Immigration, Ethnicity and Ethnic Relations in Israel

1

• Immigration, Ethnicity and Ethnic Relations in
  Israel
• Larissa Remennick, Ph.D.
• Schusterman Visiting Professor
• of Israeli studies

2
Israel as Ultimate Immigrant Society

• 95 are 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation immigrants
• 35 were born outside of Israel
• Major ethnic groups Palestinians (20),
  Ashkenazi Jews (30), Sephardic/Mizrahi Jews
  (30), Mixed Jewish Ethics (15) non-Jews from
  FSU (4), Black Ethiopian Jews (1)
• Historic outline late 19-early 20 century Aliyah
  waves, pre-state immigrants of the 1930-1940s
  Mizrahi Aliyah of the 1950s post-1967 and the
  Big Russian Aliyah of the 1990s

3
Israel as Ethnic Democracy

• The Law of Return (1950/1970) regulates
  immigration to Israel. 'Jew' for the purposes of
  Aliyah citizenship is defined broadly similarly
  to the Nazi anti-Jewish laws of the 1930s
• The gap between a civic and Halachic definitions
  of Jewishness as source of discrimination of
  non-Jews
• Lack of separation between state and religion
  religious monopoly in personal status laws

4
Ethnic democracy (continued)

• Lack of Constitution and system of Basic Laws
• The Law of Return does not include Arabs
• Minority rights political representation,
  freedom of occupation, non-discrimination by sex,
  age, ethnicity or religion
• The problem of occupied territories and status of
  Palestinians beyond the Green Line (including
  East Jerusalem)
• Two State solution vs State of all Citizens

5
Jewish Israel The lines of social
stratification

• Ahkenasim, Spharadim Mizrahim
• Old-timers vs. recent immigrants
• Social class and wealth
• Center vs periphery
• Political right-center-left-radical left
• Skin color, accents, dress behavior codes

6
The pillars of Israeli identity

• Nation-building project on-going
• Militarism and 'security culture'
• Hebrew mono-lingualism at the expense of diaspora
  languages
• Zionism or Post-Zionism?
• Familism and 'motherhood mandate'
• Immigration Absorption

7
The Great Russian Aliyah of the 1990s

• Driven by push factors demise of the USSR
• Other destination countries closing their doors
• About 1,000 immigrants between 1989-2004, among
  them half just between 19901993
• High on human capital but low on Jewish identity
• High of mixed families and non-Jews
• Multiple integration challenges

8
Ethiopian Immigrants in Israel

• Arriving in two organized airlifts 1984 1991
• Many families split by Israel's migration
  decisions (Jews vs Falashim)
• Hard sacrifices and difficult road to Aliyah
• Low human capital and pre-modern society
• Problems of integration racism

9
Emigration or Yerida?

• About 750,000 Israelis live abroad more or less
  permanently (US, Canada,Europe, Australia)
• Shuttle movement to study and work
• Immigrants returning to origin countries
• Russians 10
• Americans 30
• French 20
• Keeping two homes