To Israel and Back; American Aliyah and Return Migration

Publication Date: January 1986

Publisher: American Jewish Committee

Author(s): Chaim I. Waxman; Michael Appel

Research Area: Culture and religion

Keywords: American Jewry; Immigration; Jewish identification

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

This survey attempts to examine some of the factors that impelled some American Jews to immigrate to Israel and later to return to the United States, and to determine how that experience has affected their sense of Jewish identity and commitment. American returnees constitute a sizable subpopulation within the American Jewish community that maintains a unique relationship with Israel. The effects of this relationship on the Jewish identity and affiliations of these people may have important implications both for Israel and for American Jewry, and their experiences should be of interest to both communities.