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Efforts to Reinforce Israel's Jewish Identity

(Ynet News) Ruth Gavison - I subscribe to the majority opinion of Jews in Israel, who believe that Israel is indeed the place where the Jewish people can realize its right to national self-determination, and that this characteristic is a crucial and just one. I also believe that the gap between the state's Jewishness and a true commitment to democracy and human rights - including individual and collective rights for the Arab minority in Israel - is not unbridgeable. Israeli-born citizens are not required to pledge their allegiance. Naturalized citizens (with the exception of those entitled under the Law of Return) are. A nation is under no obligation to grant citizenship to anyone and it most certainly does not have to grant citizenship to an individual who is opposed to key elements in its creed. A nation is under no obligation to "volunteer" to accept those who object to its fundamental goals. A nation can condition citizenship. All nations do. Naturalized citizens' pledge of allegiance to the state should include not only their wish to enjoy the benefits of citizenship, but also their willingness to undertake the obligations that come with it. It is a shame that the Arabs see the need to recognize Israel as the Jewish state as a beacon of discrimination or exclusion. Prof. Ruth Gavison is a law professor at Hebrew University, a senior fellow emeritus at the Israel Democracy Institute, and founder of the Metzilah Center for Zionist, Jewish, Liberal and Humanist Thought.
2010-10-14 11:27:58
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