Shocking Investigation: The Truth About the Law of Return

From time to time, the controversy surrounding the issue of the Law of Return, specifically regarding the question 'Who is a Jew?', resurfaces in the public and political discourse in Israel.

Before we delve into the details, let's briefly describe the current situation according to the Law of Return.

The History of the Law of Return

The Law of Return was passed in the Knesset in 1950. The law stated that "every Jew has the right to come to Israel".

Initially, the law did not explicitly define the term 'Jew.' Consequently, the then-Minister of the Interior, Israel Bar-Yehuda, instructed ministry officials to register any child as Jewish if their parents requested it. This instruction led to a political crisis, resulting in the exit of the Mafdal party from the coalition.

In 1958, a discussion was held regarding the question 'Who is a Jew?', and it was decided that "an adult will be registered as Jewish, if they declare it in good faith".

After realizing that this decision did not resolve the dispute, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion reached out to 50 individuals he considered 'Wise Men of Israel,' intellectuals from both religious and secular backgrounds worldwide, asking them to express their opinion on the matter. 45 responded; a significant majority of 37 supported the Orthodox religious position that halacha is the sole basis for defining 'Jew.' Only 8 claimed Jewish identity is based on ethnic, cultural, or national identity.

At the end of 1959, MK Haim Moshe Shapira of Mafdal was appointed Minister of the Interior. He changed the protocols, deciding that "only someone born to a Jewish mother or who converted according to halacha can be registered as Jewish."

In 1968, Benjamin Shalit, who married a non-Jewish woman abroad, sought to register his children as religionless but of Jewish nationality, and his request was denied. In response, Shalit petitioned the Supreme Court, arguing he intended to raise his children as Jews in Israel. The court accepted the petition with a majority of five justices to four. The main reason was that "the term 'Jew' in the law is not subject to 'halachic' interpretation because the law is 'secular' in nature."

The Shalit case sparked public uproar. In 1970, the Law of Return was amended to define a Jew as "someone born to a Jewish mother or who converted, and is not a member of another religion."

MKs Yaakov Shimon Shapira and Moshe Kol added that the law also applies to the spouse and children of a Jew, as well as to someone with a Jewish grandparent. [Notably, the law excludes those who voluntarily converted to another religion]. Ultimately, Mafdal reluctantly agreed to grant immigration rights to Jewish grandchildren, expecting "only a few would request immigration based on being 'a grandchild of a Jew.'"

Who is Authorized to Convert?

Even after defining 'Who is a Jew,' an open question remained: religious parties demanded that conversion authority follow Orthodox halacha and/or the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, while other streams like Conservative and Reform Judaism also sought recognition.

In 1985, the Committee for the Integrity of the People organized a petition signed by about a million people, requesting Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir amend the law so that only converts according to halacha be considered Jews.

In 1995, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of "Elian (Chava) Peso Goldstein," stating "there must be a separation between the Orthodox halachic determination and the administrative determination of 'Who is a Jew.'" This decision validated conversions not done according to halacha.

Couples or Odd Pairs

Another question arose over the years: is a non-Jew married to an Israeli Jew eligible for immigration under the Law of Return?

For many years, the Ministry of the Interior's policy allowed a Jewish Israeli's spouse to immigrate. In 1995, the ministry changed its regulations and stopped recognizing such spouses as eligible. In 1999, the Supreme Court, led by Justice Mishael Cheshin, upheld this decision.

(Photo: Shutterstock)

Israeli Start-Up: 'Jewish Gentile'

The current version of the Law of Return allows non-Jews to immigrate to Israel if they prove they have a Jewish father, grandfather, or grandmother through one of the partners applying for 'aliyah.' Initially, the agreement to the law was based on the hope that the use of these clauses would be minimal.

Indeed, from when the law was enacted in 1970 to the late 1980s, this clause was scarcely used, leading to limited public debate.

However, with the renewal of immigration from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s, many non-Jews immigrated to Israel under the status of 'grandchild of a Jew'; since then, the demand to change the law to reduce the number of non-Jews immigrating under its provision has resurfaced.

Supporters of the current form of the law argue that under the Nazi Nuremberg laws, even someone not considered a Jew by halacha but of Jewish descent was defined as such.

Conversely, opponents argue that mass immigration of non-Jews to Israel and their integration into the Jewish population will result in massive assimilation, posing a real threat to maintaining the identity and tradition of the Jewish people in Israel.

Regarding the claim that the Nazis defined Jews differently than halacha, opponents respond:

a. The Nazis certainly do not dictate 'Who is a Jew'; a person's Jewish status is determined solely by Jewish halachic rules, preserved with devotion for thousands of years.

b. Even the Nuremberg laws defined someone as Jewish only if: 1. They had at least three Jewish grandparents. 2. They had two Jewish grandparents and either belonged to the Jewish community, were married to a Jew, or were born in violation of Nazi racial laws [an additional category was created: Mischling – mixed race, defining individuals of intermediate status – neither 'Jew' nor 'Aryan', and their treatment was mixed]; the Law of Return extends the definition of 'Jew' far beyond the Nazi definition.

c. Only if there is a real and tangible danger to the lives of people of Jewish descent should a temporary immigration permit be granted as an 'emergency measure'; currently, there is no such danger to Jews or their descendants, and no reason to bring them to Israel.

