(JTA) — An Arab Israeli ship captain is founding a Christian Arab political party that will recognize Israel as a Jewish state and urge Christian Arab Israelis to serve in the army or perform civilian national service.

The party’s founder, Bashara Shlayan, announced Tuesday that the party’s name will be “Bnei Brit Hahadasha,” according to Israel Hayom. The name means both “new allies” and “children of the New Testament” in Hebrew.

Shlayan told Israel Hayom that the party is a response to current Arab Israeli parties that, he said, do not meet Christian Arabs’ needs. About ten percent of Israel’s Arab citizens are Christian.

The Arab parties currently in Knesset oppose Arabs serving in the Israel Defense Forces or in civilian service, and some of their members do not want Israel to remain a Jewish state. The new party, though, advocates allegiance to Israel as a Jewish state, and participation in military or national service alongside most Jewish Israelis.

“You need to be like any citizen,” Shlayan told Israel Hayom. “If you were in America, you wouldn’t be an American? At least in Israel, those who stayed here have been given the right to be a citizen and to integrate. But Israel’s first demand, which I support — and which needs to be understood — is that Israel is the home of the Jewish people.”