Otzma Yehudit faction chairman MK Yitzhak Kreuzer has filed the party’s first bill in the 26th Knesset, requiring every citizen who wishes to vote, and every Knesset member, to declare loyalty to the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.
Under the proposal, dubbed “No loyalty, no vote,” anyone arriving at a polling station would have to sign a declaration affirming loyalty to Israel as a Jewish and democratic state as a condition for casting a ballot. Those who refuse would be barred from voting. According to Kikar HaShabbat, similar demands have been raised in the past, but this is the first bill to apply the loyalty principle to voters themselves.
The bill would also amend the oath of allegiance taken by Knesset members. An MK who refuses to declare loyalty to Israel as a Jewish and democratic state would be barred from participating and voting in plenum and committee sessions, and would lose the salary and benefits that come with the position. If the MK still has not made the declaration by a set deadline, their Knesset membership would end.
“The reality in which supporters of terror can influence the State of Israel is a dangerous one,” Kreuzer said. “Nineteen of them have already been elected and can stand at the Knesset podium, praise enemies, work against the state and then demand the right to determine its future. Whoever cannot declare loyalty should not vote and should not serve in the Knesset.”
Otzma Yehudit chairman and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir backed the bill. “It cannot be that someone who refuses to recognize the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state will determine its future,” he said. “Whoever wants to vote and be elected to the Knesset should first declare loyalty to the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.”
Israel has passed narrower loyalty requirements before. In 2010, the government amended the Citizenship Law to require naturalized citizens to pledge loyalty to Israel “as a Jewish and democratic state,” and in 2023 the Knesset passed a law requiring diplomats to take a similar oath. Proposals to apply such a requirement to MKs, or to citizens seeking ID cards and passports, have previously been filed but did not become law.
Critics of such proposals, including the Israel Democracy Institute, have argued that they would mainly target Arab citizens. They have also noted that loyalty oaths could pose a problem for non-Zionist chareidim, some of whom understand the phrase “Jewish and democratic state” as a reference to a Zionist state.
The bill’s prospects appear slim. Netanyahu’s bloc, which includes Otzma Yehudit, is expected to be in the minority in the new Knesset.
