Chikli: Law of Return won’t change overnight
Says Grandchild Clause not about to be canceled; committee would be set up to deal with topic
The government “isn’t going to cancel the Grandchild Clause [in the Law of Return],” but rather a committee will discuss this complex issue, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said during an interview with journalist Miri Michaeli.
Chikli spoke at the Israeli American Council (IAC) annual conference in Austin, Texas on Thursday.
Asked how he reacted to the alarm the new government’s planned reforms have evoked among many American Jews , Chikli said “there is a large alarm among the Left, it’s obvious, and it affects [the discourse] dramatically... but we had an election and the results were crystal clear... We were honest with our agenda.
“We are listening [to American Jews] and I spent hours listening to Jewish leaders who told me what they have to say about the Law of Return, of the judicial changes and everything else. We’re listening to the criticism; we’re listening to their concerns. “
Chikli added that he would advise American Jews and Americans in Israel to read “less Haaretz and New York Times,” and exercise “more common sense and observe tachles [the end goal] of what the government is actually doing. It says we are proud to be here… I’m proud to represent this government.”
Regarding the Law of Return and the suggestion to amend the Grandchild Clause, Chikli said that “no one is going to cancel the
Law of Return, which is fundamental for the State of Israel. We will always be a safe haven for every Jew, everywhere on earth. And we are making efforts in the Diaspora.”
The minister said that “we do not just care about the Jews, but also take steps to help Jewish communities to protect themselves.”
Chikli quoted data that explained that 93% of the immigrants to Israel from the Former Soviet Union were Jewish in the 1990s, but in 2020 only 28% from these countries were Jewish in 2020.
He said “that is a serious challenge for the State of Israel. We’re not saying we are about to cancel the Grandchild Clause. What’s likely to happen is there’s going to be a committee to determine how we can deal with this serious challenge. And as you see, when you go into the details, that’s a challenge. We need Israel to be a strong Jewish state and we need to tackle this challenge.”
He disclosed that he spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and with President Isaac Herzog, “before I came here,” and he repeated that “no one is going to cancel anything tomorrow morning.”
“We’re going to listen and we’re going to do it very, very responsibly. And I think we can relax and we can rely on this government to do the best for the Jewish people.”