From the Editors’ Desk
We are pleased to publish the later issue in our ‘Arabs in Israel’ series. The current issue focuses on responses to the Government of Israel’s approval of an amendment to the Citizenship Law.
In its meeting on October 10, 2010, the government approved the proposal of Minister of Justice Yaakov Ne’eman to amend the Citizenship Law, by a vote of 22-8, and transferred the proposal to the Knesset for its approval. The amendment dictates that the obligation to pledge allegiance to the Jewish, democratic State of Israel will from
now on apply only to non-Jews and to individuals applying for Israeli citizenship.
The government’s approval of the bill triggered a tempest in the political arena. The bill’s approval was condemned mainly by Arab MKs and representatives of parties from the center and left, but also by senior government ministers and the Knesset Chairman. They all claimed that the bill is an undemocratic, racist maneuver directed against Israel’s Arab citizens, in an attempt to coerce them to accept the state’s Zionist character. In contrast, supporters of the bill defended it by contending that Israel is a Jewish nation state and nothing in the bill prejudices individual rights or equality.
Responses from the Arab community, both in the Knesset and in the ex-parliamentary arena, were especially bitter. Some described the law as coercion of Palestinians, victims of the Jewish, Zionist state, to pledge allegiance to the state that is the source of their catastrophe, the Nakba. One expression of the Arab public’s rage at the bill was the Supreme Follow-Up Committee’s announcement to transform the 54th commemoration rally of the Kfar Qassem Massacre, scheduled for October 29, into an organized protest event. The banner of the event will be ‘Opposition to the racist policy and grave escalation in the Israeli establishment’s [attitude] toward the Arab public, and opposition to the Jewish character of the state, the Citizenship and Loyalty Law, and the [concept of] transfer.’
The current issue contains three sections. The first section contains an editorial by Prof. Oded Haklai, who compares the unique features of the Israeli citizenship law with pledges of allegiance required as a condition for citizenship in other countries.
The second section of this issue presents responses to the bill which have appeared in the media. Extensive space is devoted to responses of Knesset Members from Arab parties and ex-parliamentary organizations that are active in the Arab community, and which are rarely accessible by Hebrew speakers. Positions of Jewish ministers and Knesset Members, and opinions of scholars of the status of Israel’s Arab minority are also presented. The final section of this issue offers background information on the Citizenship Law and other bills proposed in a similar spirit.
The views expressed in the editorials are those of the authors alone.
We wish to extend our thanks to KAP staff, Ms. Efrat Lachter, a student of Political Science and Communications, and Mr. Nidal Khamaisi, a student of Sociology, Anthropology, Statistics and Operations Research, both of Tel Aviv University, who assisted in collecting the materials and translating them into Hebrew. We also wish to thank Ms. Renee Hochman, who translated and edited the English version.
The Editors
Prof. Oded Haklai, Prof. Uzi Rabi and Arik Rudnitzky