A new survey conducted by Smith Consulting shows that two-thirds of the public agreed with the claim that the active immigration of those who do not identify themselves as Jews as they immigrate poses a danger to Israel's identity as a Jewish state.
The survey, commissioned by the Israeli Immigration Policy Center, was conducted in the background of a government decision earlier this week to approve the immigration of thousands of people waiting in the Addis Ababa & Gondar camps in Ethiopia.
21% disagreed with the claim (13% did not express an opinion). Among those who support the claim are also 53% of respondents who identified themselves as Yesh Atid voters in the last election (the party of the Minister of Immigrant Absorption, Pnina Temano Sheta).
The survey examined a few options for accepting citizens from foreign countries. 63% of the Jewish public cited in the survey said they support the option of allowing them to immigrate solely based on the Law of Return (according to their recognition as Jews) and only 24% based on family reunification. Among supporters of the Yesh Atid party, 51% argued that the aliyah should be allowed only based on the Law of Return, and 37% would rely on family unification.
The survey also examined public attitudes regarding the unique situation in Ethiopia, where it was determined at the beginning of the 2000s that there were no Jews left, and from which, according to the findings of the Central Bureau of Statistics, between 2013 and 2019, only 2% of immigrants were registered as Jews. Also, the lists compiled these days are based entirely on family reunification and not on the Law of Return. Given these figures, between 52% and 58% of the public opposes granting immigration approval based on family reunification only and is more supportive of immigration based on the Law of Return. 27% -28% support immigration based on family reunification and about 20% did not express an opinion.
The Center for Israeli Immigration Policy said: "The security fence that stopped the infiltration from Africa has been completely breached. The Jewish Agency and government ministries have simply opened a detour and continue to bring tens of thousands of non-Jews to Israel, although it has been proven time and time again that the connection between them and Judaism is very weak. In the form of the Law of Return against this new infiltration, which is being carried out under the guise of incompetence by the authorities and based solely on family reunification. "