We debate, you decide: Israeli loyalty oath

Last week, the Israeli cabinet approved a loyalty oath required for non-Jewish applicants for Israeli citizenship that reads, in part, "[I] declare that I will be a loyal citizen to the state of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, and I obligate myself to respecting its laws." The proposal has been provoked virulent criticism from the Palestinian community.

Two IDS columnists debate the proposed oath.

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A necessary oath

“There is broad agreement in Israel on the Jewish identity and the democracy of the State of Israel. This is the foundation of our existence here. ...Anyone who would like to join us needs to recognize this.”

This is the statement Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered to the Israeli cabinet before they voted to approve a draft amendment to the country’s citizenship law. The amendment in question will require non-Jews who are seeking citizenship to recite a pledge of loyalty to Israel as a Jewish and a democratic state.

The fanfare about the vote has been deafening. Criticism has flooded in across the world decrying the amendment as racist and an affront to the peace process.      

While its passage might very likely be politically motivated — an attempt to appease the far right while concessions to Palestine are on the horizon — there is no prejudice inherent in the pledge.

Israel’s statehood has been threatened since its inception.

Just last week at a rally in Beirut, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was joined by a Hezbollah leader in calling for a united effort to destroy Israel.

And consider that today there are UN member states that do not recognize Israel as a legitimate country.        

It’s no wonder that Israel is worrying about the loyalty of its citizens. For a country that is constantly having to watch it’s back from outside forces, it’s understandable that the government wants to breathe easy about its own people.   

-Danielle Fleischman

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Unnecessarily abrasive
Israel’s cabinet recently approved a measure to require all non-Jewish immigrants to pledge loyalty to “the state of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.”

The proposed oath has several problems with it, one of which is the fact that it is specifically designed to discriminate against non-Jewish immigrants.

The oath would only be required of people who are not Jewish, a blatantly discriminatory requirement that assumes that the ability of all non-Jews to live in Israel is questionable at best and dangerous at worst.

As an editorial from the British newspaper the Guardian states, “the [oath] requires future citizens to declare their allegiance not just to a nation but an ideology, one specifically designed to exclude one-fifth of its citizens who see themselves as Palestinian,” not Jewish.

Additionally, the loyalty oath is a slap in the face to Palestine, while the two regions are in the midst of deciding whether or not to restart peace talks that would lead to a future Palestinian state coexisting peacefully alongside Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen by many in the Israeli and international press to have proposed this oath in order to appease the far-right wing Shas party, which is a member of the Prime Minister’s coalition in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.

Netanyahu needs to decide if the stability of his governing coalition or the stability of his country’s relations with its neighbors is more important.

I’d say it’s the latter. This measure seriously threatens the stability of Israel.

-Zach Ammerman