Come Home, Be Professional: Ethno-nationalism and Economic Rationalism in Israel's Return Migration Strategy

Abstract

The current article examines Israel's return migration strategy since its early days of statehood. Through a critical analysis of incentive-based programmes geared towards Israeli emigrants it argues that despite an explicitly ethno-national discourse to justify repatriation, state-sponsored initiatives have been economically motivated, targeting as such a segmented group of highly skilled emigrants. The strategy's inherent tension between the broad appeal reflected in the ethno-national call for emigrants to return (‘Israel encourages all Israeli Jews to return home’), and the selective focus on narrowly-defined groups of emigrants based on their expected contribution to the national economy (‘Israel needs talented and highly skilled individuals’) is discussed. Focusing on the political debate around return migration from the 1950s through to the present, the essay illustrates the strategy's constant oscillation between broad ethno-nationalism and particular (neo-liberal) economic rationalism.

Notes

 [1] Jewish Tribune, November 2, 2006, 1–3; emphasis added.

 [2] Wagner, M. ‘Emigrants wooed with jobs’. Jerusalem Post, September 26, 2006, 5.

 [3] Ravenstein, ‘The Laws of Migration I’; and Ravenstein, ‘The Laws of Migration II’.

 [4] Bovenkerk, The Sociology of Return Migration; Campbell, Johnson and Stangler, ‘Return Migration of Black People to the South’; Cassarino, ‘Theorising Return Migration’; Cerase, A Study of Italian Migrants’; Cerase, ‘Expectations and Reality’; Gmelch, ‘Return Migration’; King, ‘Return Migration’; Lee, ‘Return Migration in the United States’; Long and Hansen, ‘Trends in Return Migration’; Rhoades, ‘From Cases to Main Street’; Vanderkamp, ‘Return Migration’.

 [5] Byron and Condon, ‘A Comparative Study of Caribbean Return Migration’; Colton, ‘Homeward Bound’; Dustman, ‘Return Migration’; Galor and Stark, ‘Migrants’ Savings’; Ilahi, ‘Return Migration and Occupational Change’; Zhao, ‘Causes and Consequences of Return Migration’.

 [6] Athukroala, ‘International Contract Migration’; Arowolo ‘Return Migration’.

 [7] Diatta and Mbow, ‘Releasing the Development Potential’; Gundel, ‘The Migration-Development Nexus’; Lindstrom, ‘Economic Opportunity in Mexico’; Lockwood, ‘Development and Return Migration’; Olesen, ‘Migration, Return, and Development’; Potter, Conway and Phillips, The Experience of Return Migration; and Thomas-Hope, 1999.

 [8] Portes, Guarnizo and Landolt, ‘The Study of Transnationalism’.

 [9] Levitt, The Transnational Villagers; and Ong, Flexible Citizenship.

[10] Smith and Guarnizo, Transnationalism From Below .

[11] Duval, ‘Linking Return Visits and Rerun Migration’.

[12] Ley and Kobayashi, ‘Back to Hong Kong’, 113.

[13] Markowitz and Stefansson, Homecomings.

[14] Soysal, The Limits of Citizenship.

[15] Laguerre, Diasporic Citizenship.

[16] Margheritis, ‘State-led Transnationalism and Migration’; Østergaard-Nielsen, International Migration and Sending Countries.

[17] Itzigsohn, ‘Immigration and the Boundaries of Citizenship; Massey, ‘International Migration’.

[18] Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity.

[19] Larner, ‘Expatriate Experts’, 332.

[20] Smith, ‘Diasporic Memberships in Historical Perspective’.

[21] Chander, ‘Homeward Bound’, 76.

[22] Kuznetsov, Diaspora Networks; Lowell and Gerova, Diasporas and Economic Development; and Smart and Hsu, ‘The Chinese Diaspora’.

[23] De Haas, ‘Engaging Diasporas’, 91.

[24] Sheffer, Modern Diasporas; and Sheffer, ‘Israeli-Diaspora Relations’.

[25] Shokeid, Children of Circumstances; and Sobel, Migrants from the Promised Land.

[26] Gold, The Israeli Diaspora.

[27] Cohen, ‘From Overt Rejection’.

[28] Gold, ‘Israeli Emigration Policy’.

[29] Cohen, ‘From Overt Rejection’.

[30] Har-Even, ‘Emigration as a Social Problem’.

[31] Proceedings, Immigration and Absorption, January 18, 1993, 26.

[32] See Cohen, ‘From Overt Rejection’; and Gidron, The Israeli Community in Toronto.

[33] Proceedings, Immigration and Absorption, February 20, 1989, 17; emphasis added.

[34] Official site of the Israeli Consulate General in Los Angeles. http://www.israeliconsulatela.org/ilhouse.asp (accessed April 25, 2009); emphasis added.

