The naturalization records in Israel were first issued by the British Mandate authorities in 1925 to document the legal status of the individuals in the territory and those immigrating to it. Until then, and according to the Ottoman Nationality Law of 19 January 1869, individuals residing in the Mutassarifate of Jerusalem, the Sanjaks of Nablus and Akka (Acre) were Ottoman citizens. According to such law, every person born on the Ottoman territory of foreign parents could become an Ottoman subject; other immigrants could obtain Ottoman nationality by applying to the minister of foreign affairs. Since the ratification of the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, all Ottoman subjects in the territory became automatically citizens of the Mandate for Palestine; with the British Authorities later adding provisions and local regulations on the acquisition of citizenship, within the framework of the Treaty of Lausanne.[1] Later, provisions were included in the Mandate's legislation to facilitate the acquisition of Palestinian citizenship by Jews who take up their permanent residence in the British Mandate for Palestine. Until May 1948, these records were kept and maintained by the British authorities.
One of the first places to search when looking for these records is the collection of Mandatory Palestine Naturalization Applications, which contains records created between 1937 and 1947. This collection, containing over 206,000 records,[2] was added in 2018 and it is a unique compilation of records documenting the efforts of individuals, mostly Jews, and sometimes their entire families, to establish citizenship in Mandatory Palestine, which was under British administration at the time. This collection contains photos, histories, passports, and other various forms providing details for each applicant. These naturalization applications were processed by the British Immigration Department. Owing to this, the primary language of the application is English. However, many of the forms within each application are also filled in Hebrew. There are also a number of documents from the immigrant’s previous country which may contain languages such as German, Italian, or Polish, for example.
The 60,000+ naturalization applications housed at the Israel State Archives (ISA) are generally made up of immigrant and tourist registrations, visas, photographs, passports, and letters of citizenship. They are organized by the head of the family, usually the father. When other family members, such as wife and children, are traveling with the head, details about them are provided as well. Each application was also signed by two in-country witnesses on behalf of the applicant. Unfortunately, the ISA naturalization application collection is incomplete because the Immigration Department offices were subject to attacks, during which time many records were destroyed. Many of these records may have also been taken or destroyed during the final days of the British Mandate in Palestine.
Where to find naturalization records
The naturalization records are held by the ISA, and have all been scanned and uploaded to the ISA website. Many of these naturalization applications have been fully indexed by the ISA, which are also available among the MyHeritage collection Mandatory Palestine Naturalization Applications, 1937–1947
The remaining applications are only partially indexed, which means they only show the names of the main applicants and not other details such as spouse and birthplace which do appear in the full index. These partially indexed naturalization records can only be found on the ISA website.
The contents of Israeli naturalization records in Israel
The Mandatory-Palestine Naturalization Applications consist of about a dozen pages each, gaming them the front cover of the folder, two double-sided handwritten applications, a double-sided certificate of naturalization with the picture of the applicant or applicants, a double-sided naturalization certificate receipt, an invitation letter, and a signed oath of allegiance.
Information that can be obtained from naturalization records in Israel
Most of the information items that can be obtained from naturalization records in Israel are available in the double-sided applications mentioned above.
The first thing that the first application will determine is if the applicant is single or married.
Sometimes, it comes as a surprise that the immigrant or relative being researched was married to someone else who was never mentioned in our family history; the reason is that during the 1930s, the British Government increased the restrictions on immigration to Palestine, and many of Jewish men who already had a certificate or immigration permit, arranged fake marriages to women they didn't really know so they would also be able to immigrate to Mandatory Palestine. Once in Palestine, the couple would divorce.
On the back page of the first application, more details can be seen about the person or couple, such as their nationality, passport number, and when and where it was issued. In the example above, the applicant has a Polish passport, which was issued in Warsaw on February 1, 1934.
If the applicant was married and they arrived using the same passport, it would say that the wife was “included” in the husband’s passport.
Another crucial piece of information is the date of arrival. In the example above, it can be seen they entered Palestine on July 15, 1934. Very few applications add the port of entry next to the date, but ‘“Haifa” might be written right next to the arrival date.
One of the most important pieces in these records is the photograph of the applicant, which appears on the actual Certificate of Naturalization, and an enlarged version of it will be also among the pages of the application, as it appears on page 8 of the file. However, sometimes the photograph doesn't help, as since the applicant may look way younger than expected. In this case, the last place to verify is the second double-sided application; this is the only one that has information in English and Hebrew.
In the example below, the applicant couple was born in 1913 in Poland; the husband in Warsaw and the wife in Zelechow.
The applicant's occupation is mentioned as well; in this example, “tailor” was entered.
If the applicant couple has any children, they will also be mentioned in the document. While many marriages were faked in order to allow the immigration of another person, whenever children appear reported it generally means the marriage was real. However, there were cases where the fake husband and wife fell in love, had children and remained married until the end.
Sometimes, the information entered in the English page is not fully consistent with what was entered in the Heberew page of the application, like in the example above, in which the couple’s daughter Tsipora has no sex, date or place of birth, while in the Hebrew page she does. There we can see that she’s a girl, born in Tel Aviv on November 1, 1934, 9 months exactly after the couple had their passport issued.
The Hebrew-side page is strongly recommended to check, whenever possible, as might contain more details than on the English-side page. For example, in the example below can be seen that only the Hebrew page has the applicant’s address listed as Yehudah Amtzilevski Street, Rishon LeZion.
Research Naturalization records in Israel
Explore more about Naturalization records in Israel
- Mandatory Palestine Naturalization Applications, 1937-1947 record collection at MyHeritage
- Jewish immigration and the Ingathering of the Exiles at Israel State Archives
- Genealogical Resources on Immigrants to Eretz Yisrael at American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
References
- ↑ Mutaz M. Qafisheh, Genesis of Citizenship in Palestine and Israel, Bulletin du Centre de recherche français à Jérusalem [Online], 21 | 2010, Online since 01 March 2011, connection on 27 March 2023
- ↑ New Historical Records Added in January 2018. MyHeritage Blog