Overview of the Jewish Law of Return and
Immigration of Jewish Communities from Around the World
This campaign brings together a panel of 3-4 speakers; Israelis from diverse backgrounds (Ethiopian, Russian, Iraqi, Yemenite, etc.). Each speaker will present the story of their community immigrating to Israel as well as other communities not represented on the panel, and their personal accounts of assimilation into the Israeli identity.
LAW OF
​RETURN
The presentation starts with an overview of the Jewish law of return, its historical significance, how it fulfills the idea of Zionism and a Jewish homeland, and why having a country that defines itself as Jewish is not a topic for debate but an existing fact, and rejecting it means applying a double standard towards Israel.
​GOALS
The goals of the presentation are to show how diverse the Israeli, and especially the Jewish community is, to show how phenomenal it is that a new country was able to absorb such a large amount of immigrants, and contrast the issues of Palestinian refugees as opposed to Jewish immigration returning to Israel. ​
Common accusations we hear on campuses these days include statements such as:
"Israelis are occupiers from Europe,"
"Jews are white colonialists,"
"Israel is a racist state,"
...and the list goes on.
A recent example comes from an article written by a Professor at Columbia University in response to SSI's "Hebrew Liberation Week" event, and goes as far as stating that "Suggesting, as the [SSI] posters do, that Jews have been driven out of their land (like indigenous people) and have finally returned to Israel–a trajectory that all indigenous people should unite behind–is a crude and cynical manipulation of (Jewish) history and a vulgar fabrication that not only makes no sense, but is also offensive in its use and abuse of indigenous peoples' histories of oppression."[1]
In addition, while it should be clear that sovereign countries have the right to define their own immigration laws, Israel is constantly being criticized for the right of return it provides for Jewish people to the Jewish homeland.
Moreover, questions are raised as to why those who are considered by UNRWA to be "Palestinian refugees" are not also given the right of return to Israel. All these accusations and critiques are being voiced while completely ignoring the unprecedented miracle of immigration absorption on a mass scale that happened in Israel, where people from many different backgrounds were successfully able to come together as one nation and create a new identity, the "Israeli."
IMMIGRATION NATION includes the stories of over 1 million Israelis who came from former USSR republics, Operation Solomon - bringing Jews from Ethiopia, Operation Magic Carpet - bringing Jews from Yemen, & many more!
​Contact us to host this event on your campus:
*This campaign is also open to ​non-SSI pro-Israel campus groups!
​"The amazing story about the Jewish immigration to Israel is that it's not an immigration - it's a homecoming!"
Watch a few moments from the presentation of Panelist, Naor Bitton, Israeli political and community leader born to parents of Moroccan and Algerian decent:
Past campaign speakers and posters: