Many Israelis' dual citizenship makes entry ban harder to enforce

KUALA LUMPUR: One common question raised by many Malaysians on social media following allegations that Israelis had participated in the Network School in Johor Bahru is how they could have entered the country.

There have also been angry comments that the authorities had not done their work. From the remarks made, one can conclude that these netizens are unaware that many Israelis hold dual citizenship.

There is no official count of how many Israelis hold dual citizenship or a second passport, but the reality is Israel allows dual citizenship in many circumstances.

The Tel Aviv government claims that it does not maintain or publish a comprehensive registry of citizens' other nationalities.

But from reports, a commonly cited estimate is that around 10 per cent of Israeli citizens hold another citizenship, which would be roughly one million people based on Israel's current population. However, this is a reported estimate rather than an official statistic.

The Network School, an international co-living and co-working tech commune located in Forest City, Johor Bahru, has been in the news, following allegations of Israeli participation.

Silicon Valley investor Balaji Srinivasan founded and operates this "startup society'' for digital nomads and developers.

Following the crackdown, Balaji has reportedly said the planned RM500 million expansion in Malaysia is now on hold.

In a lengthy post on social media platform X, he directed barbs at activist group Malaysia Protest 4 Palestine (MP4P), which had cited the presence of Israeli content creator Nusier Yassin, better known as Nas Daily.

The media has reported that Israeli-Palestinian vlogger Nas Daily had in 2022 said he managed to enter Malaysia despite the ban by entering Johor Bahru via Singapore using a Saint Kitts and Nevis passport.

An academic study by Yossi Harpaz estimated that around 344,000 Israelis held citizenship of a European Union country (based on 2019 data), though that did not include all dual nationals.

The most common second citizenship is generally believed to be that of the United States - often considered the largest single group, with estimates suggesting that more than 200,000 Israeli-American dual citizens live in Israel.

We can assume that the figures did not include Jews who were born in the US or whose ancestors had migrated to the US earlier.

The other countries where Israelis reportedly hold citizenship are France, reflecting decades of immigration; Russia, said to be due to the large wave of immigration from the former Soviet Union beginning in the 1990s; and the United Kingdom, through immigration and descent.

Other commonly held second citizenships include those of Poland, Romania, Hungary, Portugal, Argentina, South Africa, Australia and Ethiopia, depending on family origin and immigration history.

Reports quoting academic research and polling said that in the US, there are more than 200,000 Israelis holding dual American citizenship.

Online reports quoting the Middle East Eye said Israeli military data indicates that over 50,000 active duty personnel hold foreign passports, primarily from the US, Russia, France, the UK and Ukraine.

In short, there is nothing to stop any Israeli holding these foreign passports from coming into Malaysia.

Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban has said a total of 256 foreigners from 40 countries inspected in relation to Network School hold social visit passes while another 10 have professional visit passes under the nomad category.

He said the 10 nomad pass holders comprised four US citizens, three Russians, two Australians and one Indian.

Zakaria said his department had yet to find evidence that Israeli nationals were present at Network School, but would continue its investigations and share its findings with other agencies.

It would not be easy to detect Israeli presence as there is no official public list of Israeli citizens who also hold US passports, and for many public figures, citizenship status is private.

Malaysians, both Muslim and Christian pilgrims, who have visited Jerusalem, with approval from our Home Ministry and Immigration, would have surely met many Israelis who speak in an American accent and admit to holding American passports.

Another common sight in Jerusalem is that these Israelis proudly put up billboards that proclaim JerUSAlem to show its American ties.

The controversy certainly needs to be handled properly and amicably as Malaysia welcomes investments and talent. At the same time, the country would not tolerate any form of disrespect or threat from anyone. More importantly, Malaysia's position against Israel is clear and well known, and we make no apologies. – Bernama

Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai is the chairman of BERNAMA and a National Journalism Laureate