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Follow Us on TwitterIsraelis protest ‘fascist’ loyalty oath 11Oct10 October 12, 2010
Ma’an News Agency - 11 October 2010
More than 150 demonstrators rallied in Tel Aviv on Sunday against what they said was their country’s decline into fascism.
The protest was held in response to the cabinet’s approval of an amendment to Israel’s citizenship law, requiring all non-Jews to swear loyalty to “a Jewish and democratic state.” Israeli academics, artists and several MKs attended the rally, the Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post said.
Demonstrators read a statement expressing concern for Israel’s decline and transformation into a fascist state, the newspaper said.
The report quoted organizer Sefi Rachlevsky as saying “At the moment that you ask that everyone agree to this same belief, you are a fascist state,” adding that “every national catastrophe begins with decisions like this.”
The bill passed easily through the Cabinet, with 22 ministers out of 30 favoring the amendment. However, leader of the opposition Tzipi Livni on Sunday condemned the bill as “politics at its worst,” the Israeli daily Haaretz said.
Livni said it was “essential that we maintain Israel’s status as a Jewish state,” but said the amendment would cause internal conflict and damage Israel’s international reputation.
Palestinian MK Ahmad Tibi said Israel had become subservient to a fascist doctrine, noting that no other state in the world forced citizens “to pledge allegiance to an ideology,” Haaretz reported.
The bill was swiftly condemned as racist by Palestinian factions. Palestinian National Initiative Leader Mustafa Barghouthi described the bill as “an official declaration of apartheid.”More than 150 demonstrators rallied in Tel Aviv on Sunday against what they said was their country’s decline into fascism.
The protest was held in response to the cabinet’s approval of an amendment to Israel’s citizenship law, requiring all non-Jews to swear loyalty to “a Jewish and democratic state.” Israeli academics, artists and several MKs attended the rally, the Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post said.
Demonstrators read a statement expressing concern for Israel’s decline and transformation into a fascist state, the newspaper said.
The report quoted organizer Sefi Rachlevsky as saying “At the moment that you ask that everyone agree to this same belief, you are a fascist state,” adding that “every national catastrophe begins with decisions like this.”
The bill passed easily through the Cabinet, with 22 ministers out of 30 favoring the amendment. However, leader of the opposition Tzipi Livni on Sunday condemned the bill as “politics at its worst,” the Israeli daily Haaretz said.
Livni said it was “essential that we maintain Israel’s status as a Jewish state,” but said the amendment would cause internal conflict and damage Israel’s international reputation.
Palestinian MK Ahmad Tibi said Israel had become subservient to a fascist doctrine, noting that no other state in the world forced citizens “to pledge allegiance to an ideology,” Haaretz reported.
The bill was swiftly condemned as racist by Palestinian factions. Palestinian National Initiative Leader Mustafa Barghouthi described the bill as “an official declaration of apartheid.”
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