Free Republic

Four representatives of the UN Human Rights Council are demanding clarifications from the Israeli government regarding the Nationality Law and the damage which, they claim, it is causing to the Arab minority in Israel. The representatives are demanding that the clarifications be received within 60 days, and have threatened to initiate a condemnation of Israel that will be put to a vote in the Human Rights Council. The Nationality Law, which was approved by the Knesset several months ago, states that Israel is the Jewish people’s nation state and establishes as law Israel’s flag, symbols, the Hebrew language, and various...

Member of Knesset, Zouheir Bahloul (Zionist Union) who announced that he would be resigning from the Knesset in in protest of the "nationality law" that passed, has also attacked his faction's leader, Avi Gabbay. "The weakest response was from the head of my party, who prayed for this moment, and I gave it to him on a gold platter," Bahloul told Israel Army Radio. "Gabbay was at least supposed to express regret...

'Not a single foreigner has yet been naturalised in Belgium under a law that came into force on 1 January 2013, it appears. The new rules require applicants to "have shown, or be able to show, outstanding services to Belgium" in fields such as science, sport or culture. "The effects of the new nationality law are significant," says the daily La Libre Belgique. In 2013, apparently not a single one of the 508 requests put to the lower house of parliament by 30 November is expected to be granted. The change in the law seems to have stopped many from...