Christianity in Israel - Religion and Citizenship

Religion and Citizenship

Israel was founded to provide a national home, safe from persecution, to the Jewish people. Although Israeli law explicitly grants equal civil rights to all citizens regardless of religion, ethnicity, or other heritage, it gives preferential treatment in certain aspects to individuals who fall within the criteria mandated by the Law of Return. Preferential treatment is given to Jews and their relatives who seek to immigrate to Israel. This serves to increase the Jewish population and provides asylum to people who face religious discrimination in the countries they emigrate from.

The Law of Return does not strictly follow the traditional Jewish religious law (halakha) in relation to the definition of who is a Jew. For example, some individuals who would be considered Jewish under halakha are excluded from the rights under the Law of Return - e.g. those who converted to another religion; while others are entitled to immigration though they are not considered Jewish under halakha, e.g. they are related by marriage to a Jew or a grandparent may have been a Jew.