December 4 Blog

3. Page 410: What does the Israeli Law of Return state? What rationale did David Ben-Gurion give for the passing of this law?

The Israeli Law of Return states every Jew has the right to immigrate to Israel. Immigration shall be granted based on a Jews ability to obtain an immigration visa. The distribution of immigration visas was not selective; any Jew that expressed the desire to immigrate to Israel was granted a visa. A Jew can only be denied a visa if: a) the person is acting against the Jewish people or b) the person is likely to endanger public health or the security of Israeli. If a Jew travels to Israel and decides to settle there, they can obtain an immigration certificate. This law also states that any Jew who immigrated to Israel before the law was passed, including Jews born in the country, is to be considered as having immigrated in accordance with this law. The final stipulation of this law states the minister of immigration is responsible for the enforcement of this law, and has the power to create legislation to regulate it. They are also responsible for granting immigration visas to minors under the age of 18.  

David Ben-Gurion believed “The State of Israel is not a Jewish state merely because the majority of its inhabitants are Jews. It is a state for all the Jews wherever they may be and for every Jew who so desires.” The creation of this Jewish state was not new; Israel existed long ago during the times of Bar Kokhba and Rabbi Akiba. Gurion claimed the passage of this law was a pivotal moment in the fate of the state of Israel. He writes, “No event in our life from our emergence as a people until the present has been so decisive.” This law was central to the reasoning behind why the creation of a Jewish state was so necessary. This state would inhabit all willing Jewish exiles, putting an end to the diaspora. But Gurion does note the passage of this law is merely a means to an end. It is “another stage in the long path leading to the full redemption of Israel.”

7. Who were the Israeli Black Panthers and what were their demands?

The Israeli Black Panthers was an organization established in 1971 in order to fight oppression placed on Israeli’s from Middle Eastern countries and North Africa. These Jews who immigrated to Israel during the 1950s and 1960s faced high levels of unemployment, poor living conditions, and a lack of educational opportunities. The blame for this was placed on the ruling Labor class who mostly constituted of European or Ashkenazi Jews. On the third of March, 1971, the organization held a demonstration in Jerusalem against the cost of living. A series of other demonstrations, sometimes violent, catapulted the Oriental Jews into the public light. People of Israel could no longer remain ignorant to the oppression placed upon these Jews. As the Israeli Black Panthers stepped into the center stage of Israeli politics, they created a considerable wave of recognition and change.