Plight of the great-grandchildren

Though he has lived most of his life in Israel and completed his military service like the rest of his peers, 22-year-old Alex cannot marry the love of his life – simply because he is one of the thousands of 'fourth generation' youths, descendants of Jewish great-grandparents who are ineligible for automatic citizenship

under the Law of Return.

Alex (all names are fictitious) was born in Russia and immigrated to Israel with his parents at the age of 11.

The Law of Return grants the children and grandchildren of Jews automatic Israeli citizenship.

Over the years the Interior Ministry has adopted the policy of granting great-grandchildren the status of residents when they immigrate and they are then eligible to apply for citizenship after several years.

However the naturalization right was never made common knowledge and those who did apply often found that the process took years due to a complex and lethargic bureaucracy.

Alex says he never paid much attention to his residency status as it had never factored into his day-to-day activities. Alex holds a Russian citizenship, but is reluctant to approach the Russian consulate for a marriage license, saying that he will likely be forced to enlist in the Russian military if he does so.

When he turned to the Interior Ministry to apply for naturalization, Alex says an administrator told him that he was wasting his time and that his request would never be approved.

"We got engaged and then suddenly a torrent of problems emerged. Suddenly I couldn't do anything," Alex said. "This has been my home for most of my life, I was drafted by the army because as far as the military was concerned, I was citizen enough. My life is here, I contributed to Israel and yet I'm being treated as though I were a foreign laborer."

Alex just one of 4,000

According to figures from the Rights for Mixed Family Association, Alex and his fiancée are not alone. Some 110,000 families currently residing in Israel have members who have a different citizenship status than the rest of the family. Some 6,500 youths have encountered naturalization difficulties, including youths with at least one Israeli parent.

Of these, approximately 4,000 have been labeled members of the 'fourth generation.'

The Rights for Mixed Families Association has launched a campaign to draw attention to the plight of this group and has announced it will hold a press conference on Friday under the banner of 'Immigration Challenges: Citizenship and Assimilation in Israel.'

The group will present legislative initiatives targeting the difficulties encountered by these youths. Yisrael Beitenu Parliamentary Group Chairman MK Robert Ilatov's proposal is similar to a rejected past initiative championed by late MK Yuri Stern which stipulates that offspring of Israeli citizens should automatically be eligible for citizenship, irrespective of the Law of Return.

The Interior Ministry said in response that while Alex is indeed not automatically eligible for citizenship, as a permanent resident in Israel he can apply for naturalization under the Law of Return. The ministry said it could not comment on Alex's specific case as he has yet to file any request to alter his citizenship status.