Government bill · 25th Knesset · published as law 14 June 2023
חוק הדרכונים (תיקון מס' 10), התשפ"ג-2023Passports Law (Amendment No. 10), 2023 · automatic translation · suggest a correction
Status: התקבלה בקריאה שלישית
Topics: Aliyah, citizenship and immigration* · * from the Knesset's official law classification
Official summary of the law (Knesset)
The Amendment authorizes the Minister of Interior to refuse to grant an Israeli passport to an immigrant who has not yet settled in Israel. Instead of a passport, the Minister of Interior may grant him a travel document. In doing so, the Amendment restores the situation to what it was until 2017.
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Hebrew original
התיקון מסמיך את שר הפנים לסרב להעניק דרכון ישראלי לעולה אשר טרם השתקע בישראל. במקום דרכון, יוכל שר הפנים להעניק לו תעודת מעבר. בכך, משיב התיקון את המצב לקדמותו כפי שהיה עד 2017.
Sponsors
Readings
- 29 May 2023 · First readingהצעת חוק הדרכונים (תיקון מס' 10), התשפ"ג-2023Passports Bill (Amendment No. 10), 2023autoBill passed first reading31 for · 24 against
- 13 June 2023 · Third readingהצעת חוק הדרכונים (תיקון מס' 10), התשפ"ג-2023Passports Bill (Amendment No. 10), 2023autoLaw passed31 for · 25 against
What was said in the plenum
The law cancels Amendment No. 9 from 2017 and restores to the Minister of Interior the authority to refuse to issue a first Israeli passport to an immigrant who received citizenship under the Law of Return but has not yet settled in Israel, so that instead of a passport they will be given a travel document until their settlement is proven. The debate revolved around the question of whether there is a substantive, statistical, and security-based justification for returning to the previous situation, or whether this constitutes discriminatory and unjustified harm to new immigrants stemming from political considerations.
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Hebrew original
החוק מבטל את תיקון מס' 9 משנת 2017 ומשיב לשר הפנים את הסמכות לסרב לתת דרכון ישראלי ראשון לעולה שקיבל אזרחות מכוח חוק השבות אך טרם השתקע בישראל, כך שבמקום דרכון יינתן לו תעודת מעבר עד שתוכח השתקעותו. הדיון נסב סביב השאלה האם יש הצדקה עניינית, סטטיסטית וביטחונית לחזרה למצב הקודם, או שמדובר בפגיעה מפלה ובלתי מוצדקת בעולים חדשים הנובעת משיקולים פוליטיים.
Arguments for
- Amendment No. 9 enabled a widespread phenomenon of exploiting immediate citizenship granted under the Law of Return solely to obtain an Israeli passport, without any other real connection to the state, and therefore the previous situation should be restored.Yariv Levin (Likud), Yaakov Asher (United Torah Judaism)
- Granting an immediate passport to immigrants who have not yet settled harms the strength and prestige of the Israeli passport and may affect the possibility of visa-free entry into countries that recognize the Israeli passport, including the United States.
- Security officials expressed concern that the existing situation could allow abuse of the Law of Return to obtain an Israeli passport by elements seeking to harm state security.Yariv Levin (Likud)
- The law is not directed against any particular group of immigrants but applies equally to immigrants from all countries, and does not express a negative attitude toward genuine immigrants seeking to settle in Israel.Yaakov Asher (United Torah Judaism)
Arguments against
- The data presented in the Interior Committee show that the immigrant settlement rate remained almost identical before and after Amendment No. 9, and therefore there is no factual basis for the claim that granting an immediate passport caused a fictitious 'passport wave of immigration.'Oded Forer (Yisrael Beytenu), Zeev Elkin (National Unity)
- The law creates discrimination between citizens: on one hand, a child born abroad to Israeli parents who has never visited Israel receives a passport automatically, while on the other hand, a new immigrant who has actually settled is required to wait and prove themselves like a 'suspect'.Zeev Elkin (National Unity)
- Denying a passport harms the essential and everyday needs of immigrants and their families - managing businesses, caring for elderly parents abroad, participating in professional conferences - and leads to the splitting of families and even to Jewish families giving up on immigrating to Israel.Vladimir Beliak (Yesh Atid), Tatiana Mazarsky (Yesh Atid)
- The law is part of a broader trend of harm and hostility toward immigrants, mainly from the Commonwealth of Independent States, including offensive statements by ministers, cuts to absorption budgets, long lines for ulpanim, and bureaucratic difficulties, which harm the ethos of immigration to the State of Israel.
