Written like a true Zionist.There is nothing secular about the 1947 state of Israel and increasingly, very little that is democratic. The article didn't mention the Arabs who were forced to flee in the face of armed violence. nor does it mention the rights of those people expelled to return to this land of milk and honey.
Through the modern medium of Television, the world can now see with their own eyes, the brutality of this pariah state that holds no respect for human life , can shoot children who come too close to the wall they have created, can kill Arab farmers tending their farms, defy United Nations resolutions calling for a cessation to settlement expansion and by virtue of their infiltration into the Congress of the United States, determine foreign policy of the U.S.to ensure there will be no peaceful settlement or viable Palestinian State.
Hopefully, the Jewish people world wide will reject Zionism in favour of a truly Secular State that is not exclusively Jewish, where all faiths will live in harmony

Whilst I generally agree with the writer's comment despite my concerns regarding the good will of Israel to anyone but themselves, does the writer imply that it now OK for countries to require new citizens to swear loyalty to, for example, "Australia, an Anglo-Saxon, Church of England, democratic state"?

"In actual fact, Israel enshrines full legal and human rights to all of its citizens in its Declaration of Independence, the document on which Israel was founded as a Jewish state and the basis of Israeli constitutional law."

http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/Guide%20to%20the%20Peace%20Process/Declaration%20of%20Establishment%20of%20State%20of%20Israel

Israel doesn't have a constitution, 62 years after its 'Declaration of Establishment' promised one would be "be adopted by the Elected Constituent Assembly not later than the 1st October 1948."

Neither are equal rights for all citizens enshrined in existing Israeli law. Israel is an apartheid entity, where Palestinian Israelis are second class citizens. The new 'loyalty oath' is discriminatory and abhorrent. Israel can be jewish or democratic, but not both.

Neither are the holy places of all religions protected as the Declaration promised. Only jewish holy places are protected by Israeli law.

Nor does Israel provide real freedom of religion - only marriages conducted by orthodox jewish rabbis are recognised as legal. There is no provision for interfaith marriages, same-sex marriages or civil marriage in Israel.

Nor is education provided on a basis of equality - non-jewish children are discriminated against, with less than 60% of state funding delivered to their needs in comparison to funding of education of jewish children.

http://mazinx.wordpress.com/discrimination-against-palestinian-arab-children-in-israels-schools/

Housing is another area where discrimination against non-jews is rampant.

'An individual can no longer purchase land, build a home or even rent an apartment in small communities in which the absorption committee opposes their presence. According to Adalah - the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, the law will "protect" 68.3 percent of all communities in Israel from being "stained."'

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/south-africa-is-already-here-1.322052

Read about 10 other discriminatory laws enacted by the Israeli entity.

http://www.adalah.org/eng/10.php

Equal rights for all citizens are non-negotiable for civilised democracies. It's way past time Israel started behaving like a civilised democracy.

As much as I condemn all that has taken place in Israel and continues to take place I still advocate the pledge of loyalty with severe penalties if the act is broached. The sooner this act is passed in all parliaments in Europe, the USA and Australia the safer we all will be. Any breaches will incur immediate expulsion.
socratease

I still don't understand what the term 'Jewish State' means.If someone proposed an oath of loyalty to Australia as an 'Anglo-Celtic' or 'Christian' state,there were be outrage and (justifiably) accusations of 'racism' and religious bigotry.
Many of those democracies listed by the author do indeed discriminate against ethnic and religious minorities, Turkey is the most notorious example,ask the Armenians. The Roma are persecuted in many areas of Europe. Of course the Japanese don't have many ethnic or religious conflict because they effectively restrict immigration to ethnic Japanese.

"While the Palestinians tend to argue that all of Palestine belongs to them and Jews are foreign invaders", well they are, although it's far to late for most Palestinians to recover their lost patrimony.
As usual there's the special pleading- Jews have a unique historical connection with the area of Biblical Israel, no they don't. All history is a record of migrations and invasions, we all have a billion ancestors.

The oath of loyalty seems like some kind of fall-back position,has someone seen the writing on the wall?

Pull the other one Daniel.

David