Kahane's vision for loyalty oath was not so different than Barak's

[Violet_Crumble]

Late extremist rabbi proposed every non-Jew wishing to become a naturalized Israeli would have to pledge to 'the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence.

By Chaim Levinson

More than a quarter of a century before Labor Party chairman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak proposed that non-Jews seeking citizenship should pledge allegiance to the Declaration of Independence, Rabbi Meir Kahane did the same in the political platform of his Kach party in 1984.

Kahane was elected to the Knesset in 1984, but his party was disqualified for being racist when it sought to run again in 1988.

As part of its 1984 election campaign, Kach issued a manifesto entitled "The Arabs," in which it detailed its plans for "transferring" Israel's Arab population out of the country and other policies on how Israeli Arabs should be treated. One of the articles proposed "requiring all Arabs to swear allegiance to the Jewish state and to sign the Declaration of Independence."

This is similar to the proposal made by Barak, whereby every non-Jew wishing to become a naturalized Israeli would have to pledge allegiance to "the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence."

Kahane detailed a plan to transfer Arab Israelis out of Israel voluntarily and with compensation. Anyone who wished to stay would "be asked to sign an oath of allegiance to the Jewish state. In this declaration, he will recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people and its sole sovereignty over the land and will receive the rights of a resident alien. Any Arab who acts in this way will remain a resident of Israel without national rights, but with full individual, cultural and minority rights forever."

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/kahane-s-vision-for-loyalty-oath-was-not-so-different-than-barak-s-1.319174