Israeli minister warns of fascism lurking on the fringes of society

Israel’s Minister of Welfare and Social Services has warned that “fascism [is] devouring the margins of [Israeli] society”. Isaac Herzog believes that a proposed bill amending the Citizenship Law includes “fascist” measures, a clear reference to the requirement for all citizens, including non-Jews, to declare their loyalty to the Jewish nature of the state of Israel. He called on all of his ministerial colleagues and other Israeli decision-makers to vote it down.

Mr. Herzog told Radio Israel on 10 October, “We are on a most dangerous slippery slope.” Referring to the proposed amendment, he called on everyone who wants to guarantee the democratic nature of the state of Israel to campaign against the proposal.

In the same context, Defence Minister Ehud Barak has declared his intention to submit his own amendment to the so-called “loyalty oath bill”. Describing his amendment to be more liberal and open, Mr. Barak said that his draft makes mention of the “Jewish and democratic state in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence [of 1948].” He called upon the leader of the Labour Party to “question himself” following an opinion poll which projected that the number of Labour’s seats in the Knesset after the next election will go down from 19 to 6, a reflection of the rightwards drift of Israeli politics.