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Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
has two primary pieces of legislation governing the requirements for
citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...
, the 1950
Law of Return The Law of Return (, ''ḥok ha-shvūt'') is an Israeli law, passed on 5 July 1950, which gives Jews, people with one or more Jewish grandparent, and their spouses the right to Aliyah, relocate to Israel and acquire Israeli nationality law, Isra ...
and 1952 Citizenship Law. Every Jew has the unrestricted right to immigrate to Israel and become an Israeli citizen. Individuals born within the country receive citizenship at birth if at least one parent is a citizen. Non-Jewish foreigners may naturalize after living there for at least three years while holding
permanent residency Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such l ...
and demonstrating proficiency in the
Hebrew language Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language unti ...
. Naturalizing non-Jews are additionally required to renounce their previous nationalities, while Jewish immigrants are not subject to this requirement. The territory of modern Israel was formerly administered by the British Empire as part of a League of Nations mandate for Palestine and local residents were
British protected person A British protected person (BPP) is a member of a class of British nationality associated with former protectorates, protected states, and territorial mandates and trusts under British control. Individuals with this nationality are British ...
s. The dissolution of the mandate in 1948 and subsequent conflict created a set of complex citizenship circumstances for the non-Jewish inhabitants of the region that continue to be unresolved. While pre-1948
Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
Arab residents of the former mandate and their descendants who remained living in Israel were granted Israeli citizenship in 1980, those resident in the
West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
and
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
are largely considered stateless.


Terminology

The distinction between the meaning of the terms
citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...
and nationality is not always clear in the English language and differs by country. Generally, nationality refers to a person's legal belonging to a state and is the common term used in international treaties when referring to members of a state; citizenship refers to the set of rights and duties a person has in that nation. In the Israeli context, ''nationality'' is not linked to a person's origin from a particular territory but is more broadly defined. Although the term may be used in other countries to indicate a person's
ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...
, the meaning in Israeli law is particularly expansive by including any person practicing Judaism and their descendants. Members of the ''Jewish nationality'' form the core part of Israel's citizenry, while the
Supreme Court of Israel The Supreme Court of Israel (, Hebrew acronym Bagatz; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme Court consists of 15 jud ...
has ruled that an ''Israeli nationality'' does not exist. Legislation has defined Israel as the
nation state A nation state, or nation-state, is a political entity in which the State (polity), state (a centralized political organization ruling over a population within a territory) and the nation (a community based on a common identity) are (broadly ...
of the Jewish people since 2018.