Between Russia and Israel

Here is a compilation of statistics shedding light on the grim reality of the immigration from the former Soviet Union:

1. During the immigration wave from the former Soviet Union, hundreds of thousands of people moved to Israel, with their number reaching one million by the start of 2000.

About 77% of immigrants who arrived in Israel between 1990-2015 were from the former Soviet Union: 1,040,000 out of 1,343,000.

2. According to the Ministry of the Interior, about 30% of immigrants in the early 1990s were not halachically Jewish; this percentage increased significantly in the final years of immigration, reaching 59% in 2002.

As of 2016, 85% of immigrants from Russia under 40 were not considered Jewish by halacha.

In 2020, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported that the percentage of Jews among immigrants from the former Soviet Union fell to approximately 28% only.

Additionally, according to CBS data, Immigrants to Israel worldwide numbered 32,600 in 2018, with only 12,600 being Jews.

3. In 2014, approximately 72% of the immigrant population from the former Soviet Union living in Israel was Jewish, while about 28% were not.

Data from the Ministry of Absorption revealed that in 2008, approximately 320,000 individuals living in Israel were not Jews by halacha but had immigrated under the Law of Return and were of Russian-speaking former Soviet states descent.

According to the chief scientist of the Ministry of Absorption, by 2036, the number of immigrants and their descendants who are not halachically Jewish is expected to reach about 1,000,000.

(Photo: Shutterstock)

Fake Judaism

These are the 'official' numbers, while unofficial ones indicate much higher percentages due to several reasons: many documents proving the connection of immigrants to Judaism are falsified or not reliable; many immigrants have adopted borrowed identities; a great number of marriage and conversion documents are fictitious and do not reflect genuine intention; and more.

Absorption Basket – and Done

Beyond the severe damage to the state's character as a Jewish state, it's also argued that many non-Jewish immigrants feel no essential connection to the Jewish people, instead exploiting the improved social conditions offered by the state: eligibility for absorption basket benefits, tax reliefs, assistance in purchasing homes, and more.

Another basic condition in the law requires the immigrant to express their intent to settle in Israel. According to various studies, a significant portion of immigrants from the former Soviet Union emigrate from Israel to other countries, estimated at about 50% of total emigrants. Today, their number is estimated to be over 150,000 emigrants.

For example, here's one detail from a comprehensive study conducted among immigrants in 2009 by Prof. Elazar Leshem.

The study aimed to examine the integration of immigrants from the former Soviet Union in Israel in 1990-2005. Participants were asked: "When you define your primary/exclusive identity, how do you feel?" Here are the responses, segmented by Jews and non-Jews:

* Jewish immigrants [registered as Jewish in the Israeli identity card and children of a Jewish mother, previously registered as Jewish in the USSR passport]: Jewish – 52.9%; Israeli – 30.7%; Russian – 16.4%.

* Non-Jewish immigrants [those who do not meet the specified criteria]: Russian – 45.7%; Israeli – 41.5%; Jewish – 12.8%.

The Law for Importing Gentiles

In 2014, there were approximately 23 million eligible individuals for the Law of Return worldwide, of which about 9 million were not halachically Jewish.

Professor Sergio DellaPergola, considered one of the leading demographers of Jewish communities worldwide, published in 2022 that approximately 18 million people in the world are eligible for the Law of Return, but over 50% – nearly 10 million people – are not Jewish.

Additionally, it appears that each year more non-Jewish eligible individuals are added, while the number of Jewish eligible individuals consistently declines: in the last decade, about 2,000,000 non-Jewish eligible individuals were added, but only 400,000 Jews.

"Open the Gates, and Let the Righteous Nation Cohort Come In"

The scope is too limited to present all the heavy-weight arguments against the Law of Return. However, it seems that the few statistics we shared suffice to understand some of the severe and painful consequences of the law in its current format.

It is time to correct the historical distortion and close Israel's gates to foreigners exploiting the living conditions in Israel without any link and affiliation to the Jewish people, their culture, or values. Afterward, the utmost public attention must be devoted to addressing the terrible damages already done and attempting to rectify them as much as possible.

Though "The eternity of Israel will not lie," it seems those aiming to undermine the foundations of the Jewish people, turning the State of Israel into 'a country of all its citizens' and thus supposedly 'defeating' the Jewish people – indeed lie. Unfortunately, they deceive us, but mainly themselves...

In this spirit, we conclude with the familiar prayer among observant Jews: Shomer Yisrael, guard the remnant of Israel, and let not Israel perish, who say 'Shema Yisrael.'