"And You Shall Love the Stranger": Roundtable on Immigration Policy and its Implications

24 December 2012 At 05:00 PM

The Israel Democracy Institute | 4 Pinsker Street | Jerusalem

On Monday, December 24, 2012, IDI's George Shultz Roundtable Forum convened a roundtable on Immigration Policy and its Implications. During the course of the discussion, the following questions were raised:

Is it necessary for the State of Israel to establish immigration policies beyond the Law of Return? How would such policies impact the legitimate interests of the state and its citizens? Must such policies or their foundations be established by law?
What is the economic and social impact of migrants on Israelis, both in the labor market and in the underprivileged neighborhoods where these workers live? How best should these effects be addressed?

The roundtable also explored issues related to Israeli policy regarding asylum seekers, refugees, and other individuals who cannot be removed from the State.

This Hebrew event was broadcast live on the IDI website.

Moderator: Einat Fishbein

Mr. Adam Bashar, Co-Founder, B'nai Darfur (Sons of Darfur)
Attorney Yonatan Berman, Migrants Rights Clinic, Academic Center of Law and Business
Prof. Hanoch Dagan, Senior Fellow, Israel Democracy Institute; Faculty of Law, Tel-Aviv University
Prof. Zvi Eckstein, Dean of the School of Economics, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya - IDC
Dr. Michal Givoni, Lecturer in political theory, Ben-Gurion University; Board member, ASSAF
Attorney Yochi Gnessin, Head of Administrative Law Affairs, State Attorney's Office
Mr. Meir Yitzhak Halevi, Mayor of Eilat
Mr. Ala Khatib, C.E.O., Kav LaOved
MK Dov Khenin, MK, Hadash Party (The Democratic Front for Peace and Equality)
Prof. Mordechai Kremnitzer, Vice President of Research, Israel Democracy Institute; Professor Emeritus and Former Dean of the Law Faculty, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Adv. Iris Maayan, Section Head, Foreign Workers' Rights, Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor
Prof. Guy Mundlak, Faculty of Law and Department of Labor Studies, Tel Aviv University
Dr. Taniv Rofe, Ministry of Agriculture
Prof. Galia Sabar, Chair, African Studies, Tel Aviv University
Prof. Yuval Shany, Senior Fellow, Israel Democracy Institute, Dean of Faulty of Law, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Karen Tal, CEO Tovanot B'Hinuch (Education Insights)
Mr. Avshalom Vilan, Secretary-General, Israeli Farmers' Association
Prof. Raphi Walden, Chairman, Physicians for Human Rights
Attorney Reuven (Ruvi) Ziegler, Researcher, Israel Democracy Institute; Lecturer in Public Law and Human Rights, University of Reading, United Kingdom
Attorney Dina Zilber, Deputy Attorney General, Justice Ministry
Dr. Hani Zubida, Department of Political Science, Max Stern Yezreel Valley College