Coalition to Abbas: Wait Until Next Year

Leaders of the coalition parties are trying to assuage Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas following passage of the Citizenship Bill, which restricts Palestinians who marry Israelis from obtaining citizenship.

His coalition partners, including the right-wing Yamina, promised Abbas, whose Islamist party vehemently opposed the bill, that they would renew the debate over the legislation when it expires a year from now, according to Kan news.

According to the report, Abbas demanded guarantees they would do so, as he did not trust Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked (Yamina).

Meanwhile, the Adalah NGO petitioned the High Court on Sunday to strike down the law as unconstitutional because of its discriminatory nature, The Jerusalem Post reported.

According to Adalah, the revised version of the law dropped the “pretense” of being about security, saying that part of its purpose is limiting Palestinian-Israeli-Arab marriages in order to preserve Jewish character of the state of Israel.

The phrase “Jewish and democratic state” was inserted in the language of the law for the first time this year by New Hope MK Zvi Hauser and Religious Zionist MK Simcha Rothman. Earlier versions of the law referred only to security considerations to explain its purpose.

It is worth noting, however, that the new law does not single out Palestinians. It applies to Israelis of any national origin who marry any foreign resident. The foreign spouse will not receive citizenship automatically.

The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) has backed extension of the law (as it is temporary, and requires annual extension) based strictly on security considerations, saying that sometimes Hamas and other groups could use marriage as a way to sneak their agents into Israel as new citizens.

At this point, it is not known how the judges will rule. But several options seem available: to allow it to stand as it is; to strike down the law altogether; or to expunge the offending clause about a “Jewish and democratic state.”

Besides Ra’am, the bill was strongly opposed by Meretz and the Joint Arab List.