Sunday, October 24, 2010
[The following, by Eamonn McDonagh, is crossposted from Z Word.]
Israel's Law of Return is sometimes held to be racist because it confers the right to citizenship on Jews born outside Israel who may have had no previous connection with it. In posts on this blog I've often made the counterargument that many countries offer privileges to members of their diaspora when it comes to obtaining citizenship and in this regard I've pointed to the example of Ireland, of which I myself am a citizen, and stated that having just one Irish grandparent entitles any good-for-nothing from Buenos Aires or Brooklyn to an Irish passport.
Well, I've now found that while that's perfectly true, the right to citizenship conferred by Irish law on those of Irish blood in other countries is actually much more extensive than I had thought. Have a look at this website - it's an official Irish government website so I think we can take what it says seriously - and in particular note this,
Citizenship through descent from Irish grandparents
If one of your grandparents is an Irish citizen but none of your parents was born in Ireland, you may become an Irish citizen. You will need to have your birth registered in the Foreign Births Register.
If you are entitled to register, your Irish citizenship is effective from the date of registration. The Irish citizenship of successive generations may be maintained in this way by each generation ensuring their registration in the Foreign Births Register before the birth of the next generation.
Unless there's something here I don't understand, this would appear to mean that the right to claim Irish citizenship and the condition of citizenship itself don't stop at the one grandparent level. They can be maintained indefinitely by people living overseas who were neither born in Ireland nor have any connection with it other than a single Irish grandparent or great grandparent or great great grandparent or great great great grandparent and so on across the generations.
All they have to do to confer this right on their children is to claim it for themselves before those children are born.
Hey Solomon,
Check out this at Booker Rising, the Black Conservative site.
AkBar Shabazz on Foreign Aid
Eric Cantor wants to get rid of aid for foreign countries. Says we cannot afford it. However, he wants to write an exemption so Israel won't be considered 'foreign' so we can still give them $30Billion in taxpayer money [over the next 10 years]. Gotta love dual-citizenship. No conflicts in loyalties!!!"
Mr. Shabazz continues his commentary: "If you are going to be against 'spending' or 'foreign aid' as a matter of principle, I'm not sure how giving them $30B of our money is consistent with that goal. Never used to hurt us? What about spying on us? USS Liberty etc? Clearly our blind support of their policies have cost us dearly in international standing as world leaders.
Eric Cantor wants to get rid of aid for foreign countries. Says we cannot afford it. However, he wants to write an exemption so Israel won't be considered 'foreign' so we can still give them $30Billion in taxpayer money [over the next 10 years]. Gotta love dual-citizenship. No conflicts in loyalties!!!"
Mr. Shabazz continues his commentary: "If you are going to be against 'spending' or 'foreign aid' as a matter of principle, I'm not sure how giving them $30B of our money is consistent with that goal. Never used to hurt us? What about spying on us? USS Liberty etc? Clearly our blind support of their policies have cost us dearly in international standing as world leaders.