History


National status under British mandate

The
region of Palestine The region of Palestine, also known as historic Palestine, is a geographical area in West Asia. It includes the modern states of Israel and Palestine, as well as parts of northwestern Jordan in some definitions. Other names for the region i ...
was conquered by the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
in 1516. Accordingly, Ottoman nationality law applied to the area. Palestine was governed by the Ottomans for four centuries until British occupation in 1917 during the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. The area nominally remained an Ottoman territory following the conclusion of the war until the United Kingdom obtained a League of Nations mandate for the region in 1922. Similarly, local residents ostensibly continued their status as Ottoman subjects, although British authorities began issuing provisional certificates of Palestinian nationality shortly after the start of occupation. The terms of the mandate allowed Britain to exclude its application on certain parts of the region; this exclusion was exercised on the territory east of the
Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan (, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn''; , ''Nəhar hayYardēn''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Sharieat'' (), is a endorheic river in the Levant that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and drains to the Dead ...
, where the
Emirate of Transjordan The Emirate of Transjordan (), officially the Amirate of Trans-Jordan, was a British protectorate established on 11 April 1921,Treaty of Lausanne The Treaty of Lausanne (, ) is a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–1923 and signed in the Palais de Rumine in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially resolved the conflict that had initially ...
established the basis for separate nationalities in
Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...
and all other territories ceded by the Ottoman Empire. The Palestinian Citizenship Order 1925 confirmed the transition from Ottoman/Turkish to Palestinian citizenship in local legislation; all Ottoman/Turkish subjects who were ordinarily resident in Palestine on 1 August 1925 became Palestinian citizens on that date. Turkish nationals originating from Mandate territory but habitually resident elsewhere on 6 August 1924 had a right to choose Palestinian citizenship, but this required an application within two years of the treaty's enforcement and approval by the Mandatory government. This right of option was later extended until 24 July 1945. A 1931 amendment automatically extended Palestinian citizenship to Turkish nationals who had been living in Palestine on 6 August 1924 but became resident abroad before 1 August 1925, unless they voluntarily acquired another nationality before 23 July 1931. Legitimate children of a Palestinian father automatically held Palestinian citizenship. Any person born outside these conditions who held no other nationality and was otherwise stateless at birth also automatically acquired citizenship. Foreigners could obtain Palestinian citizenship through naturalization after residing in the territory for at least two of the three years preceding an application, fulfilling a language requirement (in English, Hebrew, or Arabic), affirming their intention to permanently reside in Mandate territory, and satisfying a good character requirement. Despite Britain's
sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...
over Palestinian territory, domestic law in the United Kingdom treated the mandate as foreign territory. Palestinian citizens were treated as
British protected person A British protected person (BPP) is a member of a class of British nationality associated with former protectorates, protected states, and territorial mandates and trusts under British control. Individuals with this nationality are British ...
s, rather than
British subject The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...
s, meaning that they were aliens in the UK but could be issued Mandatory Palestine passports by British authorities. Protected persons could not travel to the UK without first requesting permission, but were afforded the same consular protection as British subjects when travelling outside the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
. This arrangement continued until termination of the British mandate on 14 May 1948, the same date on which the State of Israel was established.


Post-1948 transition

For the first four years after its establishment, Israel had no citizenship law and technically had no citizens. International law typically assumes the continued operation of laws of a predecessor state in the event of a
succession of states Succession of states is a concept in international relations regarding a successor state that has become a sovereign state over a territory (and populace) that was previously under the sovereignty of another state. The theory has its roots in 19 ...
. However, despite Israel's status as the
successor state Succession of states is a concept in international relations regarding a successor state that has become a sovereign state over a territory (and populace) that was previously under the sovereignty of another state. The theory has its roots in 19th ...
to Mandatory Palestine, Israeli courts during this time offered conflicting opinions on the continuing validity of Palestinian citizenship legislation enacted during the British mandate. While almost all courts held that Palestinian citizenship had ceased to exist at the end of the mandate in 1948 without a replacement status, there was one case in which a judge ruled that all residents of Palestine at the time of Israel's establishment were automatically Israeli nationals. The Supreme Court settled this issue in 1952, ruling that Palestinian citizens of the British mandate had not automatically become Israeli. Israeli citizenship policy is centered on two early pieces of legislation: the 1950
Law of Return The Law of Return (, ''ḥok ha-shvūt'') is an Israeli law, passed on 5 July 1950, which gives Jews, people with one or more Jewish grandparent, and their spouses the right to Aliyah, relocate to Israel and acquire Israeli nationality law, Isra ...
and 1952 Citizenship Law. The Law of Return grants every Jew the right to migrate to and settle in Israel, reinforcing the central
Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
tenet of the return of all Jews to their traditional homeland. The Citizenship Law details the requirements for Israeli citizenship, dependent on an individual's religious affiliation, and explicitly repeals all prior British-enacted legislation concerning Palestinian nationality.


