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Privileged Mobilities in Hard Times: The Case of Pandemic-Years Jewish Migration to Israel
Author(s): Zaban, Hila
Editor(s): Zaban, Hila; Buhr, Franz
Date: 2026
Topics: Migration: Aliyah and Olim, Covid-19 Pandemic, Interviews, Main Topic: Demography and Migration
Abstract: The chapter examines privileged mobilities at a time of global immobility, the COVID-19 pandemic, and investigates the decision to migrate in hard times, when global restrictions on movement were implemented. It draws insights from 13 interviews with Jewish migrants from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada who relocated to Israel between 2020 and 2021, comparing their experiences with those of 17 migrants from similar backgrounds who moved to Israel between 2016 and 2019. The chapter highlights the strategy of ‘temporal privilege-manoeuvring’ – the utilisation of rather exclusive migration pathways that remained available to Jewish individuals despite global mobility restrictions. Emphasising the influence of collective watershed events on migration decisions, the study delves into the motivations and the timing behind privileged migration, revealing the impact of global crises on migration choices and the intricate interplay between personal circumstances and global-scale events. The chapter’s significance lies in elucidating the role of collective ‘watershed moments’ in defining migration timing and in illuminating the utilisation of privilege to facilitate mobility, especially in a context of pervasive immobility.