(Washington Times) Editorial - Israel has approved an amendment to its citizenship law by which those seeking to become naturalized citizens will take an oath of allegiance to Israel "as a Jewish and democratic state." The oath doesn't require a new Israeli citizen to be Jewish, but to acknowledge the essentially Jewish nature of the country. This measure shouldn't be controversial. Israel is the most diverse country in the Middle East, in which people of many nationalities and religions live, work and worship. The citizenship oath only makes explicit that Jewish national identity is fundamental to the Israeli state. Article 4 of the Palestinian Basic Law proclaims, "Islam is the official religion in Palestine" and "the principles of Islamic Sharia shall be the main source of legislation." The Hamas slogan is "Allah is its goal, the Prophet its model, the Koran its Constitution, Jihad its path and death for the case of Allah its most sublime belief." That's hardly a declaration of inclusiveness.
2010-10-12 09:15:42Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive