Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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May 25, 2009

Israel's Ultra-Nationalist Party to Propose Loyalty Oath
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=246D936:A6F02AD83191E160575D0780616D4E5570AD7039DCD7B7E4&
 
Proposed bill mainly targets the country's Arab citizens, who are
perceived as disloyal by some Jewish Israelis 
Israel' Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (File)Israeli Foreign
Minister Avigdor Lieberman's ultra-nationalist party says it plans to
introduce a bill that would require Israelis to pledge loyalty to Israel
as a "Jewish, Zionist and democratic" state. The Yisrael Beitenu party
says it will seek Cabinet approval for the bill on Sunday before
presenting the proposed legislation to parliament. The bill mainly
targets the country's Arab citizens, who are perceived as disloyal by
some Jewish Israelis. Many Arabs each year mark the anniversary of the
founding of Israel as the Naqba, which means catastrophe in Arabic. The
proposed law would enable the interior minister to revoke people's
citizenship if they fail to either serve in the military or perform a
national service. The pledge of allegiance was a key element in Yisrael
Beitenu's campaigning for the general election last February. Some
information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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