Three newly-elected members of Knesset departed from the required form of the oath of office when they were sworn in at the opening of the 11th Knesset last week, but Attorney General Yitzhak Zamir has ruled that the three must be regarded as valid members of Knesset. But he stressed that, in the future, new members should adhere to the principle that oaths be taken according to the wording of the law without change.
Under that law, each elected Knesset member must declare, “I undertake,” after the full text of the oath is read by the Knesset secretary. Avraham Verdiger of Morasha and Elizer Waldman of Tehiya added the words: “God willing.” Rabbi Meir Kahane of Kach added the words: “And I will safeguard your Torah always and forever.”
Zamir declared, in his formal opinion yesterday, that the three should have been asked to take the correct oath at the time but now it was too late and their oaths of office could not be nullifed.
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