The Jewish majority in Israel faces a demographic threat. Minister of the Interior Eli Yeshai (Shas) said yesterday that at the current rates of growth, Jews will not be the majority population between the Jordan and the Mediterranean within eight years. As it stands now, Yeshai noted, there is a growing number of IDF soldiers who refuse to take the oath of allegiance on the Tanakh (Jewish Bible), but rather insist on doing so on the New Testament. Yeshai calls for an \"emergency public debate on the matter before it\'s too late.\"
In order to limit the number of non-Jews who take advantage of Israeli repatriation laws, Yeshai recommends that the Law of Return be changed. Under the current law, individuals with one Jewish grandparent may obtain automatic citizenship - even though Judaism recognizes only the offspring of a Jewish mother or a halakhic [Jewish legal] convert as Jewish. Housing Minister Natan Sharansky (Yisrael Beiteinu), however, says that now is not the time to discuss changing the Law of Return.
In addition to the recent immigration of multitudes of non-Jews under the Law of Return, the Jewish majority is also threatened by the increased influx of foreign workers in recent years and high Arab birth rates. MK Ophir Pines (Labor) responded with a demand to \"kill the messenger,\" saying that Prime Minister Sharon must fire Yeshai from his position as Interior Minister. Pines specifically objected to reports that Yeshai accused non-Jewish soldiers of being less loyal to the State of Israel than Jews.
In order to limit the number of non-Jews who take advantage of Israeli repatriation laws, Yeshai recommends that the Law of Return be changed. Under the current law, individuals with one Jewish grandparent may obtain automatic citizenship - even though Judaism recognizes only the offspring of a Jewish mother or a halakhic [Jewish legal] convert as Jewish. Housing Minister Natan Sharansky (Yisrael Beiteinu), however, says that now is not the time to discuss changing the Law of Return.
In addition to the recent immigration of multitudes of non-Jews under the Law of Return, the Jewish majority is also threatened by the increased influx of foreign workers in recent years and high Arab birth rates. MK Ophir Pines (Labor) responded with a demand to \"kill the messenger,\" saying that Prime Minister Sharon must fire Yeshai from his position as Interior Minister. Pines specifically objected to reports that Yeshai accused non-Jewish soldiers of being less loyal to the State of Israel than Jews.