Chapter 25 - Immigrants in Israel

Abstract

Israel perceives the immigration of Jews as one of its major goals and thus it applies no selection rules towards them. Jewish immigration to Israel hailed from Arab countries as well as European countries. While immigration has shaped the rate of growth of Israel's Jewish population it has also created socio-economic diversity within the Jewish population. The great range of geographical origins and cultural backgrounds of immigrants make the study of the determinants and the consequences of immigration particularly interesting and there is a comprehensive literature on various aspects of Jewish immigration. Although traditionally immigration to Israel used to refer to immigration of Jews, since the early 1990s a substantial number of low-skilled temporary foreign workers entered the country. In addition, the phenomenon of asylum seekers who enter the country also expanded in the last decade. While immigration policy legislation towards Jewish migrants was formed soon after its independence, Israel still lacks a coherent immigration policy towards labor migrants and asylum seekers.