- This is an exceptional repeal of a law that the current coalition itself enacted and supported six years ago, without a substantive explanation for the change in position, which indicates that this is a political-personal motive rather than the public interest.Zeev Elkin (National Unity), Evgeny Sova (Yisrael Beytenu)
Who spoke (11)
| Member | Faction | Readings | Speeches | In the final vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yariv Levin | Likud coalition | First reading | 1 | no record |
| Yaakov Asher | United Torah Judaism coalition | Third reading | 1 | no record |
| Vladimir Beliak | Yesh Atid opposition | Third reading | 1 | against |
| Tatiana Mazarsky | Yesh Atid opposition | Third reading | 1 | against |
| Merav Ben Ari | Yesh Atid opposition | Third reading | 1 | against |
| Alon Schuster | National Unity opposition | Third reading | 1 | against |
| Oded Forer | Yisrael Beytenu opposition | Third reading | 1 | against |
| Yulia Malinovsky | Yisrael Beytenu opposition | Third reading | 1 | against |
| Zeev Elkin | National Unity opposition | Third reading | 1 | against |
| Evgeny Sova | Yisrael Beytenu opposition | Third reading | 1 | against |
| Erez Malul | Shas coalition | Third reading | 1 | for |
An automatic summary of the plenum transcripts: the debate on the bill at every reading it was voted on. Arguments are given as the speakers made them; this is not an assessment. The list of speakers comes from the transcript, without a model. Transcripts of the sittings: 1, 2 · write to the author
Reservations to the second reading
12 reservations were filed: proposed changes to the text the committee brought to the second and third reading.
The reservations were intended to delete or change the main provisions of the Amendment to the Passports Law, including canceling the new restrictions on issuing and extending passports to those who received citizenship under the Law of Return, and adding government reporting and oversight requirements to the Knesset regarding the law's implementation.
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Hebrew original
ההסתייגויות נועדו למחוק או לשנות את עיקרי התיקון לחוק הדרכונים, ובכלל זה לבטל את ההגבלות החדשות על מתן והארכת דרכונים למי שקיבל אזרחות לפי חוק השבות, ולהוסיף חובות דיווח ופיקוח של הממשלה על הכנסת בנוגע ליישום החוק.
By faction
- National Unity opposition · 12 reservations · 12 members
- Labor opposition · 12 reservations · 4 members
- Yesh Atid opposition · 12 reservations · 24 members
- Yisrael Beytenu opposition · 12 reservations · 6 members
A joint reservation counts for every faction whose members filed it.
Who proposed what
- קבוצת יש עתיד · 12The Yesh Atid group proposed deleting or softening the law's clauses and canceling the restrictive conditions for obtaining a passport and extending its validity for those who received citizenship under the Law of Return, and adding parliamentary reporting and oversight mechanisms for the law's implementation.Sections: לפני סעיף 1, לסעיף 1, לסעיף 2, לסעיף 3, לאחרי סעיף 3Yair Lapid, Orna Barbivay, Meir Cohen, Karine Elharrar, Meirav Cohen, Elazar Stern, Mickey Levy, Merav Ben Ari, Ram Ben Barak, Yoav Segalovitz, Boaz Toporovsky, Michal Shir Segman, Idan Roll, Yorai Lahav Hertzanu, Vladimir Beliak, Ron Katz, Matti Sarfatti Harcavi, Tatiana Mazarsky, Yasmin Fridman, Debbie Biton, Moshe Turpaz, Simon Davidson, Naor Shiri, Shelly Tal Meron
- קבוצת המחנה הממלכתי · 12The State Camp group proposed deleting or softening the law's clauses and canceling the restrictive conditions for receiving a passport and extending its validity for those who received citizenship under the Law of Return, and adding reporting mechanisms and parliamentary oversight of the law's implementation.Sections: לפני סעיף 1, לסעיף 1, לסעיף 2, לסעיף 3, לאחרי סעיף 3
- קבוצת ישראל ביתנו · 12The Yisrael Beiteinu group proposed deleting or softening the law's clauses and canceling the restrictive conditions for receiving a passport and extending its validity for those who received citizenship under the Law of Return, and adding reporting mechanisms and parliamentary oversight of the law's implementation.Sections: לפני סעיף 1, לסעיף 1, לסעיף 2, לסעיף 3, לאחרי סעיף 3
- קבוצת העבודה · 12The Labor group proposed deleting or softening the law's clauses and canceling the restrictive conditions for receiving a passport and extending its validity for those who received citizenship under the Law of Return, and adding reporting mechanisms and parliamentary oversight of the law's implementation.Sections: לפני סעיף 1, לסעיף 1, לסעיף 2, לסעיף 3, לאחרי סעיף 3
Asked to speak: Ayman Odeh (Hadash–Ta'al), Ahmad Tibi (Hadash–Ta'al), Aida Touma Sliman (Hadash–Ta'al), Ofer Cassif (Hadash–Ta'al), Youssef Atauna (Hadash–Ta'al)
Proposers and reservation numbers are extracted automatically from the committee version, and the count is checked against the numbers printed in it. The descriptions are an automatic summary. Committee version for the second and third reading (PDF) · write to the author
Reservations, sections and other votes (15)
In order. Votes on reservations and individual sections are shown separately from the vote on the bill as a whole.
