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Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit. (Limor Edrey)
Last update - 18:43 30/10/2007
Sheetrit: Jews should not be granted automatic Israeli citizenship
By Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Meir Sheetrit, Law of Return 

Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit said during a Jewish Agency Board of Governors meeting on Tuesday that the Law of Return, which grants Jews worldwide the right to Israeli citizenship, should be amended.

Sheetrit said that Jews who wish to settle in Israel should have the right to do so, but the state should avoid giving them citizenship "five minutes later."

He fiercely criticized the policy to encourage aliyah among "the lost tribes of Israel" - communities who claim Jewish ancestry but are not halakhically Jewish - and said he would do anything within his jurisdiction to stop it.
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Sheetrit also said that his ministry has seen numerous cases of immigrants fraudulently obtaining aliyah benefits. He also referred to the spread of neo-Nazism among young immigrants from the former Soviet Union to support his call for tougher aliyah laws.

Sheetrit spoke at a closing plenary session of the Board of Governors, in the presence of representatives of several Jewish communities and Zionist organizations worldwide.

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      1.   "neo-Nazism among young immigrants " 16:17  |  Yonatan 30/10/07
      2.   ONLY HALACHA CAN DETERMINE WHO`S A JEW.CITIZENSHIP IS A DIFFERENT 16:20  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 30/10/07
      3.   Russians Russians Russians 16:40  |  James Schear 30/10/07
      4.   Law should be amended 16:41  |  Yoel 30/10/07
      5.   Racist Law = No equality 17:03  |  POP 30/10/07
      6.   Say What?!!! 17:19  |  Adele Franklin 30/10/07
      7.   oh, but it`s ok to let Russian gentiles in 18:48  |  Jer 30/10/07
      8.   How Dare They 19:06  |  Concerned Jew 30/10/07
      9.   POP ask Saudi Arabia 19:06  |  MOM 30/10/07
      10.   Redefining Judaism 19:09  |  Hamite 3000 30/10/07
      11.   Sheetrit Has a Point 19:28  |  MB 30/10/07
      12.   Sheetrit - Yimach Shem0 19:38  |  Yos 30/10/07
      13.   Ethnic/religious purity 19:45  |  Steve 30/10/07
      14.   Sheetrit`s position??? 19:58  |  Sue 30/10/07
      15.   Finally 20:02  |  Len Lippman 30/10/07
      16.   Lost Tribes Don`t Matter???? 20:08  |  B`galil 30/10/07
      17.   Maybe we need to question MK Sheetrit`s citizenship 20:12  |  Gee 30/10/07
      18.   I think he is from 20:29  |  Jackie 30/10/07
      19.   Can anybody explain me the meaning of the jewish state then, pls? 20:35  |  a proud jew 30/10/07
      20.   IDIOTS.ONLY LOOSERS AND CRIMINALS WANT TO EMIGRATE TO ISRAEL... 20:46  |  SAM 30/10/07
      21.   By definition, Lost Tribes of Israel... 21:09  |  eddie 30/10/07
      22.   Can you fools read? He didn`t say the "gates would be closed" 21:11  |  McQueen 30/10/07
      23.   #4 Yoel, what have you done to desrve Israeli citizenship? 21:14  |  Nathan 30/10/07
      24.   To "Concerned Jew" 21:19  |  Rickie 30/10/07
      25.   Sherit envy the mebers of the `lost tribes`.... 21:19  |  Nathan 30/10/07
      26.   B`galil, what lost tribes? 21:36  |  Jake 30/10/07
      27.   Maybe one day 21:46  |  Sam 30/10/07
      28.   He`s totally correct. Here`s why. 22:07  |  mea 30/10/07
      29.   #9 MOM 22:07  |  Boycott 30/10/07
      30.   Law of Return 22:09  |  Steve 30/10/07
      31.   #10 Hamite 3000 22:11  |  Boycott 30/10/07
      32.   Law of Return 22:12  |  Steve 30/10/07
      33.   here you prove to every one how racist country you are 22:13  |  David 30/10/07
      34.   If this is the way Sheetrit thinks...then he should be FIRED! 22:23  |  Miriam 30/10/07
      35.   They Don`t Want To Come Anyway Thanks... 22:39  |  Yoram 30/10/07
      36.   Sheetrit needs to reread the Declaration of Independence 22:45  |  T. Miller 30/10/07
      37.   Why Exclude Lost Tribes? Isn`t That a Tad Elitist? 22:53  |  MIKE 30/10/07
      38.   GIur 22:55  |  Luis Umpiérrez 30/10/07
      39.   mom#9 23:16  |  ron 30/10/07
      40.   No problem 23:33  |  De 30/10/07
      41.   This man is a idiot 00:05  |  ralphsrant1 31/10/07
      42.   Meir Shitright 00:14  |  Joe 31/10/07
      43.   Jake #20 - If you don`t know what tribes, that`s the problem 00:40  |  B`Galil 31/10/07
      44.   LOLZ @ MOM#9 00:43  |  POP 31/10/07
      45.   To David #27 - Typical American Self-Hating Jew 00:47  |  B`Galil 31/10/07
      46.   Who decides who is halachically Jewish? 00:54  |  Joseph 31/10/07
      47.   This is a real sheet idea . . . . 01:00  |  B.Ogroll 31/10/07
      48.   Israel must become a normal state - Shetreet is right 01:05  |  Beate 31/10/07
      49.   Remove the Emotion. What`s the Issue, Really? 01:08  |  Ben Hur 31/10/07
      50.   One can think that we have is a massive immigration 01:23  |  NB 31/10/07
      51.   to #3 Russians Russians Russians 01:28  |  NB 31/10/07
      52.   Right of Return / Citizenship 01:30  |  Shimon 31/10/07
      53.   Sheetrit: 01:31  |  Jews 31/10/07
      54.   to #22 McQueen Can you fools read? He didn`t say the "gates would 01:51  |  NB 31/10/07
      55.   Who is this Man, Certainly not a Jew 02:32  |  Jack 31/10/07
      56.   Israel abandoning its Zionist mission?, 1 02:58  |  David Turner 31/10/07
      57.   In my own humble and personal opinion 03:02  |  Nov 31/10/07
      58.   Israel abandoning its Zionist mission? Sheetrit must go! 03:09  |  David Turner 31/10/07
      59.   Lost Tribes? 03:12  |  Denise 31/10/07
      60.   Is Israel abandoning the Jewish People, part 3: Sheetrit must go! 03:13  |  David Turner 31/10/07
      61.   #33 GOD WORKS IN STRANGE WAYS 03:27  |  TOBIA 31/10/07
      62.   He` s found the ONE WAY that Israel can alienate world Jewry. 04:02  |  sk 31/10/07
      63.   #35, Damn Well We Do 06:02  |  Eli 31/10/07
      64.   Stable doors 08:09  |  Liz 31/10/07
      65.   to NB: Don?t waste your energy 13:39  |  Puhi 31/10/07
      66.   RACIST LAW = NO EQUALITY to # 5 14:01  |  BUMISA 31/10/07
      67.   Russian jews 15:45  |  Moshe 31/10/07
      68.   Sheetrit is ignorant Israel is = KKL 16:46  |  Daniel 31/10/07
      69.   Kol Ha Kavod Moshe remember Ahavat Israel 16:52  |  Daniel 31/10/07
      70.   Jews and Affirmative Action 22:08  |  Cyclops 31/10/07
      71.   Sheetrit suggests national and religious suicide! 08:13  |  Nigel 01/11/07
      72.   sam 16:55  |  miri tzivya 01/11/07