MK Yisrael Eichler (United Torah Judaism) has called on fellow religious and right-wing politicians to support an amendment to the Law of Return that is due to come up for debate in the Knesset later today.
The amendment was proposed by MK Betzalel Smotrich (Yamina-National Union) and would bar people with no Jewish parent (even if they have a Jewish grandparent) from freely immigrating to Israel and gaining the significant state Aliyah benefits given to those who qualify for entry under the Law of Return.
Smotrich has stated that his amendment is one step along the way to restricting Aliyah only to halachic Jews, those who are Jewish under Jewish law, and points out that there are currently hundreds of thousands of non-Jews living in Israel as full citizens, who have no intention of converting to Judaism and no connection to the Jewish People (unless one counts anti-Semitism as a "connection.")
Eichler stated earlier today that, "The amendment proposed by MK Betzalel Smotrich will restore the Law of Return to what it was originally intended to be. It will restore the Land of Israel to the Jewish People, to being a warm home for every Jew of the Diaspora who wants to come here or send his children to learn here, to celebrate the Jewish festivals here, to visit the Land's holy sites.
"I call on all Knesset members from religious and national parties to support this amendment and hold a serious discussion on the essence of the Law of Return," he concluded.