JERUSALEM, June 7 (UPI) -- A former speaker of the Israeli Knesset is urging Israel to abolish the Law of Return, which allows most Jews to become citizens.
In an interview with Haaretz Weekend Magazine, Avraham Burg said he no longer considers himself a Zionist. He urged all Israelis who can obtain a passport from another country to do so.
Burg, a longtime activist with Peace Now and member of the Labor Party, served as speaker of the Knesset or parliament from 1999 to 2003. He headed the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization from 1993 to 1999.
Several Israeli politicians responded to his statements with anger. Otniel Schneller, a member of the Knesset representing the Kadima Party, said Burg should be barred from burial in the section of the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem set aside for national leaders.
"He should look for a grave in another country," Schneller said.
Zevulun Orlev, chairman of the National Religious Party, which Burg's father once headed, said "the apple falls far from the tree."
