Aliyah and the Ingathering of Exiles: Jewish Immigration to Israel

Abstract

This research focuses on the way that new immigrants to Israel ('olim gadashim') give content and meaning to their immigration ('Aliyah'). The olim are in a constant conversation with Israeli society and its institutions over their place and role within society. Their role, and the space they occupy, is subject to constant change and conflict, giving them and interesting position in society. This research approaches. Aliyah as a cloth made up of different fabrics, exploring the multiple meanings and layers of Aliyah. This will be done by looking at who the olim gadahim are; what their motivations for making Aliyah are; how they conceptualize their Aliyah through looking at four main rites-de-passage they go through and how they 'act'-out' their Aliyah through bodily participation in society. Tjis research will unravel the multi-vocality of Aliyah and olimgadashim as well as touch upon the relatinships between structure and agency, exclusion and inclusion, the self and other and continuity and change using the constructivist theory as put forward by Bourdieu and Giddens. This research emphasises the importance of having eye for their individuality of informants, telling their story 'the way it is', whilst at the same time realizing thet the interpretation of the perspective shown in the research will depend on the 'eye of the beholder'.