[35] Elitzur, Israelis Living in the U.S.; Toren, ‘Return to Zion; Toren, ‘Return Migration to Israel’; Cohen and Haberfeld, ‘Self-selection and Return Migration’.

[36] Cohen and Gold, ‘Constructing Ethnicity’; and Gold, The Israeli Diaspora.

[37] Urieli, ‘Rhetorical Ethnicity of Permanent Sojourners’.

[38] Gold, ‘Transnationalism and Vocabularies of Motive’; Mittelberg and Waters, ‘The Process of Ethnogenesis’; and Sabar, Kibbutzniks in the Diaspora.

[39] See for example M. Wagner, ‘Emigrants Wooed with Jobs’, Jerusalem Post, September 26, 2006, 5; H.L. Kreiger, ‘“Come Home to Kibbutzim,” Israelis Abroad Urged by New Program’, Jerusalem Post, February 15, 2005, 1; and M. Lando, ‘Absorption Ministry's New Campaign Targets “Yordim,”’ Jerusalem Post, October 30, 2006, 5.

[40] Toren, ‘Return to Zion’; and Gold, ‘Israeli Emigration Policy’, 296–7.

[41] Fein, ‘The Re-Acclimation of Returning Israelis’.

[42] It is estimated that an excess of 100,000 Israeli Jews left the country during the state's first decade of independence (1948–58).

[43] Z. Avnon, Proceedings, Sub-committee on Emigration, January 13, 1954, 4.

[44] E. Shay, Proceedings, Sub-committee on Emigration, January 20, 1954, 6.

[45] A. Michaeli, Proceedings, Immigration and Absorption, March 12, 1985, 2.

[46] A. Michaeli, Proceedings of the Meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Immigration and Absorption, March 12, 1985, 2

[47] ‘The Absorption of Israeli Scientists Wishing to Return to Israel’, Knesset Proceedings, May 15, 1968, 1894; emphasis added.

[48] Ritterband, ‘The Non-Returning Israeli Student’; and Ritterband, ‘The Determinants of Motives of Israeli Students’.

[49] Ritterband, Education, Employment, and Migration, 83–9.

[50] See for example, ‘Ways to Encourage the Return of Young Academics and Prevent Their Settlement Overseas’, Knesset Proceedings, August 30, 1966; and ‘Data on Israeli Academics Abroad’, Knesset Proceedings, January 21, 1970.

[51] ‘The Absorption of Israeli Scientists Wishing To Return to Israel’, Knesset Proceedings, May 15, 1968, 1893; and Knesset Proceedings, May 15, 1968, 1895–6.

[52] Giladi, ‘Israeli Economy’.

[53] ‘Ways to Encourage Young Academics and Prevent Their Settlement Abroad’, Knesset Proceedings, August 3, 1968, 2376.

[54] Toren, ‘Return Migration to Israel’.

[55] Elitzur, Israelis Living in the U.S.

[56] Toren, ‘Return to Zion’, 557.

[57] Cohen and Haberfeld, ‘Self-selection and Return Migration’.

[58] Fein, ‘The Re-Acclimation of Returning Israelis’.

[59] In a widely watched news programme, Israeli television's Channel 1 reporter Dan Shilon publicly expressed its frustration with the programme, noting it was immoral to provide benefits to emigrants at the expense of other Israeli citizens. His remark resonated with the feeling of many in Israel that the way to go about returning emigrants was not by subsidising their journey back.

[60] ‘Minister on Immigration and Absorption's Review of the Activities of his Ministry’, Knesset Proceedings, November 30, 1977.

[61] Proceedings, Immigration and Absorption, January 31, 1978, 7.

[62] Y. Rom, Proceedings of the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption, August 11, 1977, 12; emphasis added.

[63] Lahis, Israelis in the USA.

[64] See Lahis, Israelis in the USA.

[65] D. Shilanski, Proceedings, Immigration and Absorption, February 25, 1982, 4; emphasis added.

[66] Proceedings, Immigration and Absorption, May 21, 1985, 5.

[67] A. Michaeli, Proceedings, Immigration and Absorption, March 12, 1985, 5.

[68] A. Michaeli, Proceedings of the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption, March 12, 1985, 5

[69] DellaPergolla, ‘The Global Context of Migration to Israel’, estimates that roughly 600,000 Soviet Jews have migrated to Israel between 1990 and 1995.

[70] Proceedings, Immigration and Absorption, December 15, 1998, 3.

[71] Member of Knesset Naomi Blumenthal, for example, recommended that physicians receive priority in all return migration initiatives.

[72] Ministry of Immigrants Absorption, Press Release.

[73] Larner, ‘Expatriate Experts’.

[74] Shachar, ‘The Race for Talent’.

[75] Gamlen, The Brain Drain is Dead.

[76] Meyer and Brown, ‘Scientific Diasporas’.

[77] Official website of the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption. http://www.moia.gov.il/Moia_he/ScientistsProject/HashavatMochot.htm (accessed April 26, 1999).