Citizenship, Religion, and Transnational Identities in a Jewish Democratic State

Much of the disarray surrounding Israeli immigration policies emanates from Israel’s ethnonationalism. This chapter analyzes Israeli citizenship laws as mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion, opportunity, and exploitation employed by the state with regard to the four recent groups of immigrants: those from the former Soviet Union (FSU), immigrants from Ethiopia, migrant workers, and asylum-seekers and refugees. Israeli immigration laws and regulations were designed to curb the Palestinian minority and to bolster the immigration of Jews to Israel. I argue that Israel’s current mix of immigration policies reflects the state’s perplexity with the challenges posed by transnational migration. Israel muddled through these challenges by adjusting citizenship laws somewhat. These amendments were intended to accommodate migrants who are non-Jewish (and their non-Jewish families) according to Jewish law. The implication of these amendments was the formation of a growing group of non-Jews and non-Palestinians. At the same time, the naturalization of Palestinians and asylum-seekers is restricted. Furthermore, Israeli collective identity, which is largely grounded in religion and blood kinship, seems to be undergoing a slow process in which citizenship becomes less restrictive and exclusive for some groups. Naturalization is offered to groups that can be reconstructed as Israelis on the basis of their affinity with mainstream Israelis.