Waves of immigration to the state of Israel.
For at least two thousand years Jews were dispersed all over the world. Some of them unacceptably joined with other nations. Yet many kept their identity as a nation by staying loyal to their religious faith and by their desire to survive as one people preserving common racial features and culture. Israeli society has been shaped by immigration patterns, more than most other countries. Changes in the rates of immigration and the characteristics of immigrants are critical for understanding each of the major themes that guide the analysis of the population. So the multi-cultures that comprise the state of Israel finally had a chance to immigrate to Israel when in 1950 the Israeli parliament called the Knesset passed a law authorizing citizenship for anyone who settles in Israel. However, there were continuous conflicts on defining the criteria for citizenship and thus identifying the real Jew. There were a lot of debates and questions concerning this issue inside Israel: "Landmark court cases have narrowed the issue but have not resoled it. A 1970 amendment to the law of return includes non- -Jewish spouses, children, and grandchildren of Jew's. Professed Jews with Jewish mothers or those who have converted to Judaism in accordance with religious law satisfy the criteria. However, some converted Jews, especially those converted by non orthodox rabbis, face barriers, as do those who have converted from Judaism to another religion. The practice of Judaism as a religion is not a criterion for citizenship - Israeli studies show that more than half of the country's Jews are (Nonobservant) secular - and it is significant that more family descent has become the primary studied, rein forcing the ethnicity of jewishness. The influx of fsu olim brought, for the first time. Thousands of non -Russians who envisioned greater promise in the more affluent society of Israel.