Call for Jewish Loyalty Oath Angers Arabs in Israel

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Cabinet has approved a bill that would require new citizens to pledge a loyalty oath to a “Jewish and democratic” state.

The language has triggered charges of racism from Arab lawmakers who see it as undermining the rights of the country’s Arab minority.

It has also stoked tensions with Palestinians at a time when fledgling peace talks are deadlocked over Israel’s refusal to extend a moratorium on new building in West Bank Jewish settlements.

The bill is backed by Yisrael Beitenu, a hard-line nationalist party whose leader, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, has been a vocal critic of Israel’s settlement slowdown. Sunday‘s vote may be a way to soften Lieberman’s opposition to extending the slowdown, though officials have denied there is any connection.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Cabinet is set to approve a controversial bill that will require new citizens to pledge allegiance to a “Jewish and democratic” state.

Introducing the measure to his Cabinet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended it as reflecting the essence of Israel. He said Sunday that many in the world are trying to blur the connection between the Jewish people and their national homeland.

Though largely symbolic, the bill has angered both the Palestinians and Israel’s own Arab citizens.

Israel is demanding that the Palestinian recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people. The Palestinians refuse to do so for fear that it will undermine the status of Israeli Arabs and undercut the claims of Palestinian refugees.

Comments (19)

  • historypaper
    Posted on October 12, 2010 at 3:03pm

    For God sakes, we don‘t want the Arab’s mad at us. Did anybody tell Obama? He can fly over there or send Hillary. Please, don‘t upset the Arab’s. The oil. Oh No! The oil. Please, the oil.

    The nudge is over. The pushing has started. You’ll hear the start on November 2nd.

    Arabs can keep their oil.

    Hillary can keep Bill.

    Have you read the Obama Diaries?

    Report Post » historypaper  
  • rappini
    Posted on October 12, 2010 at 12:19pm

    Just quit talking about it and do it.

    Report Post » rappini  
  • lobster
    Posted on October 12, 2010 at 8:31am

    Wow. The long monologue about the lost tribes of Israel. They “ain’t” lost. The Israelis’ have every right to their own country. After all what other country has documents that are thousands of years old to prove the title. The forest service doesn‘t have title for land they took in the late 1800’s from New Mexico. I’m surprised the Jews have put up with those invaders for so long. But then I don’t understand how the Jews as a whole can be so tolerant of communism/socialism after all they went through in Germany in the 30‘s and 40’s. The muslims have been working for 60 years to get Israel . Those people all came from Jordan anyway. They did the same thing in Albania, Kosovo, and Europe prior to the crusades. A friend of mine thought it was OK for them to read and understand Alinskys’ “Rules for radicals”. That’s like being a little bit pregnant. Some things you “know” from God that you have no business dabbling with.

    Report Post »  
  • Masamune
    Posted on October 11, 2010 at 1:08pm

    Boo hoo Arabs. So Israel wants it’s citizens to swear an oath of loyalty like every other country? Deal with it or get out.

    Report Post »  
  • Mary M. Tebbe
    Posted on October 11, 2010 at 12:33pm

    There is nothing wrong with swearing an oath to a country that you expect to benefit from. Two of my children swore an oath of allegiance to the U. S. when they became citizens. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is correct when he says that the oath reflects the essence of Israel, and is concerned that the world is trying to blur the connection of the Jewish people and their national homeland. Israel became a state in 1948; it did not become a Palestinian state or an Arab state. It belongs to the Israelites, not just the Israelites living there today, but to all Israelites all over the world. The Jewish people are of the tribe of Judah, and the name Jew is defined to mean a member of the tribe of Judah. Judah’s descendants dwell alone in the Promised Land today, and their brother tribes remain lost. You do not see the descendants of their brother tribes coming to settle in the land of Israel to this day. Here is a list of Judah’s brother tribes:

    Gad is Switzerland
    Asher is Belgium
    Reuben is France
    Simeon is Luxembourg
    Levi is scattered among all of the tribes of Israel; their religious leaders and teachers
    Judah is Modern Day Israel and the Jews scattered around the world that remember that they are Jews
    Issachar is Finland
    Zebulun is The Netherlands
    Joseph is The United States of American – Manasseh’s descendants
    Joseph is also Great Britain and the countries associated with them – Ephraim’s descendants
    Benjamin is Norway
    Dan is Denmark
    Naphtali is Sweden

