ABSTRACT

In 1963, a total of 4,500 Argentines immigrated to Israel. Most were from the middle or lower middle classes and had a Jewish and Zionist education, seen as an advantage for adaptation in the new country. However, they had been driven primarily by economic factors, and during Israel’s recession in 1966 a substantial portion of them returned to Argentina. In order to understand the migrant experience of these people this article analyzes their return, arguing that class and work were more pertinent variables than Zionist ideology. It is based on the experience of unemployed Argentine immigrants in Ashdod, the struggles of those who hoped to own their own business without sufficient funds, and a reconstruction of the return voyage aboard the ship Jerusalem. The Zionist hegemony in Israeli society prevented a thorough understanding of the material needs, and motivations of Jewish-Argentine migrants, therefore, the narrative on their arrival emphasized the ideological motivations. In contrast, their socio-economic background and needs received less attention. The case presented in this article demonstrates how the state narrative about the arrival of migrants to the country might deeply affect the narrative about the number who would not stay.

摘要

1963 年，共有 4,500 名阿根廷人移民到以色列。大多数人来自中产阶级或中下阶层，接受过犹太和犹太复国主义教育，这被视为适应新国家的优势。然而，他们主要是受经济因素的驱使，在 1966 年以色列经济衰退期间，他们中的很大一部分人返回了阿根廷。为了了解这些人的移民经历，本文分析了他们的回归，认为阶级和工作是比犹太复国主义意识形态更相关的变量。它基于阿什杜德失业的阿根廷移民的经历，那些希望在没有足够资金的情况下拥有自己的企业的人的斗争，以及对耶路撒冷轮船回程的重建。以色列社会的犹太复国主义霸权阻碍了对犹太-阿根廷移民的物质需求和动机的透彻理解，因此，关于他们到来的叙述强调了意识形态动机。相比之下，他们的社会经济背景和需求受到的关注较少。本文介绍的案例表明，国家关于移民抵达该国的叙述可能会如何深刻影响关于不会留下来的人数的叙述。