Netanyahu orders change to loyalty oath

Word From YerushalaimSimantov Allalouf simantov@wordfromyerushalaim.com
Website www.wordfromyerushalaim.com

October 19 2010

commentary by: Simantov Allalouf

Last week in a matter of a few days Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu managed to ram through an amendment to the citizenship law in Israel. I was astonished how fast and virtually unopposed this amendment passed. The amendment would require ant none Jew wanting citizenship in Israel to take an oath to a Jewish Democratic state of Israel. I could smell and see a rat in the midst of this legislation. I even wrote to a well know immigration lawyer here in Israel asking what he thought of this proposed amendment to the law. My suspicions were that Netanyahu was really appeasing the religious parties in government secretly. The religious parties have been feverishly trying to stop the immigration of Jewish people who believe in Yeshua (Jesus). They have tried to outlaw the gospel (which has failed in the past, but by no means over). And they have demanded a amendment to the immigration (law of return) but it was seen as possibly alienating the Christian supporters of Israel.

But I almost could see and sense there was a sinister plot in the works. With this new amendment to the amendment (which by the way is now law), effectively followers of Yeshua could be denied citizenship in the future based on the opinion of the Supreme Court of Israel which has taken a position that if you believe in Yeshua (Jesus) you are not Jewish by law. In turn they could then say Jewish followers are not Jewish there for they can not honestly take this oath to a Jewish state of Israel.

We must begin to pray once again. Many of the Christians world wide have be tricked into believing that our current Prime Minister is sympathetic to the followers of Messiah and a defender of the state of Israel, but the evidence on the ground says something quite the contrary. Every passing day more and more of the infrastructure of a Palestinian state is being put in place. As a matter of fact the Israeli tax payers are contributing billions of dollars towards this end. Bibi no longer even denies he is working towards the implementation of a Palestinian state, but is just fine tuning it to look like he thinks it should be. The bottom line is, he is betraying Israel and desperately needs our prayers. Pretty much every military man that has been honest in the past has said an Israel with a Palestinian state along side could never survive for very long at all. Now this disguised attempt to stop Jewish followers of Yeshua their right to make Aliyah (immigrate back to Israel) is just down right evil and I pray the body of Messiah would be awakened from their slumber and begin to pray. The forces of evil have invaded Israel's leadership and we must come to a place of surrender unto the Lord and seek His strategy for prayer in these very challenging days in which we live...

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Netanyahu orders change to loyalty oath

Prime minister heeds furor caused by Citizenship Act amendment demanding aspiring citizens pledge allegiance to 'Jewish, democratic Israel'; instructs justice minister to change new law to include Jewish Law of Return applicants. Arab MKs say redrafting changes nothing

by; Attila Somfalvi 

10.18.10

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Justice Minister Yaakov Ne'eman to redraft his proposed amendment to the Citizenship Act so that the loyalty oath suggested in it will apply to Jews seeking Israeli citizenship under Law of Return guidelines, as well.

The original amendment, which stated that those seeking Israeli citizenship would be required to pledge their allegiance to a "Jewish and democratic Israel" instead of simply to the State of Israel, caused a political and public uproar and was slammed as discriminatory and racist.

Thousands protest loyalty oath bill Lieberman willing to adopt US pledge of allegiance Legalists: PM's proposal has legal merit

"We expect anyone wishing to become an Israeli citizen to recognize Israel as the Jewish nation state and a democratic state. There is a broad consensus within the Israeli public as to the Jewish and democratic nature of the country, and this is not by happenstance," Netanyahu said Monday.

"The State of Israel was not established as 'just another state' – it was founded as the sovereign state of the Jewish people in their historic homeland; and as a democratic nation, whose citizens, Jews and non-Jews, enjoy full civil equality."

Minister of Minority Affairs Avishay Braverman said that the change ordered by Netanyahu will do little to minimize the damage caused by the law, should it be approved.

"The amendment requiring Jews who return to Israel to pledge their allegiance to a Jewish and democratic state will not remedy the damage to Israel's international image, and will not repair the damage to Jewish-Arab relations."

'Change changes nothing'

Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List-Ta'al) said Monday that Netanyahu's instruction meant nothing since the bill was a "bad idea to begin with."

"It has no place in this or Lieberman's version (of the bill), as there is no reason to compete with his fascism. Forcing an identity on Arabs and Jews alike is completely redundant," he said.

Balad Chairman Jamal Zahalka added that the proposed change "changes nothing." The law, he said, "Remains racist because it demands Palestinians debased themselves by pledging allegiance to the Jewish state."Obviously, most Jews would have no problem taking the oath, but if another country ever forced Jews to pledge allegiance to Christian or Muslim ideology, they would be accused of being anti-Semitic."

Zahalka urged the prime minister to rescind the amendment altogether.

Deputy Health Minister Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) also criticized the decision, saying that "instead of the prime minister focusing on the real issues, such as the housing plight, he's focusing on nonsense. This pledge carries no benefits to the state or its citizens. I oppose it and I hope it fails to find a majority," he said.

'Bibi should act like a leader' MK Shlomo Molla (Kadima) slammed Netanyahu for "zigzagging," saying that "It is high time that Netanyahu starts acting like a leader and stops plodding along Lieberman's demagogy."

Kadima fellow MK Yohanan Plesner suggested that "Netanyahu take a moment before caving to his religious coalition partners, who are likely to oppose applying the law to Jews. He would be wise to pull this stupid amendment altogether, thus minimizing the great damage already caused to Israel's reputation by this redundant law."

Various senior legalists addressed the amendment since its publication, and while the consensus was that there was nothing legally wrong with the proposed bill, many agreed the wording was problematic.

Professor Yedidya Stern of the Center for Democratic Studies, who also serves as president of the Israeli Democratic Institute, explained that while Israel was well within its right in demanding naturalized citizens pledge their allegiance to the state, "If we wish to prevent racism, this should be applies to everyone seeking citizenship, including Jews."

The redrafting ordered by the prime minister coincides with a proposal to the effect made by Ne'eman himself.

Sharon Roffe-Ofir and Roni Sofer contributed to this report

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3971329,00.html

Word From YerushalaimSimantov Allalouf
simantov@wordfromyerushalaim.com
Website www.wordfromyerushalaim.com

 

It has been a rough ride.

 

 

 

I am writing this short note to say to those on the Word From Yerushalaim list, that I want to apologise for the way in which I wrote my last article.

 

The truth is I have not been in the Holy Spirit and my own fleshly emotions have come in. The works of the flesh is evil and of no benefit.

 

I see so many terrible things happening here in Israel and I have allowed myself to be overwhelmed, which has led to a wrong reaction in the flesh apart from Messiah.

 

Please forgive me and pray for me.

 

Pray the Lord helps me to find that place in Him and to be filled with His Holy Spirit again..