On October 8, 2010, the government of Israel decided (22 for, 8 against) to fix the Law of Citizenship. According to the new version, people who are not Jews (a term that even the State of Israel failed defining properly) and want to become citizens of the state, would need a loyalty oath to a “Jewish and democratic state.” This amendment was one of the promises Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made to Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's party Yisrael Beitenu in the coalition agreements. Yisrael Beitenu has advanced a long list of discriminatory laws against Israel's non-Jewish citizens. This is a key point: around 20% of the Israeli citizens are not Jewish. Moreover, as described in The Cross of Bethlehem, many of the considered Jewish by the Ministry of Interior do not consider themselves Jews.
This amendment could be defined as yet another Israeli racist law and dismissed. This assessment would be accepted by many Israelis; moreover, several Israeli politicians – including Dan Meridor, the Minister of Intelligence and Atomic Energy – have defined this law as unnecessary. However, there is more to it than an attempt to further discriminate Palestinians and other non-Jewish citizens. It is deeply related to the roots of the Zionist state.
”Oath” make a very dramatic appearance in the Talmud. The Old Testament was considered dangerous by the Pharisees. Simply, many of the Mosaic Laws were uncomfortable – and inconvenient – to fulfill. Moreover, the prophecies regarding Jesus – their archenemy – in the Bible were difficult to ignore. Facing such a problem, these industrious men operated a two stages plan. First, an Oral Law was created. These were laws that defined how the Mosaic Laws in the Pentateuch should be interpreted. Using them, they could turn around any law to their convenience. They claim the Oral Law was given verbally by Moses to their ancestors. The Bible does not support this claim. At certain stage – before Jesus was born – the compilation of this Oral Law into books began. The result was the creation of a new layer of books – collectively known as the Talmud – that included all the formal interpretations of the Pentateuch – the Bible’s first five books. All the other books in the Bible were considered little more than fables by the Pharisees. Nowadays, the rabbis – the Pharisees spiritual descendants – consider the Talmud as the main book of law. Since then, the Pharisees and rabbis can manipulate the law interpretations to their personal benefit. The Talmud is divided into “Midrashim” – namely “sermons.” One of the most famous ones is called “Three Oaths.”
