Israel will no longer issue birth certificates for babies born to foreigners

Israel says that it is not obliged to issue documentation and wants to stop foreigners using birth certificates to stay in country. Israel is to stop issuing birth certificates to babies born to foreigners – a move targeted at migrants but will also encompass diplomats and other international workers. The absence of official documentation is likely to cause major problems when applying for passports and other identity papers. The plan was disclosed in state papers filed to the high court in response to a challenge to an existing policy of refusing to include the father's name in foreigners' birth certificates. As part of this policy, Israel also insists that only the mother's family name may be documented as the baby's last name. The Israeli government says that it has no legal obligation to issue official birth certificates to foreigners, and intends to stop doing so to prevent foreigners using such documentation to claim the right to stay in the country. Instead, foreigners will be given hospital-issued birth notices, which are currently hand-written in Hebrew. It is interesting that Jews tend to be pro-immigration in the United States and Europe but not in Israel.