Immigration as a Challenge

Since its founding, Israel has perceived itself as the homeland for all Jews. The Declaration of Independence (1949) states that by the Law of Return every Jew is entitled to settle in Israel and to become a citizen. Large waves of immigration were often prompted by intolerable distress in the countries of origins or the wish to fulfill the Zionist dream of Aliya or ascending to Israel. In this context, approximately 500,000 persons emigrated to Israel from 1989 to 1993 due to the social unrest existing in the Soviet Union in the post-Perestroika and -Glastnost era (Ginath & Maoz, 1993).