Yes the newspaper that employed communist supporting liars Walter Duranty and Herbert Matthews (not to mention faux journalist Jayson Blair), apparently has no problems with “The Islamic Republic of Pakistan”, “The Islamic Republic of Iran”, and “The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan”. However in its never ending desire to demonize Israel – the Times gives the proposed Israeli law that would require would be citizens to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, front page coverage. This law is being proposed to preempt an attempt by Palestinians to swamp Israel with millions of alleged descendants of Arab refugees from the 198 -49 War of Independence. Sad to read about all the Israeli politically correct loons decrying the bill and falling into the “slippery slope” nonsense.
hat tip – American Thinker blog
by Isabel Kershner
The Israeli cabinet on Sunday approved a contentious draft amendment to the country’s citizenship law that calls for non-Jews seeking to become citizens to pledge loyalty to Israel as a Jewish and a democratic state.
Decried by opponents as unnecessary, provocative and racist, the amendment, which is subject to approval by Parliament, encountered a storm of criticism and drove open divisions within the ruling coalition.
The vote was 22 to 8, with the five ministers belonging to the Labor Party, the only center-left element of a mostly right-leaning coalition, joining in opposition with three ministers from the conservative Likud Party led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The timing of the cabinet vote led to widespread speculation by political observers in Israel that it was intended to appease the right wing of Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition in advance of a possible concession to the Palestinians.
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are stalled over the issue of Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank, and observers here say that Mr. Netanyahu, under American pressure to extend a moratorium on building in the settlements, may be laying the political ground for such a move by trying to defuse right-wing opposition.
Some saw Sunday’s vote as a typical expression of Mr. Netanyahu’s style of leadership: trying to hold both ends of the stick — balancing the demands of his party and his coalition’s right-wing elements with those of the American-sponsored peace process.
Before the vote, Mr. Netanyahu defended the amendment, telling the cabinet, “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,” he said, “needs to recognize this.”
Candidates for naturalization currently swear an oath of allegiance to the state, without elaboration.
Many Israelis, both Arabs and Jews, said they felt the amendment was discriminatory not least because as currently written, it would apply only to non-Jews who want to become naturalized citizens. Those are mainly Arabs from abroad who marry Arab citizens of Israel, and who are likely to reject the definition of Israel as a Jewish state.
The amendment would not apply to Jews or those of Jewish descent, who immigrate to Israel under the country’s Law of Return. This would allow the exemption of ultra-Orthodox Jewish immigrants, many of whom are non-Zionist and would oppose pledging allegiance to a Jewish state.
The minister of welfare and social services, Isaac Herzog, a Labor member of the cabinet, said the amendment was one of a series of steps in recent years that “borders on fascism.”
“Israel is on a slippery slope,” Mr. Herzog told Israel Radio on Sunday.
[…]
But even if the final amendment applies to Jewish and non-Jewish immigrants, many critics say that it will add to the sense of alienation from the state felt by many Arab citizens, who make up 20 percent of Israel’s population.
A retired Supreme Court justice, Abdel Rahman Zuabi, the first Arab to have served on Israel’s highest court, told Israel Radio last week that if the amendment passes “then there will be two countries in the world that in my opinion are racist: Iran, which is an Islamic state, and Israel, which is the Jewish state.”
Read the rest here: Israeli cabinet approves citizenship amendment
Tags: Isabel Kershner