Status of Palestinian Arabs

Following its victory in the
1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...
, Israel controlled the majority of former Mandatory Palestine, including much of the land assigned for an Arab state under the
United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was a proposal by the United Nations to partition Mandatory Palestine at the end of the British Mandate. Drafted by the U.N. Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP) on 3 September 1947, the Pl ...
. The
West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
was annexed by
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
while the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
fell under the administration of
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
. The
UNRWA The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA, pronounced ) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians who fl ...
estimated that 720,000
Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
Arabs were displaced during the war, with only 170,000 remaining in Israel after its establishment. Despite international support for the return of displaced Palestinians after conclusion of the war, the Israeli government was unwilling to allow what it regarded as a hostile population into its borders and barred them from returning. The administration justified this prohibition as a defensive measure against continued Arab incursions into Israeli territory as well as to official rhetoric from neighboring Arab states that expressed their desire to eliminate Israel, which views a
Palestinian right of return The Palestinian right of return is the political position or principle that Palestinian refugees, both Immigrant generations#First generation, first-generation refugees ( people still alive ) and their descendants ( people ), have a right to ...
to any part of its territory as an existential threat to the nation's security. Jewish residents at the time of Israel's establishment were granted Israeli citizenship based on right of return, but non-Jewish Palestinians were subject to strict residency requirements for claiming that status. They could only acquire citizenship based on their residence in 1952 if they were nationals of the British mandate before 1948, had registered as Israeli residents since February 1949 and remained registered, and had not left the country before claiming citizenship. These requirements were intended to systemically exclude Arabs from participation in the new state. About 90 percent of the Arab population that remained in Israel were barred from citizenship under the residence requirements and held no nationality. Palestinians who managed to return to their homes in Israel after the war did not satisfy the conditions for citizenship under the 1952 law. This class of residents continued living in Israel but held no citizenship or residence status. A 1960 Supreme Court ruling partially addressed this by allowing a looser interpretation of the residential requirements; individuals who had permission to temporarily leave Israel during or shortly after the conflict qualified for citizenship, despite their gap in residence. The Knesset amended the Citizenship Law in 1980 to fully resolve statelessness for this group of residents; all Arab residents who had been living in Israel before 1948 were granted citizenship regardless of their eligibility under the 1952 residence requirements, along with their children. Conversely, Palestinians who had fled to neighboring countries were not granted citizenship there and remained stateless except those who resettled in Jordan. After Israel took control of the West Bank following the 1967
Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...
, Jordan maintained its sovereignty claim over the area until 1988, when it renounced this claim and unilaterally severed all links to the region. Palestinians living in the West Bank lost Jordanian nationality while those residing in the rest of Jordan maintained that status. Following agreement on the
Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of interim agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995. They marked the st ...
in the 1990s, Palestinians have been eligible for Palestinian Authority passports. However, the terms of these accords did not result in the creation of a definitive Palestinian state, nor has any legislation regulating Palestinian citizenship been enacted by the
Palestinian Legislative Council The Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Palestinian National Authority, Palestinian Authority, elected by the Palestinians, Palestinian residents of the Palestinian territories of the Wes ...
. Palestinians may be considered stateless by other countries as their status is not tied to a sovereign state, although recognition of their statelessness varies by government.


Annexed territories

Israel captured
East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...
in 1967 during the Six-Day War, incorporating it into the municipal administration of
West Jerusalem West Jerusalem or Western Jerusalem (, ; , ) refers to the section of Jerusalem that was controlled by Israel at the end of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. As the city was divided by the Green Line (Israel's erstwhile border, established by ...
. Arab residents of East Jerusalem did not automatically become Israeli citizens but were given permanent resident status. Although they may apply for naturalization, few have done so due to the Hebrew language requirement and resistance to acknowledging Israeli control of Jerusalem. After passage of the 1980
Jerusalem Law Jerusalem Law (, ) is a common name of Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel passed by the Knesset on 30 July 1980. Although the law did not use the term, the Israeli Supreme Court interpreted the law as an effective annexation of East Jeru ...
, the Supreme Court has considered the territory as having been annexed by Israel. About 19,000 residents, representing five percent of the East Jerusalem Palestinian population, held Israeli citizenship in 2022. Similarly, the
Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...
was incorporated into Israel proper in 1981 and
Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...
residents were granted permanent resident status. Although eligible for naturalization as Israeli citizens, the Golan Druze have largely retained Syrian nationality. About 4,300 of the 21,000 Druze living in the area held Israeli citizenship in 2022. Prior to Syrian independence, this territory was part of the
Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (; , also referred to as the Levant States; 1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate founded in the aftermath of the First World War and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire, concerning the territories ...
assigned to France. The extension of Israeli law and effective annexation of both East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights are regarded by the
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
and
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...
as illegal acts of aggression.


