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Myths on Changing Israel's "Law of Return"

(Times of Israel) Eugene Kontorovich - Israel's new government is considering reforming the "grandparent clause" in the Law of Return, originally adopted in 1950. It allows anyone who is Jewish or has a Jewish parent to receive citizenship upon immigration. In 1970 that law was broadened to include people with only one Jewish grandparent, and it is that amendment that is being debated. One common myth is that the amendment would change Israel's definition of who is a Jew. This is simply not true. The 1970 amendment does not define the patrilineal grandchildren of Jews as "Jews," but rather specifically as non-Jews who are nevertheless included in the Law of Return. Another myth is that the amendment would be an insult to American Jews, or dampen American aliyah. This is baseless. Tens of thousands of Jews have made aliyah from the U.S. in the past decade - and only 67 did so under the grandparent clause. One could count on one hand the number of Americans affected annually - well under 1%. The grandparent provision is frequently justified as allowing anyone who was persecuted by the Nazis to find refuge in Israel - the notorious Nuremberg Laws treated anyone with a Jewish grandparent as Jewish. However, this justification has outlived its purpose nearly a century after Nuremberg. To keep that definition now would be to allow Hitler to dictate Israel's aliyah policy forever. The writer is a professor at George Mason University Law School and a scholar at the Kohelet Policy Forum in Jerusalem.
2022-12-22 00:00:00
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