Was Golda Meir a US Citizen?
Michael Shimshoni
Efr...@ix.netcom.com (Roger Froikin) writes:
>>Help!! My son was doing a 7th grade history class project on famous
>>American immigrants. One person he cited was Golda Meir (she came to
>the
>
>Golda Meir was an American Citizen. Until Israel was a State she
>travelled on American documents as well.
>
>When she took Israeli citizenship, she never formally renounced her US
>citizenship, but as a naturalized US citizen, she would have lost her
>citizenship by accepting a new citizenship subsequent to the US one.
I am not familiar with the US law but I know for a fact that quite a
lot of Olim from US hold double citizenship. At another posting on
this subject I stated that when Golda died she was not holding US
citizenship. This I based on the Israeli law which forbids anyone who
is holding a foreign citizenship to be a member of the Knesset.
Roger stresses the point that as a "naturalized" US citizen Golda
would have lost her US citizenship (unlike born as US citizens). I
think that I remember that there used to be a difference between US
citizens from birth and naturalized ones who went back to their
country of birth for some specified length of time and by some law
lost thus their naturalization status. This was brought before the US
Supreme Court, and declared unconstitutional as it creates two types
of US citizens. Please do not ask me how come a naturalized citizen
cannot become President. I am no lawyer, but most likely this is
because that presidential candidate law is part of the constitution
itself. Any lawyers around?
BTW I have you noticed the term "naturalized" for becoming an
American? It just ain't natural not to be American. What a cruel
world.
Michael Shimshoni
Janice Gelb
>In: <3ei05h$e...@ixnews2.ix.netcom.com>
>Efr...@ix.netcom.com (Roger Froikin) writes:
>
>>
>>When she took Israeli citizenship, she never formally renounced her US
>>citizenship, but as a naturalized US citizen, she would have lost her
>>citizenship by accepting a new citizenship subsequent to the US one.
>
>I am not familiar with the US law but I know for a fact that quite a
>lot of Olim from US hold double citizenship.
US law says that you lose your American citizenship by taking a positive
step to acquire a different country's citizenship. The Law of Return does
not require you to do anything active to get Israeli citizenship, and
even draft notices for olim are worded in such a way as not to require
an active request by the inductee. That's why dual Israeli/US citizenship
is possible.
>
>At another posting on
>this subject I stated that when Golda died she was not holding US
>citizenship. This I based on the Israeli law which forbids anyone who
>is holding a foreign citizenship to be a member of the Knesset.
>
This was also an issue for Moshe Arens, who had to renounce his American
citizenship when he joined the Knesset.
********************************************************************************
Janice Gelb | The only connection Sun has with this
jan...@marvin.eng.sun.com | message is the return address.
"Life is something to do when you can't get to sleep."
-- Fran Lebowitz, _Metropolitan Life_
********************************************************************************
Art Kamlet
Michael Shimshoni <MA...@WEIZMANN.weizmann.ac.il> wrote:
>of US citizens. Please do not ask me how come a naturalized citizen
>cannot become President. I am no lawyer, but most likely this is
>because that presidential candidate law is part of the constitution
>itself. Any lawyers around?
I'm certainly not a lawyer. But the answer is, as you guessed, in
the constitution, selected portions of which are shown below:
The Constitution of the United States
-------------------------------------
Preamble.
We the People of the United States, in order to
form a more perfect Union,
establish justice,
insure domestic tranquility,
provide for the common defence,
promote the general welfare,
and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity,
do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Article I.
Section 2.
2. No person shall be a Representative who shall not have
attained to the age of twenty-five years
and been seven years a citizen of the United States,
Section 3.
3. No person shall be a Senator who shall not have
attained to the age of thirty years,
and been nine years a citizen of the United States,
Article II.
Section 1.
5. No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States,
at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to
the office of President;
neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have
attained to the age of thirty-five years and
been fourteen years a resident within the United States.
----------------------------------------------------------------
I'm sure a while book of midrashim can be written on why age is
mentioned before citizenship for representatives and senators, but
the reverse order for president
----------------------------------------------------------------
natural born citizens are not the same as naturalized citizens.
about 30 years ago George Romney, who had been president of
American Motors, entered the primaries for president, but he had
not been born within the United States. However, his parents were
both US citizens when he was born, and registered him with the
local US Embassy, and somehow that made him a natural born citizen.
--
Art Kamlet AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus a.s.k...@att.com
Yigal Arens
Kamlet) wrote:
> 5. No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States,
> at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to
> the office of President;
> . . .
> natural born citizens are not the same as naturalized citizens.
>
> about 30 years ago George Romney, who had been president of
> American Motors, entered the primaries for president, but he had
> not been born within the United States. However, his parents were
> both US citizens when he was born, and registered him with the
> local US Embassy, and somehow that made him a natural born citizen.
My understanding is that "natural born citizen" means a citizen from
birth. So a person born abroad to two American citizens qualifies.
Yigal
--
Yigal Arens I believe in luck: how else can you explain
USC/ISI the success of those you dislike?
ar...@isi.edu -- Jean Cocteau
Michael Shimshoni
>>Help!! My son was doing a 7th grade history class project on famous
>>American immigrants. One person he cited was Golda Meir (she came to
>the
>
>Golda Meir was an American Citizen. Until Israel was a State she
>travelled on American documents as well.
>
>When she took Israeli citizenship, she never formally renounced her US
>citizenship, but as a naturalized US citizen, she would have lost her
>citizenship by accepting a new citizenship subsequent to the US one.
I am not familiar with the US law but I know for a fact that quite a
lot of Olim from US hold double citizenship. At another posting on
this subject I stated that when Golda died she was not holding US
citizenship. This I based on the Israeli law which forbids anyone who
is holding a foreign citizenship to be a member of the Knesset.
Roger stresses the point that as a "naturalized" US citizen Golda
would have lost her US citizenship (unlike born as US citizens). I
think that I remember that there used to be a difference between US
citizens from birth and naturalized ones who went back to their
country of birth for some specified length of time and by some law
lost thus their naturalization status. This was brought before the US
Supreme Court, and declared unconstitutional as it creates two types
of US citizens. Please do not ask me how come a naturalized citizen
cannot become President. I am no lawyer, but most likely this is
because that presidential candidate law is part of the constitution
itself. Any lawyers around?
BTW I have you noticed the term "naturalized" for becoming an
Joshua Weintraub
> In any case, the US Embassies will register births to US Citizens
> who happen to be in other countries at time of birth. I have to
> wonder why, if a person born abroad to US Citizens is already a
> citizen from birth?
> --
From my understanding as someone who spent much of her
youth abroad if you are not registered, then you are only a half
citizen. Meaning if you come to the U.S then all your rights are
automatic, but if you stay abroad, are never registered, and then
have children abroad, they do not recieve citizenship.
This way generations of people whos grandparents happened to
be Americans can not come to the U.S and claim citizenship.
*************************************************************
*Joshua Weintraub |Every man has a right to utter what *
* |he thinks truth, and every other man*
*ta-...@columbia.edu |has a right to knock him down for it*
* | -Samuel Johnson *
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