JERUSALEM, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Israeli Cabinet ministers approved an amendment to the Citizenship Law Sunday requiring all non-Jews seeking citizenship to pledge their allegiance to Israel.
After hours of deliberations, 22 ministers ruled in favor of the bill that will require new citizens to take a loyalty oath and pledge allegiance to Israel as a "Jewish and democratic state." Eight ministers voted against the new bill, Haaretz said. The bill will be presented to the Knesset for a vote.
Moments before the vote, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Labor Party chairman, said he would oppose the amendment, Ynetnews.com said.
Barak demanded a slight adjustment be made to the wording that would include, "in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence," the Web site said.
It was later agreed that his proposal would be submitted before a ministerial committee for approval and brought to the Cabinet in several weeks for a vote, the site said. Barak along with Labor Party ministers voted against the proposal, the site said.
Israeli Arab Knesset member Ahmed Tibi condemned the amendment, "No other state in the world would force its citizens or those seeking citizenship to pledge allegiance to an ideology," the daily quoted him saying.
Israeli Justice Minister Ya'akov Ne'eman suggested rewording the draft of his proposed loyalty oath to require both Jews and non-Jews alike to pledge their allegiance to Israel, the newspaper said.
"Today, the Cabinet will discuss an amendment to the Citizenship Law, to the effect that anyone seeking to become a naturalized Israeli citizen will declare that he or she will be a loyal citizen of the state of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state," a statement released by the Cabinet secretariat quoted Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu telling the ministers. "To my regret, today, there are those who are trying to blur not only the unique connection between the Jewish People and its homeland, but also the connection between the Jewish People and its state. Democracy is the soul of Israel and we cannot do without it."