    None of Judah’s brother tribes remember who they are. Judah‘s descendants don’t even remember their brothers.
    Israel was called the ancient land of Canaan. God gave this land of Canaan to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’s descendants in a blood covenant that cannot be broken. God cannot go back on his promise and He never will.
    The Palestinian is also an ancient people. An ancient Pharaoh that conquered the land of Canaan settled some of his Egyptians in this conquered land. They became known as Philistines. Later some of the seafaring people of Crete came to the western shores of the land of Canaan and settled and intermarried with these Philistines. Both were a Hamitic people and both were called the Philistines. These Philistines terrorized the people of Israel in this land of Canaan. Much later the Greeks renamed the people and countries of the world to show themselves to be the originators of history and they name this Philistine people Palestinians. They have absolutely no claim on the land that God gave to the Israelites because they were not an original Canaanite race.
    Though there are many Scriptures in the Bible that point to Israel, I keep using the same verses of the Bible to tell Israel’s story because they are what we need to know for the present. Ezekiel 37 tells us that one day God is going to REUNITE and RESTORE His Whole House of Israel, and so Judah’s brother tribes will come to Israel to claim it as an inheritance. They will not live in the land because they have become too numerous a people, but they will claim it as an inheritance on the basis that they are also an Israelite people. Ezekiel 37 gives us the story of the dry bones and the two sticks. In verse 11 we find that the dry bones that come together are THE WHOLE HOUSE OF ISRAEL. This has not happened as yet, so it is for a future time, however that time is drawing near. Though these bones resemble one dead, the bones each represent the different tribes of Israel that are scattered and dispersed in the world today. God is going to breath new life into them through knowledge of who they are, and they are going to reassemble and become A VAST ARMY of people.
    Here in the same chapter we find the two sticks. One stick represents the tribe of Judah of Modern Day Israel today. One stick represents the people called Ephraim, belonging to Joseph. Ephraim was the head tribe of the Northern Kingdom of Israel that went into captivity to Assyria and never returned to the Promised Land. They are seemingly lost, but I just told you who they were in the beginning of this piece. These are the nations that are going to reunite with their brother Judah and become one nation again. In Ezek. 37: 21 – 23 we read, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites (12 tribes) out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them ONE NATION in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms (meaning The Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah). They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding; and I will cleanse them. They will be MY PEOPLE, and I will be their God.” This is what God has planned for our future. It will have nothing to do ever again with a ONE WORLD ORDER, for that was satan’s plan, not God’s. We will all be called by the name of Israel, but we will not live in the land with our brother Judah, because the land is too small for us. We will continue to live in the lands given to us in the promises of Jacob and Moses.
    How can we know this for sure. The story of the Prodigal Son tells us this. The story is in Luke 15. The father represents God, and the eldest son represents Judah of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. God told Judah that all that he had was his, and so Judah will live in Israel. But the father, representing God told Judah that his younger brother, representing the Northern Kingdom of Israel with the tribe of Ephraim at its head was thought to be dead, resembling death, and is alive again, meaning accounted for, and was LOST and IS NOW FOUND so it was fitting to celebrate. All will be reunited and restored. The Lost Tribes of Israel will be restored as sons and daughters of Israel again.
    Now Judah has never received the Messiah, but that will change too. Zechariah 12: 10 – 14 tells us that one day Judah will acknowledge Jesus as Messiah and will weep for him as though one weeps for a firstborn son that has died. There will be great grief among the tribe of Judah, the Jews, as they realize that they missed Messiah, and participated in his crucifixion. That day is coming, and it is not too far in the distant future.
    Micah 7 tells us that at this time our enemies will come trembling to us with utter shock when they realize just who we are and witness our coming together. The Bible also tells us that they will come to OUR GOD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL is fear because of this great event.
    Satan coveted God’s Throne in heaven and was thrown out of heaven and down to this earth. He is called the god of this world, and he dwells above the earth in the atmosphere which is about 10 up from the surface of the earth. He has never stopped coveting what belongs to God. That is why satan fights so hard to take what belongs to God and to the Israelite people, and that has been our battle down through the centuries. It still rages on today, but satan is already a defeated foe because of Jesus death and resurrection, and so we know that ultimately satan does not win any of earth’s battles.
    I write about all this in my book, and one day I hope that you can all read it. God LOVES Israel and will never give to to another.

