Genetic citizenship: DNA testing and the Israeli Law of Return

Ian V. McGonigle and Lauren W. Herman

Scholarly Articles from Harvard Kennedy School of Government

Abstract: The Israeli State recently announced that it may begin to use genetic tests to determine whether potential immigrants are Jewish or not. This development would demand a rethinking of Israeli law on the issue of the definition of Jewishness. In this article, we discuss the historical and legal context of secular and religious definitions of Jewishness and rights to immigration in the State of Israel. We give a brief overview of different ways in which genes have been regarded as Jewish, and we discuss the relationship between this new use of genetics and the society with which it is co-produced. In conclusion, we raise several questions about future potential impacts of Jewish genetics on Israeli law and society.

Date: 2015
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Published in Journal of Law and the Biosciences

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hrv:hksfac:29408321

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