The Israeli Diaspora in Times of Transnational Living: Snapshots of an Ongoing Research Project.

This lecture aims to present a few snapshots of an ongoing research project which focuses on the relationship between Israeli governments and the Israeli Diaspora (or its absence) over the last decades. It seeks to analyze the Israeli governments` discourse and policies as they underwent, moving from years of denial, disapproval, and marginalization of migrant citizens to the current recognition and awareness of this population as a valuable resource.

It also addresses the preliminary findings of the "Israeli Transnational Social Space" formation while relating to the relationships, networks, practices, and recent and more developed Israeli local and transnational organizations.

My hypothesis states that there is a direct connection between (a) the definition of state policies and the changes in the narrative towards the Israeli Diaspora and (b) the development of the Israeli transnational social space throughout this last decade. It suggests that recent expressions of public figures (for example, Itzak Herzog, former Jewish Agency`s director, or the former President, Reuben Rivlin) toward the Israeli Diaspora resulted from Israeli migrants` actions, hence crystallizing what is defined as "transnationalism from below."

For several decades the Israeli population located abroad operated in a sort of "survival mode." However, the winds of reform produced by current social processes lead to new paths that seek to overcome stereotypes and prejudices and instill a new vision or perspective in the Israeli population.