Israel mulls citizenship changes

[tyovan]

Israel's interior minister has called for reforming the law that grants Jews around the world Israeli citizenship.

Meir Sheetrit said citizenship should be earned by a strong commitment to Israel and not granted automatically.

He was addressing the governors of the Jewish Agency, which is responsible for promoting Jewish immigration to Israel.

He said funds should go towards helping deprived immigrant communities already in Israel rather absorbing more "lost tribes" living in Africa and Asia.

Mr Sheetrit referred to the rise of neo-Nazism among young immigrants from the former Soviet Union as proof that the granting of automatic citizenship to people defined as Jews was not working.

Israel's Law of Return is one of the state's founding principles, and some Jewish Agency members have strongly criticised the minister.

Reports of the speech in the Israeli press said Mr Sheetrit wanted new immigrants to reside in Israel for five years before being considered potential citizens.

They would have to swear allegiance to the country and pass a language test to ensure their knowledge of Hebrew is sufficient.

Analysts say facilitating immigration of the larger number of Jews to Israel is a key factor in countering the demographic challenge posed by the growing Palestinian Arab population in Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7070868.stm

[Lov3ll]

Mr Sheetrit referred to the rise of neo-Nazism among young immigrants from the former Soviet Union as proof that the granting of automatic citizenship to people defined as Jews was not working.

How do they define Jews?

[Ordie]

How do they define Jews?

If your mother is Jewish.

[Rictor]

Israel needs immigrants so desperately that they really can't afford to make people jump through hoops. Now that Jews are no longer being persecuted the world over, they're perfectly happy to stay in Europe or the US, which is bad news for Israel.

Also, are there really neo-Nazis in Israel of all places? Seems kind of outlandish.

[IsraDani]

If your mother is Jewish.

Israel (state) recognizes also from only jewish father.
I agree that law should be rewritten btw, we had a lot of russians in the country that were all but jews.

[tyovan]

Also, are there really neo-Nazis in Israel of all places? Seems kind of outlandish.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6985808.stm



Here are details on who is covered under the Law of Return:


Eligibility requirements

Those who are eligible to immigrate under the Law of Return are immediately granted citizenship. Controversy has arisen as to whether all those claiming citizenship rights under the Law of Return should be registered as "Jewish" citizens for census purposes. Jewish status is traditionally granted according to the halakhic definition of being Jewish-- if your mother is Jewish, you are Jewish as well or if you convert to Judaism (though conversions to Reform and Conservative Judaism streams are generally not recognized by many people in Israel). However, any Jew regardless of affiliation may return and claim citizenship in Israel.

Originally, the Law of Return was restricted to Jews only. A 1970 amendment, however, stated that, "The rights of a Jew under this Law and the rights of an oleh under the Nationality Law...are also vested in a child and a grandchild of a Jew, the spouse of a Jew, the spouse of a child of a Jew and the spouse of a grandchild of a Jew" (Law of Return).

One explanation for this amendment is that the Law of Return attempts to provide sanctuary as a citizen in Israel to anyone who would be persecuted under the Nuremberg Laws. As the Nuremberg Laws did not use a halakhic definition in its definition of Who is a Jew, the Law of Return definition for citizenship eligibility is not halakhic, either. The Law of Return merely provides citizenship for anyone covered under the Nuremberg Laws, but does not necessarily denote Jewish status to those granted citizenship.

A second explanation is that in order to increase immigration levels so as to offset the "demographic threat" posed by the continuing presence and growth of the Palestinian population, the law expanded the base group of those eligible to immigrate to Israel. [citation needed] A third explanation promoted by religious Jews is that the overwhelmingly secular leadership in Israel sought to undermine the influence of religious elements in Israeli politics and society by allowing more secular Jews and their non-Jewish spouses to immigrate. [2]

[edit] Exceptions

A Jew can be excluded from Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return if he or she is considered to be dangerous to the welfare of the State of Israel. Jews who have a past that involves a serious crime, such as murder, or who are fugitives in another country for any felony (unless they are labeled such as persecution victims) can be denied the right of return, (e.g. Meyer Lansky, Victor Vancier). [3]. Also Jews converting to other religions lose their right to citizenship under the Law of Returnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Return