Rightist MKs seek compulsory Zionism lessons in Israeli schools

The Ministerial Committee on Legislation is to discuss on Sunday a bill proposed by a group of Yisrael Beiteinu MKs to require Land of Israel studies and Zionism in Israel's official schools.

The bill, proposed by members of the faction in the last Knesset, would amend the State Education Law to require at least three hours a week of these studies.

Last month, the ministerial legislative committee rejected another Yisrael Beiteinu bill stating that those who wish to retain Israeli citizenship would have to declare their loyalty to Israel as a Jewish state.

The bill, put forth by MK David Rotem, stated that oath would include a pledge of loyalty to Israel as a Jewish, Zionist, and democratic state, to its emblems and values, and serving Israel either through military service or through any equivalent alternatives.

The proposal was central in his election campaign last February, in which the party finished a strong third by playing on the perceived disloyalty of Israel's Arab citizens, roughly one-fifth of the population.