Qualification under right of return


Apostate and irreligious Jews

Although the Law of Return gave every Jew the right to immigrate to Israel, the original text and all other legislation up to that point lacked a clear definition for who was considered a Jew. Government and religious authorities continually disagreed over the meaning of the word and its application to that law, with some organizations considering the Jewish religion and nationality to be the same concept. One of these bodies was the
National Religious Party The National Religious Party (, ''Miflaga Datit Leumit''), commonly known in Israel by its Hebrew abbreviation Mafdal (), was an Israeli political party representing the interests of the Israeli settlers and religious Zionist movement. Formed ...
, which led the
Ministry of Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, th ...
until 1970. Accordingly, the Law of Return during this period was strictly interpreted under ''
halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...
'' (Jewish religious law); a Jew was defined as anyone born to a Jewish mother. While Israel is not a
theocracy Theocracy is a form of autocracy or oligarchy in which one or more deity, deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's ...
, the Jewish religion has a central role in Israeli politics because the main purpose of the country's establishment was to create an independent Jewish state. This absence of legal clarity was tested in the 1962 Supreme Court case '' Rufeisen v. Minister of the Interior'' in which Oswald Rufeisen, a Polish Jew who had converted to
Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, was ruled to have no longer met the criterion of being a Jew on his religious conversion. Converting to any other faith is considered to be a deliberate act of dissociation from the Jewish people. The Supreme Court elaborated on this in the 1969 case ''Shalit v. Minister of the Interior'', when it ruled that children of non-practicing Jews would be considered Jews. Unlike Rufeisen, the children took no action that could be considered dissociating. However, this ruling created a separation between the Jewish religion and the legal interpretation of membership in the Jewish people that required legislative clarification. The Law of Return was amended in 1970 to provide a more detailed explanation of who qualifies: a Jew means any person born to a Jewish mother, or someone who has converted to Judaism and is not an adherent of another religion. The amendment extended the right of return to Israel to include children, grandchildren, and a spouse of a Jew, as well as spouses of their children and grandchildren. This entitlement was given despite the fact that not all applicable persons would be considered Jews under ''halakha''. The Citizenship Law was amended in 1971 to allow any Jew who formally expresses their desire to migrate to Israel to immediately become an Israeli citizen, without any requirement to enter Israeli territory. This change was made to facilitate emigration of Jews from the Soviet Union, who were routinely denied
exit visa A visa (; also known as visa stamp) is a conditional authorization granted by a polity to a foreigner that allows them to enter, remain within, or leave its territory. Visas typically include limits on the duration of the foreigner's stay, area ...
s, especially after the 1967
Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...
. Migration from the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
remained at low levels until exit restrictions were relaxed in the late 1980s. Most emigrating Soviet Jews initially departed for the United States, with some making their way to Germany. However, these countries soon imposed restrictions on Jews who could immigrate from the Soviet Union at the request of the Israeli government, which intended to redirect the flow of migrants to Israel itself. The US began enforcing an entry quota of 50,000 people in 1990 while Germany restricted admission in 1991 only to Jews who could prove German ancestry. The number of Soviet Jews emigrating to Israel increased sharply from just 2,250 in 1988 to over 200,000 in 1990 and remained at high levels following the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...
in 1991 and subsequent
1998 Russian financial crisis The Russian financial crisis (also called the ruble crisis or the Russian flu) began in Russia on 17 August 1998. It resulted in the Russian government and the Russian Central Bank devaluing the Russian rouble, ruble and sovereign default, defau ...
. About 940,000 Jews from the
former Soviet Union The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...
departed for Israel between 1989 and 2002. Most of this wave of migrants were nonpracticing and secular Jews; a significant portion were not considered Jewish under ''halakha'', but qualified for immigration based on the Law of Return.


