Law of Return - Special Survey
A special survey conducted by Shlomit Ravitsky Tur-Paz, Director of the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Center for Shared Society and the Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research, found that almost half of Israelis think that the diaspora Jewry should be part of the public debate on the Law of Return and 51% think that canceling the "grandchild clause" in the Law of Return is liable to significantly reduce immigration to Israel.
Attorney Ravitsky Tur-Paz stated that: "A large portion of the Israeli public is very disturbed by the ease at which possible harm may be done to one of the central characteristics of Zionism, without a broad public discussion that includes representatives of Diaspora Jewry, and without also dealing with the question of easing the conversion process for those who are the 'seed of Israel.' The issue of those who ‘exploit’ immigration benefits will not be resolved through this proposed initiative and should instead be settled by amending the ‘passport law.’ The shows, once again, that huge gaps exist between various sectors regarding Israel’s Jewish identity and makes clear the need for intensive dialogue in an attempt to reach a broad agreement."
Main Findings:
Should representatives of diaspora Jewry be included in Knesset discussions on the Law of Return?
Should representatives of diaspora Jewry be included in Knesset discussions on the Law of Return?
To what extent do you agree or disagree that the proposed cancelation of the "grandchild clause" in the Law of Return is intended to maintain the Jewish majority in Israel?
To what extent do you agree or disagree that the proposed cancelation of the "grandchild clause" in the Law of Return is intended to maintain the Jewish majority in Israel?
To what extent do you agree or disagree that canceling the "grandchild clause" in the Law of Return is liable to damage the Zionist principle of absorbing immigration and gathering the exiles?
To what extent do you agree or disagree that canceling the "grandchild clause" in the Law of Return is liable to damage the Zionist principle of absorbing immigration and gathering the exiles?
To what extent do you agree or disagree that canceling the "grandchild clause" in the Law of Return will significantly reduce immigration to Israel?
To what extent do you agree or disagree that canceling the "grandchild clause" in the Law of Return will significantly reduce immigration to Israel?
Do you agree or disagree that the State of Israel should offer more lenient conversion solutions for Israelis who are not recognized as Jewish according to halakha?
Do you agree or disagree that the State of Israel should offer more lenient conversion solutions for Israelis who are not recognized as Jewish according to halakha?
To what extent would you be disturbed if a male or female member of your family married someone who is not Jewish according to halakha but grew up in Israel?
This survey on proposed legislative reforms was prepared by the Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at the Israel Democracy Institute. The survey was conducted via the internet and by telephone (to include groups that are under-represented on the internet) between January 15 and 18, 2023, with 621 men and women interviewed in Hebrew and 147 in Arabic, constituting a nationally representative sample of the adult population in Israel aged 18 and over. The maximum sampling error was ±3.59% at a confidence level of 95%. Field work was carried out by Midgam Research and Consulting Ltd. The full data file can be found at: Data Israel.