Latino Migrants in the Jewish State: Undocumented Lives in Israel
In the 1990s, thousands of non-Jewish Lations arrived in Israel as undocumented immigrants. Drawing on research in South America and Israel, Barak Kalir follows these workers from their decision to migrate to their experiences finding work, establishing social clubs and evangelical Christian churches, and putting down roots in Israeli society. While the State of Israel formally rejected the presence of non-Jewish migrants, Latinos found themselves capable of prolonged settlement and de facto...
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In the 1990s, thousands of non-Jewish Latinos arrived in Israel as undocumented immigrants. Based on his fieldwork in South America and Israel, Barak Kalir follows these workers from their decision to migrate to their experiences finding work, establishing social clubs and evangelical Christian churches, and putting down roots in Israeli society. While the State of Israel rejected the presence of non-Jewish migrants, many citizens accepted them. Latinos grew to favor cultural assimilation to Israeli society. In 2005, after a large-scale deportation campaign that drew criticism from many quarters, Israel made the historic decision to legalize the status of some undocumented migrant families on the basis of their cultural assimilation and identification with the State. By doing so, the author maintains, Israel recognized the importance of practical belonging for understanding citizenship and national identity.
Acknowledgments xi1 Introduction: Undocumented Belonging 1Part 12 Unsettling Setting: A Jewish State Dependent on Non-Jewish Labor 273 Destiny and Destination: Latinos Deciding to Leave for Israel 57Part 24 Shifting Strategies: From the Accumulation of Money toward the Accumulation of Belonging 895 Divisive Dynamics: The Absence of Political Community and the Differentiations of the Recreational Scene 1266 The Religious Forms of Undocumented Lives: Latino Evangelical Churches 156Part 37 Israeli Resolution, Latino Disillusion: From Massive Deportation to Symbolic Legalization 2038 Conclusion: A New Assimilation? 228Notes 237Bibliography 243Index 257
\ Choice"A unique study of undocumented immigrants from Latin America living in Israel, this study brings a wealth of previously unknown data about the tribulations of a population viewed as problematic in much of the Western world.... Highly recommended." —Choice\ \