Recognition of non-Orthodox Jews and exceptional cases

The definition of a Jew in the 1970 Law of Return amendment does not explain the meaning of "conversion" and has been interpreted to allow for adherents of any Jewish movement to qualify for right of return. The Chief Rabbinate operates under an Orthodox interpretation of ''halakha'' and is the authoritative institution for religious matters within Israel, which has led to disputes over whether converts into non-Orthodox movements of Judaism should be recognized as Jews. Foreigners who convert to
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
or
Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...
within the country have been entitled to citizenship under the Law of Return since 2021. Both the Chief Rabbinate and Supreme Court consider followers of
Messianic Judaism Messianic Judaism is a syncretic Abrahamic religious sect that combines Christian theology with select elements of Judaism. It considers itself to be a form of Judaism but is generally considered to be a form of Christianity, including by ...
as Christians and specifically bar them from right of return, unless they otherwise have sufficient Jewish descent. Ethiopian Jews, also known as
Beta Israel Beta Israel, or Ethiopian Jews, is a Jewish group originating from the territory of the Amhara Region, Amhara and Tigray Region, Tigray regions in northern Ethiopia, where they are spread out across more than 500 small villages over a wide ter ...
, lived as an isolated community away from mainstream Judaism since at least the
Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...
prior to their contact with the outside world in the 19th century. Over the course of their prolonged separation, this population developed a number of religious practices heavily influenced by Coptic Christianity differing from those of other Jews. Their status as Jews was disputed until the Chief Rabbinate confirmed its recognition of this group as Jews in 1973 and declared its support for their immigration to Israel. Following Ethiopia's communist revolution and the subsequent outbreak of
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, the Israeli government resettled 45,000 people, nearly the entire Ethiopian Jewish population. Migrating with the Beta Israel were the Falash Mura, Jews who converted to Christianity for ease of integration with Ethiopian society but largely remained associated with the Ethiopian Jewish community. A ministerial decision in 1992 ruled this community ineligible for right of return, but some migrants were allowed to immigrate to Israel for family reunification. Subsequent government decisions have allowed more Falash Mura to migrate, though they are required to convert to Judaism before receiving citizenship. About 33,000 members of this community entered Israel from 1993 to 2013.
Samaritans Samaritans (; ; ; ), are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Hebrews and Israelites of the ancient Near East. They are indigenous to Samaria, a historical region of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah that ...
are descendants of the ancient
Israelites Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...
who follow
Samaritanism Samaritanism (; ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic ethnic religion. It comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Samaritan people, who originate from the Hebrews and Israelites and began to emerge as a relative ...
, a religion closely related to Judaism, and hold an exceptional right of return without the agreement of the Chief Rabbinate. In 1949, the Foreign Minister
Moshe Sharett Moshe Sharett (; born Moshe Chertok (); 15 October 1894 – 7 July 1965) was the second prime minister of Israel and the country’s first foreign minister. He signed the Israeli Declaration of Independence and was a principal negotiator in th ...
declared Samaritans eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return, reasoning that their Hebrew heritage qualified them for recognition as Jews. Although the decision was implemented as official policy, no legislation was ever enacted on the issue. Consequently, when the Chief Rabbinate reviewed a case in 1985 on whether Samaritan women could marry Jewish men (Jews in Israel are only permitted to marry other Jews) and concluded that Samaritans were required to first convert to Judaism, the Ministry of Interior revoked Samaritan entitlement to the right of return using the rabbinical ruling as justification. The Supreme Court ruled on the matter in 1994, restoring the original policy and further extending Samaritan eligibility for citizenship to members of the group who reside in the West Bank. The total population of this community is about 700 people who live exclusively in either
Holon Holon (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. In , it had a population of , making it the List of cities in Israel, tenth most populous city in Isra ...
or
Mount Gerizim Mount Gerizim ( ; ; ; , or ) is one of two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the State of Palestine, Palestinian city of Nablus and the biblical city of Shechem. It forms the southern side of the valley in which Nablus is situated, the nor ...
.


