Following Adalah's Petition: Court Allows Dr. Yakoub Halabi to Change his Nationality from “Druze” to “Arab” in the Population Registry for Citizens of Israel

On 14 February 2011, the Haifa District Court delivered a decision confirming that Dr. Yaboub Halabi must be allowed to change his nationality from “Druze” to “Arab” in the Ministry of the Interior's Population Registry for citizens of Israel. The decision came in response to a petition filed by Adalah on behalf of Mr. Halabi on 12 July 2010 asking for an official certificate to permit him to change his nationality. Adalah Attorney Haneen Naamnih filed the case.

Dr. Halabi is from the village of Isfiya in the north of Israel. He has a PhD in international relations from the University of Denver in the US, and for the last nine years, he has worked as a lecturer in the Political Science Department at the Western Galilee College and in the International Relations Department at the University of Haifa. He has also published books and articles in the fields of political science and international relations, specializing in political identity.

In the petition, Adalah argued that the classification of the religious affiliation of the Druze people as a nationality is a fundamental mistake in concept, and does not correspond to the social, political or cultural reality of the Arab Druze community in Israel. As Dr. Halabi stated in his affidavit, which is attached to the petition:

"I was born in a village of Druze, Christians and Muslims. These communities have lived together for hundreds of years, speak the same language, follow the same customs and traditions, and wear the same style of clothing. It is therefore inconceivable that they have different nationalities: religious affiliation alone does not constitute the source the definition of one's nationality."

Attorney Naamnih argued in the petition that Dr. Halabi had the right to change his nationality as registered in the Population Registry on the basis of his cultural and political views, and that this right is derived from his right to dignity and autonomy as a human being and a citizen. The right of a person to choose his/her national identity on the basis of his/her personal beliefs and conscience is a fundamental right, which the state must respect.

Case citation: Lawsuit 11910-07-10 Halabi v. Ministry of Interior (Haifa District Court, decision delivered 14 February 2011)

See Haaretz coverage of the court's decision (Hebrew): http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/1215271.html

To watch a video of Dr. Halabi speaking about his case in Arabic, see: http://www.panet.co.il/online/articles/1/2/S-313417,1,2.html

The Petition (PDF file): http://www.adalah.org/newsletter/heb/jul10/docs/petition.pdf