„I am obviously not an Israeli and it is obviously my home” – Hungarian Jewish identity after return from Israel

Hungarian Aliyah is relatively small but according to estimations, the return ratio is high. Therefore, several Hungarian Jews, who have lived in Israel, are also forming the contemporary life of the Hungarian Jewish community. My paper focuses on their self-identification.

After their return, most of my interviewees longed for Israel. This was manifested through their work, frequent visits to Israel and their strong attachment to the Israeli culture (and/or language). To find out more about the nature of this relation, I asked whether they consider Israel their home. The answers varied. However, as the title indicates, it did not necessarily coincide with their self-identification. Furthermore, among those who regard Israel their (only) home, a few do not consider moving back there. This ambiguity, the impact of the globalized world on the one hand, and the special homeland-diaspora context on the other hand, will be also highlighted.

This paper is part of a larger research project studying the integration and identification of Hungarian Jews who (have) live(d) in Israel. The research was carried out in several waves. It is by now consisted of 73 personal, and several expert interviews. The goal of the research is to write a policy paper with recommendations targeting both the policy makers and Jews who are about to make Aliyah.