Israeli citizenship law details the conditions by which a person holds citizenship of Israel. The two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the 1950 Law of Return and 1952 Citizenship Law.
A British mandate-era passport for a Palestinian resident
A welcoming for new immigrants from North America
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally described as "the act of going up", moving to the Land of Israel or "making aliyah" is one of the most basic tenets of Zionism. The opposite action — emigration by Jews from the Land of Israel — is referred to in the Hebrew language as yerida. The Law of Return that was passed by the Israeli parliament in 1950 gives all diaspora Jews, as well as their children and grandchildren, the right to relocate to Israel and acquire Israeli citizenship on the basis of connecting to their Jewish identity.
Abba Hushi during his Hachshara, circa 1920
Survey of Palestine, showing place of origin of immigrants between 1922 and 1944
Certificate issued by the Jewish Agency in Warsaw, Poland, for immigrant to Mandatory Palestine, September 1935.
Buchenwald survivors arrive in Haifa to be arrested by the British, July 15, 1945