Legal status in Israel for a great-grandchild of a Jew

What happens when great-grandchild of a Jew immigrates to Israel with their family, returns to their homeland before receiving permanent status in Israel, and then requests to return to Israel? The Ministry of the Interior emphasizes the importance of preserving the “center of life” in Israel – the fourth generation does not have the right to immigrate and receive legal status as the great-grandson of a Jew as such, but only as a minor who is part of a family that immigrated to Israel.

But as was recently clarified by a ruling of the Haifa district court, that is not always the case. A minor who spent only a few months in Israel was given the opportunity to reunite with her family members in Israel and receive Israeli citizenship after several years.

What are the considerations of the court and what does the verdict mean for others who are entitled to receive status in Israel only as part of an immigrating family? Full explanation in the article in front of you.

The background to the request – does the Law of Return apply to great-grandchildren of Jews?

The Law of Return allows Jews, children of Jews, grandchildren of Jews and the spouses of any of the above to make Aliyah o Israel. Great-grandchildren (children of great-grandchildren) of Jews are not included in the language of the law, but the State of Israel allows minor grandchildren to immigrate to Israel with their parents, in order to prevent the dissolution of the family. Unlike other immigrants, they receive Israeli citizenship only after a 3 year stay in Israel as a temporary resident (A/5).

In the case before us, a brother and sister, great-grandsons of Jews, immigrated to Israel with their parents (grandchild of a Jew and a non-Jewish spouse) in 2018. Due to the children’s adjustment difficulties and the parents’ trouble finding employment, the children returned to Ukraine after several months, to live with their grandmother, while the parents stayed in Israel. The younger brother returned to Israel after two years, and received legal status as great-grandson of a Jew. In contrast, the older sister remained in Ukraine until 2022, when she returned to Israel shortly before she turned 18.

The Population and Immigration Authority of the Ministry of the Interior refused to give her legal status in Israel, claiming that the center of her life was in Ukraine. An internal appeal against the decision was unsuccessful, and the Court of Appeals also agreed with the decision of the Ministry of the Interior.

As a compromise, the family was offered to apply for humanitarian status – but they preferred to appeal to the district court in Haifa. Surprisingly, the court granted legal status to the appellant, and ordered reimbursement of expenses in the amount of NIS 10,000.

What were the arguments of the parties?

The family of the grand-granddaughter (the petitioners) claimed that the family relationship continued even when the minor stayed with her grandmother in Ukraine, including frequent visits and phone / zoom calls every few days. It was claimed that the family intended to return the two children to Israel even earlier, and they even bought plane tickets, but the grand-granddaughter had to stay in Ukraine due to the restrictions of the corona virus, since she did not receive a vaccine. In addition, her brother returned to Israel after several years in Ukraine and received his legal status, so there is no reason why she should not receive her status on the same basis.

The procedure for granting status to grand-grandchildren does not mandate the rejection of the application in the event that the center of life is not in Israel, but only the transfer of the case for consultation at the visa desk at headquarters – a consultation that was not documented at all, which acted in favor of the appellants.

And finally, a flimsy claim that proved hard to refute – the family members do not speak Hebrew and no one explained to them that the minor would not be able to get status if she left the country. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse, but it was important to emphasize that it was not the family’s intention to sever the relationship and lose the possibility of obtaining status in Israel.

The claims of the Population Authority against the request to grant status in Israel for a great-grandchild of a Jew

Ministry of Interior lawyers on behalf of the prosecution argued that a great-grandson of a Jew will be entitled to immigrate to Israel only while he is a minor who is part of a family immigrating to Israel. If the grand-granddaughter lives separately from the parents, in Ukraine, then she has no separate right to status in Israel. Also, the girl stayed several years outside of Israel, while the procedure specifically insists on staying in Israel, with the visa being renewed for a year each time. Moreover, the minor left Israel before the corona epidemic and did not return when the restrictions were lifted, so it is understood that she stayed in Ukraine for several years willingly and not due to lack of choice. A consultation was carried out with the headquarters according to the procedure, and it was decided not to give the minor a status. Finally, it was claimed that the minor’s brother was granted status by mistake.

What did the district court decide and why?

The judge reiterated the rules of administrative law according to which the court should not interfere with the considerations of the Ministry of the Interior unless they are tainted by “gross lack of reasonability, extraneous considerations or discrimination”, but the dissolution of the family unit and preventing a minor from being reunited with her family is not reasonable under these circumstances.

The court emphasized the new paradigm of the family unit in the 21st century, where children can live in another country and still maintain the family bond through technology and visits, and the right of minors to reunite with their family in Israel. That is, the family unit is the same family that was in 2018, on the eve of aliyah, and the right to status in Israel is maintained on the basis of the maintained relationship.

The important considerations are not the strict observance of the procedure but the best interest of the minor, his young age, the importance of the family relationship, and the acceptance of the claim that the minor’s lack of residence in Israel was not by choice.

What conclusion can we draw from the verdict?

First of all, this is good news for grand-grandchildren of Jews and perhaps even minor children of foreign spouses of Israelis who were forced to return to the country of origin or remain there, but maintained the family relationship with the parent in Israel.

There is even a certain window of hope for grand-grandchildren and children who have reached the age of 18 outside of Israel, provided that they were indeed in a family relationship with the parent. As of this moment, there are many families in which one of the parents immigrated to Israel, the children remained in Russia or Ukraine (or returned from Israel to another country of origin with the other parent), who lost the right to immigrate upon reaching the age of majority.

On a general level, there is room here to emphasize the importance of persistence in legal matters – the status of the great-granddaughter was rejected 3 times before the district court stood upheld her right. Petitioners only have to win once.

In addition, it never hurts when a number of claims are thrown before the court – even the ones that are useless will not do any harm. The court understands that the petitioners mobilize every possible argument, therefore the weight of an argument that has been refuted is less than an argument that may speak to the judge’s heart.

Contact an immigration specialist:

If you, one of your family members, or friends have encountered difficulties in the process of making Aliyah or immigrating to Israel, whether the area is legal status for a great-grandson of a Jew, status for the spouse of an Israeli, rejection of an aliyah request or any other issue, contact our offices in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. We will be happy to assist with professional advice and solving any problem with the Ministry of the Interior or the courts.

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03-3724722

055-9781688

office@lawoffice.org.il