Neo-Nazis soon to be stripped of Israeli citizenship?

Israel's parliament, the Knesset, is debating a bill that would allow the Interior ministry to reject citizenship applications for people engaged in neo-Nazi activities, or to strip them of Israeli citizenship. The bill sponsored by the opposition Shinui party was submitted following reports of non-Jewish Russian-speaking immigrants involved in neo-Nazi activity in Israel. The Justice ministry has been opposing the proposal on grounds that it is regarded as being "too extreme." Under international convention, Israel could not remove citizenship, thus leaving a person without nationality. Members of the Knesset's Immigration and Absorption committee recently demanded that neo-Nazis be deported from the country. The parliamentarians asked the government to examine whether it was legally possible to strip suspects of Israeli citizenship if they held another passport. According to a compromise proposal, any person seeking Israeli citizenship and caught engaging in Nazi activity would have the process halted. The government is to detail its position to the Knesset next week.