The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has called on Israeli government to extend a proposed amendment to the citizenship law to cover all immigrants seeking citizenship.
Under the 1952 Citizenship Law, naturalized immigrants currently declare: "… I will be a loyal national of the State of Israel."
A similar declaration is not required of those seeking citizenship under Israel’s Law of Return.
The amendment approved by the Israeli Cabinet on Sunday adds the words: "…as a Jewish and democratic state, and I promise to honor the laws of the state."
"In the spirit of Israel’s founding principles of equality, we urge Israel’s government to adopt further modifications to the proposed amendment to the citizenship law so it will apply to all immigrants to Israel, including those entering under the law of return," Abraham H. Foxman, ADL’s national director, said in a statement.
He mentioned the fact that many countries around the world, including the United States, require new citizens to take such oaths of allegiance to their new country.
"If Israel revises its current law, it is appropriate that it apply to everyone seeking to become a citizen of Israel," Foxman added.