Interior Minister Moshe Shapiro disclosed today in Parliament that a Ministerial Committee had been set up to consider changes in the Law of the Return and citizenship regulations because of experiences which have led to “embarrassing situations.”
The Law of Return gives any Jew who comes to Israel the right to automatic citizenship, except for cases of criminal activities in other countries. One of the embarrassing situations to which the Minister referred was the request of a former Polish Jew converted to Catholicism, Brother Daniel, for admittance to Israel under that law as a Jew by nationality. The Israel Supreme Court rejected his demand in a decision which attracted international attention.
Ending debate on the budget of the Interior Ministry and replying to criticism of existing citizenship laws, he expressed the view that immigrants should be required to wait one year before receiving citizenship. He said the automatic grant of citizenship on arrival was frequently abused.
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