From overt rejection to enthusiastic embracement: changing state discourses on Israeli emigration

Abstract

This paper deploys a critical discourse analysis methodology to examine the emergence of three (sometimes overlapping) discourses on emigration in Israel. It examines the linkages between the various discursive phases and processes of (trans-) national identity formation among emigrants. It argues that emigration discourses have often been strong predictors of subsequent changes in state policies-and other programmatic initiatives-aimed at Israeli citizens abroad. By juxtaposing the discursive construction of emigration (and its linkages to nation-forming political strategies in Israel) and the effects they have had on emigrant identities the paper contributes to the emerging literature on state-diaspora relations and transnational politics.

Leadership in Migration Systems: The Case of Israel

“…In the 1980s in Israel, Jewish emigration was still considered to be a negative phenomenon, though gaining some popular legitimacy [88]. In the 2010s, it seems to be becoming much more acceptable [89]. A strong stigmergy-like effect can be seen in the social contagion influence on emigration in the decisions of others to also leave Israel [88].…”

Introduction: immigrants and transnational experiences in world cities

“…In some cases, traditional emigrant-sending countries have transformed into immigrant-receiving countries as the result of domestically accelerated economic development and decreasing population natural growth, as in some Southern European countries including Italy (Mudu 2007). In other cases, traditional immigrantreceiving countries have also evolved into emigrantsending countries, creating new diasporas across the world as in the case of Israel (Cohen 2007) or New Zealand. In still other variations, some developing countries have positioned themselves in terms of both sending emigrants and receiving immigrants-sometimes former expatriates-in large numbers, as in the cases of both China and India (Chacko 2007;Ramji 2006;Saxenian 2005).…”

“…In contrast, Cohen's work on Israel's changing state policy for emigration charts a perspective from country of origin while focusing on state-diaspora relations and transnational politics. Cohen analyzes the stages of the emigration process of Israelis, arguing that from ''an utter exclusion of emigrants from the public sphere (and the nation itself), [it] gradually changed to capture emigration as a rational economic strategy and recently culminated in the construction of a de-territorialized Israeli citizen'' (Cohen 2007).…”

Rights Beyond Borders: Everyday Politics of Citizenship in the Israeli Diaspora

“…the possession of a national passport) and reflect a thicker understanding of involvement in homelandoriented cultural affairs. Despite, or perhaps because of, historically uneasy relations between the Israeli state and migrants (Cohen 2007), the unfolding process of rapprochement triggers a re-articulation of Israeli citizenship outside state territory. The article considers interpretations of state and social agents to this expected symmetry and analyses the ways in which citizenship becomes a site of negotiation over cultural rights and obligations beyond national borders.…”