Privileged Mobilities in Hard Times

The Case of Pandemic-Years Jewish Migration to Israel

Bibliographic Data

ID24233370
AuthorsHila Zaban (0000-0002-0472-8387)
Year2026
Pages151-169
Publication date2026-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeCHAPTER
VenueIMISCOE Research Series (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherSpringer Nature Switzerland (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/978-3-032-29885-0_9
OpenAlexW7204143620
ISBN9783032298850
LanguageEN
References cited60

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.

COVID-19 pandemic · Jewish Diaspora · migration routes · migration timing · mobility restrictions · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Jewish Identity and Society · Migration, Refugees, and Integration

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