath will be required of non-Jews seeking to become Israeli citizens, mainly affecting Palestinians from the West Bank who marry Palestinian citizens of Israel.

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By FRTothus, October 11, 2010 at 10:22 am Link to this comment

Having already re-created the Warsaw ghetto in Gaza and elsewhere on illegally occupied territories, the stinking and fetid cesspool Western military colony called Israel sinks to new depths as it emulates the worst excesses of Nazi-ism.  They could replace the Star of David with the swastika, and who would notice the difference?

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By WriterOnTheStorm, October 11, 2010 at 9:13 am Link to this comment

Whiff?????

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By frank, October 11, 2010 at 7:23 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

They are only making obvious what alwasys was

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By Inherit The Wind, October 11, 2010 at 3:58 am Link to this comment

john from ojai, October 11 at 1:16 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Would you support a law that requires every citizen of the United States to swear allegiance to the US as a Jewish State?
************

But you’d be OK with a law that requires every citizen of the United States to swear allegiance to the US as a Christian state, wouldn’t you?  Because there are millions who believe we should do just that.

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By PatrickHenry, October 11, 2010 at 3:22 am Link to this comment

A new low for a so called democratic country.

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By Pete, October 11, 2010 at 2:21 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Clearly, Israel needs such laws to protect its citizens. If all Arabs supported Israel
and its policies there would be no need for such laws. So, clearly, all Arabs and
Palestinians are to blame.

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By MeHere, October 10, 2010 at 9:44 pm Link to this comment

They are coming up with more and more off-the-wall decisions to the despair of those Israelis who are trying to preserve their country’s sanity and their own. Many of them are tired, hopeless, bitterly resigned, and resented by their countrymen. After all these years, that’s where Israel is today, thanks to misguided beliefs and their trust in corrupt leadership.  And thanks to the equally corrupt US leaders and oblivious US citizens.

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By john from ojai, October 10, 2010 at 9:16 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Would you support a law that requires every citizen of the United States to swear allegiance to the US as a Jewish State? Do you feel comfortable spending your US tax dollars ($3+ billion a year) to support this rogue nation where people of diverse religions and beliefs are not allowed?

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By gerard, October 10, 2010 at 6:42 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Liberal Jews in Israel are of course protesting publicly.  Probably “The Other Israel” Internet site contains details.

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By Robert, October 10, 2010 at 6:16 pm Link to this comment

Link for previous post:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26551.htm

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By Robert, October 10, 2010 at 6:13 pm Link to this comment

Welcome to a new theocracy

The Jewish Republic of Israel

Swearing an oath to a Jewish state will decide its
fate. It is liable to turn the country into a
theocracy like Saudi Arabia.

By Gideon Levy

“October 10, 2010 “Haaretz”—Remember this day.
It’s the day Israel changes its character. As a
result, it can also change its name to the Jewish
Republic of Israel, like the Islamic Republic of
Iran. Granted, the loyalty oath bill that Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to have passed
purportedly only deals with new citizens who are not
Jewish, but it affects the fate of all of us.

From now on, we will be living in a new, officially
approved, ethnocratic, theocratic, nationalistic and
racist country. Anyone who thinks it doesn’t affect
him is mistaken. There is a silent majority that is
accepting this with worrying apathy, as if to say: “I
don’t care what country I live in.” Also anyone who
thinks the world will continue to relate to Israel as
a democracy after this law doesn’t understand what it
is about. It’s another step that seriously harms
Israel’s image.

Prime Minister Netanyahu will prove today that he is
actually Yisrael Beinteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman,
and Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman will prove he is
really a loyal member of Yisrael Beiteinu. The Labor
party will prove it is nothing more than a doormat.
And Israel today will prove that it doesn’t care
about anything. Today the loyalty oath bill, soon the
loyalty oath law. The dam will overflow today,
threatening to drown the remnants of democracy until
we are left perhaps with a Jewish state of a
character that no one really understands, but it
certainly won’t be a democracy. Those demanding this
loyalty oath are the ones misappropriating loyalty to
the state.

At its next session, the Knesset is to debate
close to 20 other anti-democratic bills. Over the
weekend, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel
issued a blacklist of legislation: a loyalty law for
Knesset members; a loyalty law for film production; a
loyalty law for non-profits; putting the Palestinian
catastrophe, the Nakba, beyond the scope of the law;
a ban on calls for a boycott; and a bill for the
revocation of citizenship.
It’s a dangerous
McCarthyist dance on the part of ignorant legislators
who haven’t begun to understand what democracy is all
about. It’s dangerous even if only a portion of the
bills become law, because our fate and our essence
will change.

It’s not hard to understand the Netanyahu-Lieberman
duo. As sworn nationalists, they are not expected
to understand that democracy doesn’t only mean the
rule of the majority,
but rather first and
foremost that minorities have rights.
It’s much
harder to comprehend the complacency of the masses.
Town squares should have been filled today with
citizens who do not wish to live in a country where
the minority is oppressed by draconian laws such as
the one that forces them to swear a false oath to a
Jewish state, but amazingly almost no one seems to
feel affected.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Click on link for the rest…on Apartheid Israel:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26551
.htm

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By babycatajesus, October 10, 2010 at 5:44 pm Link to this comment

What a vile nonsense!

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By Inherit The Wind, October 10, 2010 at 2:58 pm Link to this comment

I am ashamed.

I have no problem with asking a new citizen to pledge allegiance to his new nation, but this is disgusting.

I suspect Netanyahu backed it as a stopgap to prevent the far worse travesty of forcing Israeli citizens, who don’t happen to be Jewish, to pledge loyalty.

As I said, I am ashamed.

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By cosmo9, October 10, 2010 at 2:45 pm Link to this comment

What was the oath the Germans had to take to the Fuhrer again?  Arent you worried at all Iraelis?

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By politicky, October 10, 2010 at 2:45 pm Link to this comment

Why does this not surprise me?

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By moonraven, October 10, 2010 at 2:07 pm Link to this comment

Israel OUT of Palestine NOW!

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By Arabian Sinbad, October 10, 2010 at 1:58 pm Link to this comment

I think that this fascist law can be rendered as mere wasted ink on wasted paper if proud and patriotic Palestinians refrain from even thinking about acquiring Israeli citizenship no matter what the justifications are.

Instead, they should focus on intensifying their struggle and resistance to this apartheid entity by all means possible till victory or honorable death.

“Give me freedom and dignity or give me death,” should be their motto in their continued resistance to this human disgrace called Israel!

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By skulz fontaine, October 10, 2010 at 12:43 pm Link to this comment

The Hebrew Republic of Israel. Cause you know, it isn’t politically correct to say
Jew and Fascist in the same sentence.

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