Is there a chance israel will join the EuropeUnion?

[seabhcan]

I agree. Of course in many cases they were kicked out forcibly (think holocaust,pogroms in Russia&Poland) and still face hostility in many parts of the world. One reason why they should consider improving human rights situation in Israel.

Most of the population of Australia in the 19th century were also expelled from Europe.

[avjones]

Most of the Jews in Israel are born and bred Israelis. Their parents / grandparents / great-grandparents may have been born in Russia or Poland etc.

There are also large numbers of Israelis whose ancestors were always in the area, or who have come to Israel from North Africa, elsewhere in the Middle East, or India.

[archigabe]

There are also large numbers of Israelis whose ancestors were always in the area, or who have come to Israel from North Africa, elsewhere in the Middle East, or India.

unlike other countries, India was one of the few places where they were not forced out.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01112.html

Jews flourished in India for centuries -- from biblical times, some scholars say. The country also gave safe haven to Jews during World War II.
Small but active Jewish communities remain in Mumbai, including the so-called Baghdadi Jews who come from Iraq, Iran, Syria and Afghanistan and are thought to have arrived about 250 years ago. In northeastern India, an estimated 9,000 Indians started practicing Judaism in the 1970s, saying they were a lost tribe and descendants of the tribe of Manasseh. Israel has recognized them as ethnically Jewish.

[geoffsinclair]

Missing one key fact - Australia, Canada, South Africa etc have no interest in belonging to Europe, ideologically or politically. Whereas Israel may feel it is among nations who are hostile to its existence and views Europe as an ancestral identity in a "mostly" positive sense.

[seabhcan]

unlike other countries, India was one of the few places where they were not forced out.

Iran too. There are still 50,000 Jews in Iran, and they show no signs of wanting to leave. Israel has even offered them 10k a head to move, but only a handful have.

[seabhcan]

Missing one key fact - Australia, Canada, South Africa etc have no interest in belonging to Europe, ideologically or politically. Whereas Israel may feel it is among nations who are hostile to its existence and views Europe as an ancestral identity in a "mostly" positive sense.

I'm afraid the feeling is not mutual. Israel is often seen as a criminal entity, in the same category as Apartide South Africa. Israel is a dearly beloved state, and couldn't join the EU without major reforms.

[Fairtrade]

ooops... I should have just said Isreal is not an overseas territory of an EU country and therefore unlikely to join the EU.


As of 2007 the European Union has 27 member states, most of which participate in all EU policy areas and programs or have signed up to do so. However EU law does not always apply evenly to all of the territory of all of the member states. Many member states have special territories which for either historical, geographical or political reasons have differing relationships with their national governments — and consequently also the European Union


French overseas departments

French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion are French Overseas departments and under French law are, for the most part, treated as integral parts of the Republic. Each also forms a French Overseas region. The euro is legal tender and they are part of the European Union Customs Union[2]. However they are outside the Schengen area, and the Value Added Tax area

Cyprus

Although the whole island became part of the European Union on 1 May 2004, EU law only applies to the southern part of the island, which is controlled by the government of the Republic of Cyprus. EU law is suspended in the northern third of the island,[10] the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (recognised only by Turkey). Turkish Cypriots living there are nonetheless European citizens and are entitled, at least in principle, to vote in elections to the European Parliament, however elections to that Parliament are not held in northern Cyprus.

British overseas territories

Twelve overseas territories of the United Kingdom, namely:

Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Turks and Caicos Islands

All citizens of the British overseas territories — including those connected to Bermuda, but excluding those connected to Britain's sovereign bases in Cyprus — were granted full British citizenship by the British Overseas Territories Act 2002. They are consequently citizens of the European Union

Netherlands Antilles and Aruba
Netherlands Antilles and Aruba are autonomous parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. They are excluded from the operation of EU law by reason of a protocol attached to the Treaty of Rome, however they are counted as overseas territories. The inhabitants of the islands are EU Citizens owing to their Dutch nationality.

Isreal is not part of the EU's outermost regions so the chance of Isreal joining the EU is very slim.

[avjones]

unlike other countries, India was one of the few places where they were not forced out.

There are lots of places where Jews weren't forced out - there has been a lot of emigration recently from France, for example.

[Wanderer]

unlike other countries, India was one of the few places where they were not forced out.

There are lots of places where Jews weren't forced out - there has been a lot of emigration recently from France, for example.

I always wonder whether Jews are a race or a religion.

One Roman Abramovich was listed as being racially Jewish in Soviet Russia at school...

Indeed, my Russian gf has a Jewish surname, although she or her immediate family are not Jewish.

[avjones]

Under English law, it's a race.

There are lots of Jews who aren't religious at all, but still consider themselves absolute Jewish.