Rights, capabilities, and the making of citizens : Jewish immigrants in Israel

Adina Babesh-Fruchter began conducting research for this book over a decade ago. As a graduate student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, she was intrigued by how a newly arrived Jewish immigrant in Israel—with little to no knowledge of Hebrew and limited experience with democratic processes—would comprehend and make use of his or her citizenship rights.

This book is based on research aimed at analyzing the processes underpinning the integration of Romanian Jewish immigrants into Israeli society. Its ultimate aim is to introduce a framework for analyzing and evaluating the integration of migrants into a new country and society. This framework is built upon the capabilities evaluative framework and the theoretical context of citizens’ social and political rights. It has been tested through an analysis of Romanian Jewish immigrants’ perspectives on their integration into Israel. The book also explores the lives of Jewish immigrants prior to leaving Romania, addressing topics such as antisemitism and the Holocaust.

Last but not least, the ultimate goal of this book is to capture the attention of experts working on migration policy development, providing them with a more nuanced understanding of the situations faced by immigrants and, consequently, inspiring targeted and effective solutions.

The theme of this book fits perfectly with the EHRI project, in which the author has been involved for many years.