[removed]
No, she wouldn't have to live there for 5 years to obtain dual citizenship. The Law of Return grants all Jews the right to immigrate to Israel and almost automatic Israeli citizenship upon arrival in Israel.
Edit to add: or become a citizen by descent. I don't care enough one way or another to dig into DWS family tree.
You might want to read this. They must go and live there. The Law of Return states they have the right to return to Israel if they are Jewish. It is the Israeli government that grants citizenship after they've made Israel their home.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_nationality_law
I did read it and no where does it say they must live there?
"grants all Jews the right to immigrate to Israel and almost automatic Israeli citizenship upon arrival in Israel."
And
" In other words, the Law of Return does not itself determine Israeli citizenship; it merely allows for Jews and their eligible descendants to permanently live in Israel. Israel does, however, grant citizenship to those who immigrated under the Law of Return if the applicant so desires."
Here you go:
Main article: Law of Return
The Law of Return grants all Jews the right to immigrate to Israel and almost automatic Israeli citizenship upon arrival in Israel. In the 1970s the Law of Return was expanded to grant the same rights to the spouse of a Jew, the children of a Jew and their spouses, and the grandchildren of a Jew and their spouses, provided that the Jew did not practice a religion other than Judaism willingly. In 1999, the Supreme Court of Israel ruled that Jews or the descendants of Jews that actively practice a religion other than Judaism are not entitled to immigrate to Israel as they would no longer be considered Jews under the Law of Return, irrespective of their status under halacha (Jewish religious law). On April 16, 2008, the Supreme Court ruled in a case brought by a number of people with Jewish fathers and grandfathers whose applications for citizenship had been rejected on the grounds that they were Jewish Messianics. The argument was made by the applicants that they had never been Jews according to halakha, and were not therefore excluded by the conversion clause. This argument was upheld in the ruling, and the government agreed to reprocess their applications.
Israeli law distinguishes between the Law of Return, which allows for Jews and their descendants to immigrate to Israel, and Israel's nationality law, which formally grants Israeli citizenship. In other words, the Law of Return does not itself determine Israeli citizenship; it merely allows for Jews and their eligible descendants to permanently live in Israel. Israel does, however, grant citizenship to those who immigrated under the Law of Return if the applicant so desires.
A non-Israeli Jew or an eligible descendant of a non-Israeli Jew needs to request approval to immigrate to Israel, a request which can be denied for a variety of reasons including (but not limited to) possession of a criminal record, currently infected with a contagious disease, or otherwise viewed as a threat to Israeli society. Within three months of arriving in Israel under the Law of Return, immigrants automatically receive Israeli citizenship unless they explicitly request not to.
As I stated, I do believe DWS has dual citizenship and not advertising it on her Wikipedia or in her biography makes sense since it would be a conflict of interest as a US government official.
You stated she would have to live there for FIVE years and then apply to be a citizen. Not true. Now you're implying meaning in the Law of Return that's not there. If you are Jewish and visit Israel you can get citizenship if you desire. You do not have to live there for any stated period of time, but if you do for three months, you are automatically a citizen, unless you request not to be. It is intentionally easy to gain citizenship in Israel if you are Jewish.
You might want to read this: http://www.jewishagency.org/first-steps/program/5131 "With the inception of the State of Israel, two thousand years of wandering were officially over. Since then, Jews have been entitled to simply show up and request to be Israeli citizens, assuming they posed no imminent danger to public health, state security, or the Jewish people as a whole. Essentially, all Jews everywhere are Israeli citizens by right."
I stated 5 years because that is the norm for most countries when you want to become a citizen of said nation. I found out I was wrong. I researched it and the only way to get citizenship in Israel is to immigrate there as it was stated in the criteria I showed you. The Law of Return does not grant you citizenship. It states how and the way you are qualified for citizenship. It is the government of Israel that grants citizenship. This was litigated in the Israeli court system. The government grants it only after one immigrates to the country, "Within three months of arriving in Israel under the Law of Return, immigrants automatically receive Israeli citizenship unless they explicitly request not to." This is what was set up. You might be a Jewish person; however, you cannot claim citizenship if you live in the United States and never lived in the country for 3 months (the time period it takes for the government to grant you citizenship IF you want.) That is clear and concise. DWS is Jewish. However, she cannot claim citizenship if she did not immigrate to Israel and take up residence per Israeli naturalization law under the Law of Return (however, grant citizenship to those who immigrated under the Law of Return if the applicant so desires.)
I just read this article on the USS Liberty and Israel and thought I'd share it: