BTW, there is one large loophole in the Law of Return, which legal scholars argue was put there by Ben-Gurion himself precisely because he intended the state to be secular -- and that's if you can come, so can bring your spouse and your family.
It may not sound like much, but the vast majority of Russians arrived through that loophole. They now make up 20% of the voting population. They are legally Israels, but most of them are not only not Jewish in terms of religion or culture, but not even legally. And less so as time goes man, since the applicant was usually the husband. The first thing his mother-in-law does when she gets off the boat is look for the Church, and that's where a lot if not most of them get married, just because it's less hassle. So they are a big wedge of non-Jewish citizenship, and unlike the 20% that are Arab citizens, this bunch can own land.
They also have huge conflicts with Shas on precisely this definition of citizenship by religion -- they want the widest possible interpretation of the immigration law, and Shas wants to restrict it. People used to think they could be part of a progresive coalition on the basis of this fierce anti-religiousity. Sadly, what's turning out to be more important is their ethnic nationalism. In Russia, they were Jews, but in Israel they became Russians. They think Israel is like a Russia where they finally belong to the defining nationality. So they think Israel has a perfect right to use force against its ethnically defined enemies -- just like Russia in Chechnya.
So now rather than a progressive coalition, it looks like the left may never win again.
So be careful what you wish for. Seculism isn't always everything it's cracked up to be. Plain old nationalism has its drawbacks too. On all sides.
Michael
__________________________________________________________________________ Michael Pollak................New York City..............mpollak at panix.com