Israeli Culture Minister's Threat to Revoke Citizenship Faces Legal Hurdles

Following the film "Farha" winning a prestigious award at the Venice Film Festival, Israeli Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar launched a sharp attack against its creators. In a social media post, Zohar condemned what he called the "burning self-hatred of creators willing to harm their homeland to receive applause from the world's antisemites," labeling it "unfathomable and a betrayal of the country."

Zohar declared his intention to act immediately as Culture Minister to revoke the Israeli citizenship of the filmmakers, citing "betrayal of the country." However, legal experts note that the process for revoking citizenship is complex and does not grant the Culture Minister direct authority. The Israeli Citizenship Law allows for revocation under specific circumstances, including "an act that constitutes a breach of loyalty to the State of Israel." This can be interpreted as treason, which is defined in the Penal Law as acts aimed at harming state sovereignty, inciting military action against Israel, or aiding an enemy in wartime.

The law stipulates that the Minister of Interior, with the written consent of the Attorney General, must petition the Administrative Affairs Court to revoke citizenship for breach of loyalty. The Minister of Interior also must appoint a committee, headed by a retired judge, to advise on such requests. This process does not involve the Minister of Culture.

Israeli citizenship has been revoked for breach of loyalty only twice, in 2002, for members of Hamas and Hezbollah involved in severe security offenses. At that time, the authority rested with the Minister of Interior. Since 2008, when the authority shifted to the Administrative Affairs Court, two requests by Interior Ministers to revoke citizenship for breach of loyalty were denied by the Supreme Court.