Jerusalem (CNN) -- The Israeli Cabinet has approved an amendment to a citizenship law that requires new citizens to declare their loyalty to a "Jewish and democratic state," the prime minister's office said Sunday.
A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed vote, saying 22 ministers voted for the change and eight voted against it.
Now that the proposal has passed the Cabinet, it will be taken up by Israel's parliament, the Knesset, for passage into law.
Before his government's weekly Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu made a forceful plea Sunday for changing the nation's Citizenship Law. He challenged criticism that the revision is undemocratic and could harm relations with the minority Arab population.
Netanyahu cited the nation's Declaration of Independence, which says Israel is both the "national state of the Jewish people" and a democratic state "in which all its citizens -- Jewish and non-Jewish -- enjoy fully equal rights".
"Democracy is the soul of Israel and we cannot do without it," Netanyahu said, according to a statement from his media adviser.
CNN
