The Right of Return in Israeli Law

תקציר

The right of return is considered one of the most fundamental rights in Israeli law, despite the fact that the Law of Return (wherein this right appears) is not a basic law. A comparison of the Law to section 116 of the German Basic Law (Grundgesetz) appears to be well-founded as well as illuminating. It is important to keep in mind the fact that the Israeli Law was adopted in July 1950, a mere fourteen months after the adoption of the Basic Law in the German Federal Republic (May 1949). The influence of the German legal constitutional technique on Israeli law has often been stressed. One of the primary reasons for this influence seems to be rather accidental in nature namely, the fact that a great number of the Israeli jurists who were most influential at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel acquired their legal training in Germany. These included the first Israeli Minister of Justice, the late Pinhas Rosen (originally Felix Rosenbluth), and the late Uri Yadin who for many years was head of the legislative section in the Ministry of Justice. This aspect ofthe German influence on Israeli constitutional law may be regarded as one manifestation of the "Weimar Syndrome" in Israeli law.