    Report Post » Mary M. Tebbe  
    • Mary M. Tebbe
      Posted on October 11, 2010 at 1:04pm

      Oops – I should have said the atmosphere which is 10 miles up from the surface of the earth!

      Report Post » Mary M. Tebbe  
    • zippy
      Posted on October 11, 2010 at 10:36pm

      Wow, did you actually type all that? yeikes!

      Report Post »  
    • WhiteFang
      Posted on October 12, 2010 at 9:47pm

      Mary, Where do you get your information? Judah was destroyed by the Romans in the year 70. All their records as to their genealogy was destroyed at that time and they were scattered. No one on earth today can prove they are a jew, nor can they prove they are from the tribe of Judah. God rejected the nation that he once favored due to their unfaithfulness and their rejection of the Messiah, Jesus.

      Report Post » WhiteFang  
  • Rational Man
    Posted on October 11, 2010 at 12:23pm

    Arabs are angry? Shocker! Arabs are always angry. They were born that way. It’s in their genes. If they got every thing they wanted, they would still be angry. Heck, just ask their wives.

    Report Post » Rational Man  
  • dizzyinthedark
    Posted on October 11, 2010 at 9:43am

    I’m tired of the Arab muslims and Palestinian muslims yelling about how they are a peaceful religion. If true, then prove it. LET ISRAEL BE! Israel will say their pledge to THEIR country. God bless Israel and God bless their people!

    Report Post » dizzyinthedark  
  • dizzyinthedark
    Posted on October 11, 2010 at 9:39am

    Add your comments

    Report Post » dizzyinthedark  
  • Contrarian51
    Posted on October 11, 2010 at 1:07am

    I’m about fed up with what makes who angry any more. Our government and politicians make me angry about 20 times a day. Ask me if any of them give a rat’s a$$ about that? I’m a little sick of the victim culture.

    Report Post »  
  • daverag
    Posted on October 10, 2010 at 11:37pm

    Why do they mind? They swear false oaths on the Quran every day!

    Report Post »  
  • heavyduty
    Posted on October 10, 2010 at 9:51pm

    Well if they don’t want to take the oath, then they can find somewhere else to live. SIMPLE!!!! Oh, that‘s right they’ve been kicked out of every other state for being terrorists. I guess they had really better think this one through.

    Report Post »  
  • Roni
    Posted on October 10, 2010 at 9:48pm

    So, what’s the big deal? Is it wrong to expect new citizens to swear an oath of loyalty to their new country, especially in a country where there is constant turmoil from outside sources?

    In the US, new citizens are expected to swear an oath of allegiance. The words to our Oath of Allegiance are:

    “I hereby declare, on oath,

    that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;

    that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;

    that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law;

    that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law;

    that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.”

    In some cases, due to religious conflicts, the USCIS allows the oath to be taken without the clauses: “. . .that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by law. . .”

    Report Post » Roni  
    • Eagle07
      Posted on October 12, 2010 at 4:10pm

      Right they have a choice the don’t have to live there.

      Report Post »  
  • ME
    Posted on October 10, 2010 at 9:45pm

    What is wrong with this? We should do the same here. Does Israel have no right to protect itself from the pigs around it that call for its elimination. I think that Israel should grow a bit more of a backbone as we in America should too.

    Report Post » ME  
  • Samantha3
    Posted on October 10, 2010 at 9:29pm

    As we are now learning in America, loyalty oaths in the process of citizenship don’t hold alot of strength in the current ammoral environment. Terrorists becomes citizens and when asked later what they meant when pledging allegiance to America simply say, “I didn’t mean it.” Dear God, restore us to integrity and honesty. Silence those who attack the cry for life based on your principles. Save us from the oppression of man’s ego.

    Report Post » Samantha3  
    • DrammyCoke
      Posted on October 11, 2010 at 7:46am

      My belly is full of the crybaby *******. They are just a bunch of whining crybabies!!!

      Report Post » DrammyCoke  

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