New immigrants to Israel will need to prove they have settled in the country to be eligible for an Israeli passport, according to a new policy proposal by Interior Minister Aryeh Deri.
As part of the incoming government’s immigration reform plan, Mr Deri’s proposal would overturn the existing system that grants a passport automatically upon obtaining Israeli citizenship.
The current system, created through a 2017 law, allows new immigrants to immediately obtain an Israeli passport upon making Aliyah.
In addition to the law change surrounding passports, the Benjamin Netanyahu-led government has also said they intend to alter the Law of Return, specifically the clause in which it states that every person with a Jewish grandparent has the right to come to the country as an immigrant.
Mr Deri referred to the current Law of Return as an “air train” in which people eligible for citizenship take advantage of their right to a passport and government benefits, before returning back to their country of origin.
Mr Deri said: “We should give status and a passport only to those who are settling in Israel, not to those looking to get benefits they’re not entitled to,”
The changes in law were hinted at during the early stages of Mr Netanyahu’s coalition deals, and aimed to prevent the “misuse of the rights the state gives to new immigrants,”
Mr Deri has reportedly instructed Israel’s Population Authority to begin preparing for the change in policy, though it is still not yet clear by what criteria a new immigrant can now obtain an Israeli passport.
Immigrants' ability to receive an Israeli passport immediately has drawn significant condemnation in recent weeks, so the overturning of the 2017 law is unlikely to draw substantial criticism in the Knesset.
Reports from earlier this year claim that large numbers of new immigrants, particularly from Russia, obtain Israeli passports before leaving the country soon afterwards. Critics of the reports say they were misleading and part of a political effort to build public support for amending the Law of Return.
Former immigration and absorption minister Pnina Tamano-Shata said in the Knesset last month that, while she is in support of changing the passport law, the reports were “wilfully misleading”, as many of those returning to their home country were doing so to settle their affairs.
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