Procedure to revoke a person's citizenship on the basis of that citizenship having been obtained under false pretences; whether persons from the former Soviet Union have had their Israeli citizenship revoked for that reason [ISR36635.E]

On 14 March 2001 an official at the Embassy of Israel in Ottawa stated the following:

According to Israel's Nationality Law the Minister of the Interior is authorized to revoke the citizenship of a person if it is proven that the same person acquired his citizenship on the basis of false documentation. This procedure involves a written declaration by the Minister of Interior.
The Embassy has no knowledge of such cases.

On 26 March 2001 a representative of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) stated that:

The Citizenship Law of 1952, paragraph 11, details the process for canceling citizenship.
Section 11[c] states:
The Minister of the Interior is entitled to cancel the Israeli citizenship of a person if it is proven in his opinion that the citizenship was procured on the basis of false details. The Minister is entitled to determine that the citizenship cancellation apply also to that person's minor children.
Section 11[d] states:
Cancellation of Israeli citizenship according to subsections [b] or [c] above will be effected by notice from the Minister of the Interior and as of the day that the Minister sets forth in the notice.
In theory, the Ministry of the Interior should send a notice requesting a meeting with the individual whose citizenship is in question. At the meeting, the Ministry official would confront the individual with evidence that his or her citizenship was procured through the provision of false details. The individual should then be given the opportunity to respond to the charges. At this stage the Ministry of the Interior determines whether to cancel the individual's citizenship. The individual can appeal the decision to the Minister of the Interior, and ultimately before the Supreme Court.
In practice, it is unclear what process the Ministry actually follows. In some instances, rather than send the individual a notice, the Ministry has waited until the person comes to the Ministry for another reason and then the Ministry confronts the person with the notice and the evidence.
... there have been many instances in which a person's citizenship was revoked on the grounds that the person provided false documentation, and in many of these cases the individual has arrived in Israel from the former Soviet Union.

On 28 March 2001 a lawyer with the Society of St. Yves, a Catholic legal aid centre in Jerusalem, stated the following:

The procedure to revoke Israeli citizenship on the grounds that the person obtained his/her citizenship on the basis of false information is the following:
Section 11 (b) of the Law of Entering Israel from 1952 states:
"The Minister of the Interior has the power to revoke an Oleh visa and certificate that were given according to the Law of Return (1950), if they were obtained by providing false information."
Administrative proofs are sufficient even if they are only circumstantial. In other words a person can be stripped of his citizenship obtained according to the opinion of the Minister, by false information. [The Minister's] Opinion is sufficient, and there is no need to prove the allegations in court.

Please see below the attached copy of an Israeli Supreme Court ruling on an appeal against the revocation of Israeli citizenship by the Minister of the Interior.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References


Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), West Jerusalem. 26 March 2001. Correspondence.

Embassy of Israel, Ottawa. 14 March 2001. Correspondence.

Society of St. Yves: Catholic Human Rights Centre for Legal Resources and Development, Jerusalem. 28 March 2001. Correspondence.

Attachment


High Court of Justice 7070/99. 20 January 2000. "Ruling" (supplied by a lawyer from the Society of St. Yves on 28 March 2001) Electronic Attachment

High Court of Justice 7070/99. 20 January 2000. "Ruling" (supplied by a lawyer from the Society of St. Yves on 28 March 2001)