Acquisition and loss of citizenship


Entitlement by birth, descent, or adoption

Individuals born in Israel receive citizenship at birth if at least one parent is an Israeli citizen. Children born overseas are citizens by descent if either parent is a citizen, limited to the first generation born abroad. Those born abroad in the second generation who are not otherwise eligible under the Law of Return may apply for a grant of citizenship, subject to discretionary approval by the government. Adopted children are automatically granted citizenship, regardless of their religious status. Individuals born in Israel who are between the ages of 18 and 21 and have never held any nationality are entitled to citizenship, provided they have been continuously resident for the five years immediately preceding their application.


Voluntary acquisition

Any Jew who immigrates to Israel as an ''oleh'' (Jewish immigrant) under the
Law of Return The Law of Return (, ''ḥok ha-shvūt'') is an Israeli law, passed on 5 July 1950, which gives Jews, people with one or more Jewish grandparent, and their spouses the right to Aliyah, relocate to Israel and acquire Israeli nationality law, Isra ...
automatically becomes an Israeli citizen. In this context, a Jew means a person born to a Jewish mother, or someone who has
converted to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( or ) is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. "Thus, by convertin ...
and does not adhere to another religion. This right to citizenship extends to any children or grandchildren of a Jew, as well as the spouse of a Jew, or the spouse of a child or grandchild of a Jew. A Jew who voluntarily converts to another religion forfeits their right to claim citizenship under this provision. At the end of 2020, 21 percent of the total Jewish population in Israel was born overseas. Foreigners may naturalize as Israeli citizens after residing in Israel for at least three of the previous five years while holding permanent residency. Candidates must be physically present in the country at the time of application, be able to demonstrate knowledge of the
Hebrew language Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language unti ...
, have the intention of permanently settling in Israel, and renounce any foreign nationalities. Although
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
was previously an official language and has a special recognized status, there is no similar knowledge stipulation for it as part of the naturalization process. All of these requirements may be partially or completely waived for a candidate if they: served in the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
or suffered the loss of a child during their military service period, are a minor child of a naturalized parent or Israeli resident, or made extraordinary contributions to Israel. Successful applicants are required to swear an
oath of allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...
to the State of Israel. Dual/multiple citizenship is explicitly allowed for an ''oleh'' who becomes Israeli by right of return. This is to encourage the overseas
Jewish diaspora The Jewish diaspora ( ), alternatively the dispersion ( ) or the exile ( ; ), consists of Jews who reside outside of the Land of Israel. Historically, it refers to the expansive scattering of the Israelites out of their homeland in the Southe ...
to migrate to Israel without forcing them to lose their previous national statuses. By contrast, naturalization candidates are required to renounce their original nationalities to obtain citizenship. Persons opting to naturalize are typically individuals who migrate to Israel for employment or family reasons, or are permanent residents of East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.


Relinquishment and deprivation

Israeli citizenship can be voluntarily relinquished by a declaration of
renunciation Renunciation (or renouncing) is the act of rejecting something, particularly something that the renunciant has previously enjoyed or endorsed. In religion, renunciation often indicates an abandonment of pursuit of material comforts, in the inte ...
, provided that the declarant is living overseas, already possesses another nationality, and has no military service obligations. Returnees living in Israel who obtained Israeli citizenship may voluntarily renounce that status if continuing to hold it would cause their loss of another country's nationality. Between 2003 and 2015, there were 8,308 people who renounced their Israeli citizenship. While some former citizens renounce their citizenship because of their intention to permanently settle overseas and not return to Israel, others do so as a condition of obtaining foreign nationality in their country of residence. Citizenship may be involuntarily removed from individuals who fraudulently acquired it or from those who willfully perform an act that constitutes a breach of loyalty to the state. The Minister of Interior may revoke citizenship from a person who obtained status based on false information within three years of that person having become an Israeli citizen. For persons who fraudulently acquired citizenship more than three years earlier, the Minister must request the Administrative Court to revoke citizenship. Revocation on the basis of disloyalty has only occurred on three occasions since 1948; twice in 2002 and once in 2017. Israeli citizenship may also be revoked from citizens who illegally travel to countries officially declared as enemy states (
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
,
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
,
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
, and
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
) or if they obtain nationality from one of those countries.


