Global Insider: Israel’s Voluntary Return Efforts for Asylum-Seekers Find Little Success

Global Insider: Israel’s Voluntary Return Efforts for Asylum-Seekers Find Little Success

This month, thousands of African migrants to Israel, many seeking asylum, marched in Tel Aviv to demand more rights and protections from the Israeli government. In an email interview, Dov Waxman, associate professor of political science at Baruch College and at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), as well as the co-director of the Middle East Center for Peace, Culture and Development at Northeastern University, explained Israel’s immigration policy.

WPR: What is the state of Israel's overall immigration policy, particularly with regard to political refugees?

Dov Waxman: Israel’s immigration policy fundamentally distinguishes between Jews, non-Jews and Palestinians. As a self-declared “Jewish state,” Israel has always encouraged and welcomed Jewish immigrants—including those with Jewish ancestry, even if they are not considered Jewish according to Orthodox religious law—offering them financial incentives and automatically granting them citizenship. Unless they are married to Jews, it is very difficult for non-Jews to become Israeli citizens, and even then they face a host of bureaucratic obstacles, although they can come as guest workers and receive residency permits. It is almost impossible for Palestinians to move to Israel, even if they marry Israeli citizens. A law first passed in 2003 prohibits family reunification for Israeli citizens married to Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review