A bill has been submitted to the Israeli Knesset again aimed at changing the fundamental Law on Return. The initiator was Avi Maoz, the leader of the Orthodox Noam Party, who on April 10, 2025, submitted an amendment proposing to completely revoke the right to repatriation for Jewish grandchildren.
Historical context
The current attempt to change the “paragraph on grandchildren” is not the first. Similar initiatives have been put forward before, including in April 2023 by the same Avi Maoz. However, at the time, Prime Minister Netanyahu opposed these changes, saying in an interview with NBC: “This will require careful consideration, I doubt there will be any changes.”
William Daroff, head of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, expressed his opposition to the changes in the law: “The Law of Return is the foundation of Zionism. Our ancestors took the Nuremberg laws and said: if one grandfather or grandmother was enough to kill you, that’s enough to let you in.”
Natalia Meleshko, an expert on repatriation issues, notes: “The paragraph on grandchildren grants an additional right to repatriation not only to Jews and their children, but also to grandchildren up to the third generation. This right is not revoked even if neither of the candidate’s parents is a Halakha Jew.”
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Political changes in Israel have significantly complicated the repatriation process. According to the RICC Law Center, by the beginning of 2025, there are:
- Strengthening control measures, including stricter verification of documents;
- Cancellation of the emergency repatriation program;
- Domestic political debates on issues of mixed marriages and people with partial Jewish ancestry.
Journalist, editor with 9 years of experience in investment immigration. I specialize in analysis of residency and tax programs, as well as individual selection of jurisdictions for relocation.
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