Latvian identity

As it was expected, most Latvians rejected the idea of making Russian a second official language and, by implication, granting the full rights of the citizenship to 300,000 of ethnic Russians living in Latvia for at least more than 20 years (i.e. from before the collapse of USSR.)

My personal belief is that such a significant minority (nearly 1/3 of Latvia population are ethnic Russians) should be allowed to study and carry out business in their native language. In Latvia the situation is exacerbated by the fact that knowledge of Latvian language is a pre-requisite for obtaining Latvian citizenship, even for those who have been living in Latvia from before the collapse of the Soviet Union. 

The argument that limiting the rights of the Latvian Russians is justified by the need for preserving the Latvian culture is refuted by the example of Israel, which has Arabic as one of its two official languages. Yet, Israel has been frequently criticized, as for its supposed mistreatment of the Arab minority, as well as for its government's insistence on preserving Israel's Jewish identity, frequently voiced in connection to the peace negotiations.