Israel set to force all citizens to swear oath to Jewish state
By Catrina Stewart In Jerusalem
Saturday, 17 July 2010
New Israeli citizens may soon be required to swear an oath of loyalty to a "Jewish and democratic" state, a step that has drawn harsh criticism from human rights groups.
Israel's Cabinet, which meets tomorrow, is expected to approve this and extend a raft of existing measures that make it harder for Palestinians to achieve citizenship.
The wording of the oath, which would apply to new applicants for citizenship, was slammed by Arab advocacy groups, who accused Israel of "racist" policies that attempt to link citizenship to ideology.
"It's another step in the direction of getting the Arabs out of Israel," said Uri Avnery, a former MP and founder of the Israeli Gush Shalom peace movement. "Parliament has become a lynching mob."