The ridiculous thing is, as I pointed out to them, that they are requiring a written (notarized by the consul) statement from MINORS on whom they involuntarily forced an unwanted citizenship, and they didn't require written consent, much less notarized, at that point!
Since when does one take written statements from minors?
Took my older (17 and change) daughter to the consulate today. The vice consul came over and read the statement I had prepared for her. She then went ahead to tell my daughter that if she gives it up now, it is "very hard to get it in the future (unless she does aliya)".
I asked her why she's trying scare tactics, so she said she is just following the law and has to inform of the ramifications.
We then discussed what to do about my 16yo who couldn't show up. I brought a written statement that was notarized (but I didn't have a chance to obtain an Apostille for it). She took it and said that she doesn't know what will happen because army issues were not settled (I interjected and said that she wouldn't be subject to army service in any event). But eventually agreed to submit along with a letter from me explaining the situation of my younger daughter not being able to appear.
Lastly, I mentioned that my daughter will be needing a student visa. She retorted that she can't get it now because she's legally an Israeli citizen. And went on to her stupid scare tactics of saying that it could take a year for the renouncement to be approved.