Constituting the Jewish State

The modern paradigm of citizenship is traditionally a mechanism of inclusion. But in Israel this has been radically transformed with structures built around systems of colonial exclusion. This book examines the historical, ideological and political processes that have enabled this diluted and non-entrenched notion of citizenship in Israel to evolve. It then connects this to the increasingly interrogated figure of the citizen in the West. The research is based on close examination of the Law of Return (1950), as well as previously unexamined documents and original materials from archives in Jerusalem, London and Geneva. Shourideh Molavi examines the placement of the 'citizen' and the 'immigrant' in the Israeli constitutional order and shows how the gaze toward'undesirable outsiders' has been widened to include 'undesirable insiders'. In unpacking the political dynamics at play, the book uses the Israeli logic of exclusion as a mirror to understanding the changing practices of modern citizenship in 'core' liberal democratic states today. Reflecting on changes in France, Britain and Canada - and with reference to Denmark, Australia, the Netherlands and Switzerland - the book reveals how the structures, logics and discourses of liberal citizenship are being mobilized to exclude citizens from within. Israel surfaces as a useful - though troubling - context for understanding what may be considered the internationalization of citizenship restrictions in the West.