Nobody mentions the the right of return to those Arabs in Western Sahara. Kuwait was founded on Iraqi soil. China has annexed Tibet and Mongolia. Jews were kicked out of Iraq. But keep on talking about the “disenfranchised” Palestinians.

Ah, that makes more sense. I heard somewhere that the maternal line carried more weight.

“Extended Family”, race or religion are all acceptable criteria for civic associations within a state. I’m still not convinced that it is acceptable criteria on which to grant citizenship of a state. Drawing a line at parents seems sensible to me.

The point I am trying to make is that basing the Law of Return on Judaism is not quite as arbitrary as, say, announcing that all Christians should be entitled to live in Maryland.

I get where you’re coming from, but isn’t it in many ways more arbitrary? I read somewhere that you can claim aliyah even if you are not Jewish, but your grandmother is/was… Is that right?

In fact, Israel is an example of a religious state which on paper extends equal rights to its minorities (for the reasons I gave above I don’t think your example of university credits holds up, because it would clearly be inequitable if having refused to perform national service they nonetheless got the university credits which are a consequence of having performed it - and the admittedly few Arab Israelis who perform national service do get the credits), which is more than can be said for others. Whether people in practice receive equal treatment is a different question. I think it is generally conceded that both Arab Israelis and Sephardi Israelis (Jews of Mediterranean rather than Eastern European descent) suffer from discrimination, and I am sure that as between them Arab Israelis get a more raw deal. But then, as I say, the same is often said of ethnic minorities in this country.

The UK “law of return” is simply the fact that if you were raised in another country, e.g. South Africa, and you have a certain number of British grandparents, then after a period of residency here you are eligible for British citizenship, whereas if you come from South Africa but do not have the British grandparents you wouldn’t be. Most countries have a similar sort of rule. I’m not saying that it is the same as the Israeli law of return in terms of scope. I’m just pointing out that allowing preferential treatment to people based on their ethnicity or origins is not unusual.

You may argue that these sorts of rules do not compare to Judaism because Judaism is just a religion. But to describe the law of return as being based on religion fails to take into account the fact that Judaism is more than just a religion. I do not often say this, because it sounds terribly patronising, but it is very difficult to make someone who is not Jewish understand this. I tried to on Pickled Politics once and I’m afraid it didn’t go down terribly well.

I can’t find the link now so I’ll summarise it. Jews are not just a religion but a kind of extended family. That is born out by genetic research, which shows that most Jews are related, in the sense that they have a common ancestor. This is not the same as being part of a race. The idea of the Jewish “race” is one that was used against us as a group to devastating effect pre-World War II and frequently still is, and it is not supported by genetic testing. So, for example, the Felashas of Ethiopia were tested and found to have the same common ancestor as Jews in Europe and the Mediterranean.

The point I am trying to make is that basing the Law of Return on Judaism is not quite as arbitrary as, say, announcing that all Christians should be entitled to live in Maryland.

Where they do come into it, is with reference to the PA and a future Palestinian State with secure borders. Isn’t the principle of Right of Return for refugees also a kind of ‘aliyah’? If Palestine becomes a Muslim state (I note there are no crescent moons on its flag at the moment) then surely the problems and inequalities that Christians and Muslims in Israel complain about will be replicated for Christians and Jews in Palestine. I’m trying to get beyond the rationale that says “well if they’re doing it, so can we”… which is seems to be the underlying argument of your unwritten question!

And, as I pointed out, the UK operates its very own version of the Law of Return based on ethnicity, as does virtually every other country in the world.

The more I think about this, the more I am surprised and offended by it. Is there any chance you could give some examples from the UK. If citizenship is granted on the basis of colour of skin or religion, I would be truly shocked.