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The Israeli Jewish Diaspora in the United States: Socio-Cultural Mobility and Attachment to Homeland1

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The Israeli Jewish Diaspora in the United States: Socio-Cultural Mobility and Attachment to Homeland1 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN THE ISRAELI JEWISH DIASPORA IN THE UNITED STATES: SOCIO-CULTURAL MOBILITY AND ATTACHMENT TO HOMELAND1 Uzi Rebhun Introduction At the end of 2005, the population of the state of Israel was estimated at 6.9 million (CBS 2006). This figure reflects the number of permanent inhabitants according to the Central Bureau of Statistics’ definition. Approximately three-fourths of the Israeli population were Jews, and the rest being mainly Muslims, Christians, and Druse. In addition to the inhabitants present in the country, there is a large Israeli community which resides permanently abroad. Since the founda- tion of the state and until the end of 2005, some 910,000 inhabitants emigrated who have not returned to the country (CBS 2006). This conglomerate includes people who left the country recently as tourists, for family gatherings, or business and intend to return shortly; students, diplomats, and state officials as well as academicians on sabbaticals whose stay abroad is limited to an often known and defined period; as well as people who emigrated, and those who passed away abroad. This figure includes non-Jewish Israeli emigrants. Given all these sub-groups, we estimate the number of Israeli Jews who live permanently abroad at roughly half-a-million people (Sicron 2004). Slightly more than half of them reside in the United States (Paltiel 1986, Sicron 2004) with other large Israeli communities in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and France (Gold 2002). Emigration from Israel is voluntary and individualistic (Goldscheider 2002). The rate of emigration, relative to the size of the total population, 1 This chapter is dedicated to the memory of a beloved and dear nephew, Daniel Shiran (http://www.danielshiran.co.il). Daniel was born in Israel, graduated from the prestigious “Hareali” high school in Haifa, and after continuous efforts raised his medical profile and volunteered for his military service to the combat unit “Golani”. Daniel was killed in a battle on August 4, 2006 during the Second Lebanon War. 318 chapter SEVENTEEN is modest and stands at a medium or even low level as compared to other Western countries (Sicron 2004). Counter migration, either to the country of origin or to a third destination, is one of the explanations for emigration from Israel. Pull factors involved in out-migration include economic opportunities, possibilities for professional mobility, and an improved standard of living; push factors include the security situation and the burden of military service as well as family considerations such as the desire to join relatives (Lamdani 1983, Sobel 1986). Trends in the interplay between these factors may explain the temporal fluctuations in the amount of emigration from Israel. Overall, we witness a decline in the rate of emigration over time (DellaPergola 2004). Many Israeli emigrants have relatives and friends in Israel with whom they maintain contact, as well as professional or economic ties. They visit Israel frequently, are constantly updated about political and social developments in their home country, and even after a relatively long absence describe their residence abroad as temporary (Kimhi 1990, Lev-Ari 2001). The Israeli establishment, and, accordingly, also the organized American Jewish community, have over time changed their longstanding somewhat antagonistic attitude towards Israeli emigrants to a more constructive perception in an attempt to link them more strongly to Israel, to get assistance from the more successful elements among them for various economic and political needs, and to expose their offspring already born abroad to Israel (Gold 2002, 2004). Perhaps the success of this new approach is to be seen in public and political discussions dealing with the possibility of granting Israelis abroad the right to vote in Israeli elections. Past research suggests that Israeli immigrants in the United States are a positive selective group whose educational attainments and socio- economic status are higher than those of the average origin society as well as that of non-Hispanic white Americans or other immigrant groups to the United States (Cohen 1996). Most Israeli immigrants arrive with education already acquired in Israel and many go on with advanced studies in the United States (Rosenthal 1989, Rosenthal and Auerbach 1992, Toren 1976). Accordingly, they are often able to get high incomes and reside in middle-upper class neighborhoods. However, not all Israeli Americans are successful and a relatively large number tend to concentrate in trade and sales jobs (Cohen 1989). High socio- economic status as well as young age at immigration or long duration in the United States are positively associated with cultural assimilation including proficiency in English (Lev-Ari 2001, Rosenthal and Auerbach 1992, Bozorgmehr, Der-Martirosian and Sabagh 1996)..
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