- 13 June 2023 · Second reading · הסתייגות 1הצעת חוק הדרכונים (תיקון מס' 10), התשפ"ג-2023Passports Bill (Amendment No. 10), 2023auto25 for · 31 againstVote on a reservation (amendment)
- 13 June 2023 · Second reading · הסתייגות מס' 2הצעת חוק הדרכונים (תיקון מס' 10), התשפ"ג-2023Passports Bill (Amendment No. 10), 2023auto25 for · 31 againstVote on a reservation (amendment)
- 13 June 2023 · Second reading · סעיף 1הצעת חוק הדרכונים (תיקון מס' 10), התשפ"ג-2023Passports Bill (Amendment No. 10), 2023auto31 for · 25 againstVote on sections of the bill
- 13 June 2023 · Second reading · הסתייגות מס' 3הצעת חוק הדרכונים (תיקון מס' 10), התשפ"ג-2023Passports Bill (Amendment No. 10), 2023auto25 for · 31 againstVote on a reservation (amendment)
- 13 June 2023 · Second reading · סעיף 2הצעת חוק הדרכונים (תיקון מס' 10), התשפ"ג-2023Passports Bill (Amendment No. 10), 2023auto31 for · 25 againstVote on sections of the bill
- 13 June 2023 · Second reading · הסתייגות 4הצעת חוק הדרכונים (תיקון מס' 10), התשפ"ג-2023Passports Bill (Amendment No. 10), 2023auto25 for · 31 againstVote on a reservation (amendment)
- 13 June 2023 · Second reading · סעיף 3הצעת חוק הדרכונים (תיקון מס' 10), התשפ"ג-2023Passports Bill (Amendment No. 10), 2023auto31 for · 25 againstVote on sections of the bill
- 13 June 2023 · Second reading · הסתייגות 5הצעת חוק הדרכונים (תיקון מס' 10), התשפ"ג-2023Passports Bill (Amendment No. 10), 2023auto25 for · 31 againstVote on a reservation (amendment)
- 13 June 2023 · Second reading · הסתייגות 6הצעת חוק הדרכונים (תיקון מס' 10), התשפ"ג-2023Passports Bill (Amendment No. 10), 2023auto25 for · 31 againstVote on a reservation (amendment)
- 13 June 2023 · Second reading · הסתייגות 7הצעת חוק הדרכונים (תיקון מס' 10), התשפ"ג-2023Passports Bill (Amendment No. 10), 2023auto25 for · 31 againstVote on a reservation (amendment)
- 13 June 2023 · Second reading · הסתייגות 8הצעת חוק הדרכונים (תיקון מס' 10), התשפ"ג-2023Passports Bill (Amendment No. 10), 2023auto25 for · 31 againstVote on a reservation (amendment)
- 13 June 2023 · Second reading · הסתייגות 9הצעת חוק הדרכונים (תיקון מס' 10), התשפ"ג-2023Passports Bill (Amendment No. 10), 2023auto25 for · 31 againstVote on a reservation (amendment)
- 13 June 2023 · Second reading · הסתייגות 10הצעת חוק הדרכונים (תיקון מס' 10), התשפ"ג-2023Passports Bill (Amendment No. 10), 2023auto24 for · 31 againstVote on a reservation (amendment)
- 13 June 2023 · Second reading · הסתייגות 11הצעת חוק הדרכונים (תיקון מס' 10), התשפ"ג-2023Passports Bill (Amendment No. 10), 2023auto25 for · 31 againstVote on a reservation (amendment)
- 13 June 2023 · Second reading · הסתייגות 12הצעת חוק הדרכונים (תיקון מס' 10), התשפ"ג-2023Passports Bill (Amendment No. 10), 2023auto25 for · 31 againstVote on a reservation (amendment)