The Law of Return is back in the news following the recent electoral success of the Religious Zionist Party, whose members are intent on having the law amended so that it applies only to those who are Jewish according to Halachaי (Jewish law) and those who receive Orthodox conversions to Judaism.
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The Law of Return, first enacted in 1950, is the embodiment of the fundamental Zionist principle that all Jews, no matter where they come from, should be allowed to live in Israel. Contrary to popular beliefת the Law of Return does NOT grant automatic citizenship to new olim (immigrants). It is actually the Nationality Law, enacted in 1952, which gives olim the right to citizenship.
Originally, the Law of Return applied only to those who were born to a Jewish mother and were not an adherent of another religion. In 1970, however, eligibility was expanded to include the children and grandchildren of Jews, plus their families. The law now also applies to converts to Judaism, including those who converted under the auspices of non-Orthodox authorities, so long as they did so outside of Israel. The 1970 amendment has led to the immigration of hundreds of thousands of people who are not Jewish according to Halachaי. Most of these immigrants are from the former Soviet Union. Religious Zionists and Haredi (וltra-Orthodox) politicians are concerned that Israel will lose its Jewish identity if more people who are not יalachically Jewish are allowed to immigrate under the Law of Return in its present form.
But there are those who argue that the immigrants who came from the former Soviet Union, despite not being יalachically Jewish, have become upstanding citizens of the country. They have assimilated well into Israeli society, learning the Hebrew language, serving in the IDF, and making significant contributions to the country.
Clearly, there is no consensus on whether or not the Law of Return should be changed. But since some politicians in Israel's emerging new government are intent on putting it back on the country's agenda, I think a look at the options for determining the law's future is in order. The two most obvious options are keeping the law as is, or changing it so that it resembles its pre-1970 form.
Changing the Law of Return to its original form would mean that only people who are born of a Jewish mother and who are not adherents of another religion would be eligible to become olim. If the religious Zionist and Haredi politicians have their way, converts to Judaism could also become olim, but ONLY if they undergo an Orthodox Jewish conversion. Those who convert under the auspices of other streams of Judaism, such as Reform or Conservative, would not qualify. This could potentially shrink the number of people around the world eligible to become olim by millions, making it more difficult to bolster the country's Jewish majority and its Jewish identity.
Also, does being halachically Jewish automatically mean that your adherence to Judaism is stronger than someone who isn't Halachically Jewish? I would argue that it is easily possible for a person who only has a Jewish grandparent to be more committed to Judaism than someone who is Jewish according to Halacha. In addition, whereas a person who has lost their connection to Judaism might lose that connection permanently if they are not allowed to immigrate to Israel under the Law of Return, a person who has lost their connection to Judaism may regain it if they are allowed to become an oleh and rejoin the Jewish people in the Jewish state.
To make a long story short, changing the Law of Return to its pre-1970 form would make it more difficult for Israel to maintain its Jewish identity and won't necessarily mean that future olim will be more committed to Judaism. Still, there are some people who just want to take advantage of what Israel has to offer and give nothing back to it. But does weeding these kinds of people out require changing the Law of Return? Not necessarily. Other laws and policies can be amended.
What if, for example, the Nationality Law was amended so that immigrating under the Law of Return didn't mean automatic citizenship? Perhaps new olim should earn their citizenship instead. Maybe they should have to spend a certain amount of time living in Israel and pass some sort of citizenship test similar to those administered to new immigrants in the US and Canada. Removing the lure of automatic citizenship might deter would-be olim who simply want to take advantage of what Israel has to offer. Removing and restricting other perks that come with being an oleh might have the same effect. I would caution, however, that taking these measures may also deter potential olim who are genuinely interested in becoming productive members of Israeli society.
There is also the more radical option of abolishing the Law of Return, which would mean that being Jewish would no longer give you the right to live in Israel. The advantage of making such a radical change is that Israel could avoid the whole conversion debate, as well as the touchy subject of defining who is a Jew because a person's religious status would no longer determine their eligibility to immigrate. I'm sure many would argue, however, that abolishing the Law of Return in its entirety would fundamentally negate both Israel's status as a Jewish state and the principle that all Jews should have a place to go when fleeing persecution. It might also deter many would-be olim from coming to Israel, though one can't say this with certainty. After all, hundreds of thousands of Jewish immigrants came to Israel before there was a Law of Return.
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