The Ethics of Citizenship in Israel

• Published in: Israel studies review Vol. 33; no. 3; pp. 79 - 98
• Main Author: Herzog, Ben
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Berghahn Journals 01.12.2018; Berghahn Books; Berghahn Books, Inc
• Subjects: Boundaries; Citizenship; Content analysis; Emigration and immigration; Ethical aspects; Ethical dilemmas; Ethics; Immigration; Immigration law; Jewish people; Jews; Law; Legislators; Morality; Nation states; Nationalism; Newcomers; Palestinian people; Political ethics; SPECIAL ISSUE: Israeli Society: New Perspectives on Israel at 70; Israel; civic ideals; naturalization; Citizenship Law; immigration; Law of Return; explanatory memorandum
• ISSN: 2159-0370; 2159-0389
• DOI: 10.3167/isr.2018.330306

The evaluation of citizenship has always been tied to ethical issues, as citizenship laws reflect existing rules and also define the desired ‘good’ citizen. In order to assess whether ethical considerations have affected the legal construction of citizenship in Israel, I compared the two main laws in Israel that regulate newcomers and their citizenship—the Law of Return (1950) and the Citizenship Law (1952). I examined the legal texts and used content analysis to address the subjective intentions of the legislators who proposed them, as presented in an explanatory memorandum. Many scholars have argued that these laws were introduced as the foundational laws of the Jewish state. Nevertheless, until the 1980s, the Citizenship Law was explained as a technical measure governing the citizenship of non-Jews. Although both laws are presented as ethical, politicians characterize them as mainly republican, concealing their liberal ethical component.