Spousal rights

Non-Jewish spouses have right of return if they immigrate to Israel at the same time as their Jewish spouses; same-sex spouses of Jews have been eligible for this since 2014. Otherwise, they are granted temporary residence permits gradually replaced by less restrictive conditions of stay over a period of 4.5 years until they become eligible for citizenship. Until 1996, non-Jewish spouses without right of return were immediately granted permanent residency upon entry into Israel. Marriages must be valid under Israeli law for the partner of a citizen to be eligible under the 4.5-year naturalization process.
Common-law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prec ...
or same-sex partners are subject to a longer 7.5-year gradual process that grants permanent residency, after which they may apply for naturalization under the standard procedure. Male spouses under 35 and female spouses under 25 ordinarily resident in the
Judea and Samaria Area The Judea and Samaria Area (; ) is an administrative division used by the State of Israel to refer to the entire West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967, but excludes East Jerusalem (see Jerusalem Law). Its area is split int ...
(administrative division for the West Bank under Israeli law) outside
Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...
s are prohibited from obtaining citizenship and residency until reaching the relevant age. The 2003
Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law The Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law (Temporary Order) 5763 is an Israeli law first passed on 31 July 2003. The law makes inhabitants of the West Bank and Gaza Strip ineligible for the automatic granting of Israeli citizenship and residency ...
effectively discouraged further marriages between Israeli citizens and Palestinians by adding cumbersome administrative barriers that made legal cohabitation prohibitively difficult for affected couples. About 12,700 Palestinians married to Israeli citizens are prevented from obtaining citizenship under these restrictions. Affected persons are only allowed to remain in Israel on temporary permits, which would lapse on the death of their spouses or if they were to fail to receive regular reapproval by the Israeli government. These restrictions were challenged as unconstitutional for violating the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty on the basis that the legislation was discriminatory by disproportionally affecting Israeli citizens who were ethnically Arab. However, in its 2006 ruling upholding the legislation, the Supreme Court held that the admittance of noncitizen spouses was not a constitutional right held by Israeli citizens and that Israel was entitled to limit the entrance of any aliens into its borders. The court further ruled that Israel held a right to forbid Palestinian residents from entering the state on the basis that a state of war existed with the
Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as a c ...
(consequently making Palestinians enemy subjects). The law was upheld again by the Supreme Court in 2012 and continued to be effective until its expiration in July 2021, before reimplementation under new legislation in March 2022.


Honorary citizenship

In recognition of aid provided to Jews during the
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
, non-Jews may be recognized as
Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...
. These individuals may additionally be granted
honorary citizenship Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honor usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...
. This type of citizenship is a substantive status and gives its holders all the rights and privileges that other Israeli citizens have. About 130 Righteous Gentiles resettled in Israel; they are entitled to permanent residency and a special pension from the state.


See also

*
Visa policy of Israel Visitors to Israel must obtain a travel visa, visa unless they come from one of the visa-exempt countries and obtain an electronic travel authorization (ETA-IL). Nationals of certain countries may obtain an electronic visa (e-Visa) online, while ...
* Visa requirements for Israeli citizens


References


Citations


General and cited sources

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External links


Ministry of Aliyah and Immigration
{{DEFAULTSORT:Israeli citizenship law Israeli nationality law Zionism