Ben-Ami Ben-Yisrael, the 70-year-old leader of the 2,700-member Israeli Hebrew community of Dimona, petitioned the Supreme Court on Monday to instruct the Interior Ministry to grant him Israeli citizenship, according to Maariv/nrg. Ben-Yisrael charges that the ministry broke a two-year-old agreement granting members of the community citizenship without giving any reason for it.

Ben-Yisrael brought the "Black Hebrews" to Israel from the United States in the late 1960's. They were given permanent resident status in 2003 and about 150 members of the community serve in the Israel Defense Forces.