Are Israelis White? | Zionism Revisited | Unpacked

Cindy Seni, star of the new series on Netflix, "Jewish Matchmaking," shares the incredible tapestry of Jewish people who have found their way back home to Israel.

Throughout history, people have traveled from across the world to make Israel their home. This has created a fundamental Israeli value to encourage and support immigrant absorption.

Immigration to Israel is not without its challenges. While there may be many differences in ideologies, religious and political beliefs, and languages spoken, this vastly multicultural society is what makes Israel the richly diverse mosaic that it is today.

Netflix star Seni overviews several episodes of mass Aliyah from countries around the world, and how their presence in Israel expresses the fulfillment of the Zionist dream.

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:51 Demographic makeup of Israel
01:23 Mass absorption of refugees
01:46 What is "Aliyah"?
02:09 Israel as "an immigrant absorbing state"
02:46 Societal issues caused by immigrant absorption
03:10 Difficulty of emigration from Arab countries
03:24 Mizrahi Jewish identity
03:35 Immigration of Russian Jewry
04:23 Immigration and acceptance of Ethiopian Jews
05:12 Immigration from Western countries
05:38 Terrorism, Hebrew, and Zionism as sources of unity
06:31 Aliyah as the fulfillment of the Zionist dream
06:57 Outro

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Recommended video— Who Are Israelis, Really?

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Executive Producers:
Michael Maling
Adam Milstein
Barry Skolnick

Co-Executive Producers
Russell Greenberg
Gloria Kaylie
Andy Lappin

Gold Level:
Koum Family Foundation
Robyn & Russell Greenberg
Harvey & Gloria Kaylie Foundation
Crain-Maling Foundation
Adam and Gila Milstein Family Foundation
Skolnick Family Charitable Trust

Bronze Level:
Susan & Marc Sacks
Meryl & Sam Solomon
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Image and footage credits:

OpenDor Media
Flickr/Asim Bharwani/Israel Defense Forces/Yosef Silver/Topdog1
@Ra Boe/Wikipedia
GPO: Hans Pinn, Teddy Brauner, Nathan Alpert, Tsvika Israeli, Moshe Milner, Kobi Gideon, David Eldan, Zoltan Kluger, Fritz Cohen, Ya’acov Sa’ar, Nati Harnik, Mark Neyman, and Amos Ben Gershom
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Courtesy of Zev Siegel and David Laor
Wikimedia Commons/Tzahy
Storyblocks
Wikimedia Commons-public domain
Yad Vashem
Dangoor Family Archive
Jewish Agency for Israel
Gahetna Archive-public domain
Courtesy of Mahshava
Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom
Emunah of America
Israel Defense Forces
Palmach Archive
Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archives of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the World Zionist Organization
Nir Kafri for the Jewish Agency for Israel
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About Unpacked: We provide nuanced insights by unpacking all things Jewish. People are complex and complicated — yet we’re constantly being pushed to oversimplify our world. At Unpacked we know that being complex makes us more interesting. Because of this, we break the world down with nuance and insight to drive your curiosity and challenge your thinking.

#aliyah #israel #zionism

[mottyk]

In the 1950s when Jews moved from Arab lands it's not because they had a choice they were forced out

It's a very important fact to remember

[francisebbecke]

Visited Israel in 2017. I noticed there were a lot of Jews there.

[anthonyjat]

To consider Israelis white would be absurd. White means of European descent but for a long time it only focused on Germanic and only some Celtic and Romance peoples. Jews by definition come from the ancient Hebrews who were Semitic.

[davidmarc]

Very nice video. however you forgot to mention the Jews that were living in Israel before the Zionist immigration occurred. I'd kind of like to know more about that as well.

[BronzeSista]

From the earliest days of the American republic, Jews were technically considered white, at least in a legal sense. Under the Naturalization Act of 1790, they were considered among the “free white persons” who could become citizens. Later laws limited the number of immigrants from certain countries, restrictions which were in part targeted at Jews. But unlike Asian and African immigrants in the late 19th century, Jews retained a claim to being “Caucasian, ” meaning they could win full citizenship status based on their putative race.

[حصادالأخبار-صم]

What makes this video lose its credibility is that it completely ignores the Palestinians whom the Zionist project destroyed their lives, and denied (and continues to deny) them their right to their ancestral land and their very basic human rights. The video misleadingly mentioned that immigrants from all backgrounds and places are welcome to Israel. But what about Palestinians who were violently evicted from their homes and farms between 1947 and 1948? Israel don't allow them to return to their homes, not even allow them to visit. In a clear act of discrimination, any Jew from anywhere in the world can become a citizen and enjoy every right to the land, but Palestinians (who lived their centuries) don't have the same privilege. The video also fails to mention that Israel has been implementing a brutal occupation of Palestinian territories, a complete apartheid with segregated roads, home demolition, land confiscation, illegal settlements, separation walls, extreme movement restrictions, etc.

[Joe-pchs]

This should open everyones eyes when others KNOW that harping on white skin is popular and acceptable. In addition to being shielded from mass condemnation of racism.

[surferxblood]

A lot of Male Jews married white Anglo women and changed their last names to assimilate in the US.

[valerym]

When in Israel as a tourist I feel more secure than at home and I live in Western Europe.

[arielshapiro]

The proper term would be "Aramean" (Genesis 25:20, Deuteronomy 26:5). Like the Samaritans, Mandaeans, Chaldean Christians, Kurds, Yazidis, etc., the Israelites were native to Mesopotamia.

[jonasmatsea]

Intermarriage can produce people of different appearances yet of the same descent

[tomislavnagy]

Finally, You Guys made another Video about Israel!
You make to much Videos about USA; so, when You make Videos about Jewish People outside of USA is such a Great Thing!
Make more Videos like this one!

[TraverseRaps]

Go ask some of these people posting parenthesis and frog memes if they consider them to be white

[coreytime]

Y'all can't stop lying Arabic Jew ??? Either you from Ishmael or you not??... It's like Ashkenazi Jew are you from Ashkenaz or not?? you can't have two father's ....

[desoator]

1:42 its not "Russian" jews, but "Soviet" jews with a lot of different ethnicities, major one's are of course russian and ukrainians/

[EMINADO..]

I love the topic, it's refreshing and current.

[quigleyfox]

I thought “white” was a color not an idea

[Donn]

Each video you guys produce, gives me such nachas\t and pride. Maturely and succinctly explaining what Jews and Israel are about. Onward and upward!

[twistedyogert]

Well, the girl in the video isn't white.

[NikhileshSurve]

So Jewish community is multi racial. I find it odd that it's not something that well known or talked about.