[lbo-talk] Israelis want a second passport

Wendy Lyon wendy.lyon at gmail.com
Mon Jun 6 11:57:06 PDT 2011


In the two most recent EU expansions member states were given the option of whether or not to open their labour markets to citizens of the new states. In 2004, when Poland and most of the other new states joined, only Britain, Ireland and Sweden opted to do so. The others all have to by the end of this year, I think.

Schengen is a different matter entirely - it's a zone without internal borders for anyone, EU or non-EU, but only for the purpose of travel, not work. The zone largely overlaps the EU but there are non-EU states in it as well as EU states outside it.

Sent from my iPhone

On 6 Jun 2011, at 19:06, Joel Schalit <jschalit at gmail.com> wrote:


> Different labor rules have applied to Poles in the EU despite Schengen. It's my impression that it is only this year that Poles can work freely in Germany without any kind of additional papers.
>
> I am not even certain that's in effect yet. heard it from an Israeli friend in Berlin of Polish background, who because of this has recently applied for Polish documents.
>
> Joel
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jun 6, 2011, at 7:42 PM, Wojtek S <wsoko52 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I cannot speak of Germany, which I understand has draconian
>> citizenship laws, but for Poland it is not applying for immigration
>> but rather claiming citizenship by those who emigrated from that
>> country some time ago. Polish citizenship is a constitutional right,
>> it cannot be taken away unless one formally renounces it. Acquiring
>> citizenship of another country is not considered renouncing Polish
>> citizenship - to do so you need to sign a formal document in front of
>> a consular officer.
>>
>> So people who emigrated from Poland to other countries for whatever
>> reason need only their Polish birth certificate and an official
>> document confirming their last residence in Poland, and they are good
>> to go. And since Poland is a Schengen country, Polish papers are good
>> for any other Schengen country. I understand that a lot of people who
>> emigrated to Israel after 1968 claimed their Polish citizenship after
>> 1989.
>>
>> Wojtek
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Jun 6, 2011 at 1:13 PM, Joel Schalit <jschalit at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> I have friend who works for a Mideast focused NGO in Brussels. She's currently researching this subject. As I mentioned earlier, from what She says, the trend is to apply for second passports in newer EU member states.
>>>
>>> As an Israeli citizen based in Berlin - one of an estimated 15-20K -it's my understanding that despite German passport generosity, there is an annual quota on Jewish immigration. It's been in place for a few years.
>>>
>>> As far as david Levy's figures go, one should keep in mind two things: First, the age range of a lot of these co-citizens. Half are probably 60 +.
>>>
>>> Second, that the rush of younger Israelis applying represents probably the last generation of their families eligible under German law. There is a cutoff point.
>>>
>>> Not that this should matter so much. I can claim no such family citizenship rights, but the Germans have been very accommodating. As they ought to be to every foreigner.
>>>
>>> Joel
>>>
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>> On Jun 6, 2011, at 6:35 PM, Wojtek S <wsoko52 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Well, I hold two passports for the same reason, even though I live in
>>>> the US. Keeping the back door open is a smart thing to do these days.
>>>>
>>>> And as far as voting is concerned, this is a rather meaningless ritual
>>>> whose main purpose is to vent frustrations with the status quo rather
>>>> than express support for a particular political party.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Wojtek
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, Jun 6, 2011 at 10:44 AM, David Green <davegreen84 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>>> The same State of Israel which has been pushing the US, through its domestic
>>>>> lobbying tentacle, AIPAC, to attack Iran for reasons of national security? What
>>>>> is going on here? Same thing that’s always going on. The rich are getting
>>>>> richer, even while they’re preparing their escapes: 100,000 Israelis hold German
>>>>> passports, with 7,000 more procuring them every year. Gideon Levy comments, “The
>>>>> foreign passport has become an insurance policy against a rainy day. It turns
>>>>> out there are more and more Israelis who are thinking that day may eventually
>>>>> come,” a day which they hasten every time they leave it to the radicals to join
>>>>> the non-violent protests in the West Bank and East Jerusalem that are one of the
>>>>> more promising routes to avoid regional disaster.
>>>>>
>>>>> But then Levy oddly comments: “If we had a leadership worthy of the name, one
>>>>> that instead of sowing anxieties did something to reduce them, and instead of
>>>>> terrifying us instilled hopes in us, then the lines at the German Embassy would
>>>>> have become shorter long ago.” Who does he think is voting for the governments
>>>>> that create a climate of fear so as to continue Israeli militarized
>>>>> accumulation? Who does he think are the constituencies of the “peace” parties
>>>>> that are miraculously never able to make peace? The same people sitting in the
>>>>> top 10 percent of Israeli society, the same ones procuring the passports to
>>>>> leave when the monster they’ve created sets off regional conflagration.
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.maxajl.com/?p=5400
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