Aliyah facts for kids

Aliyah (pronounced ah-lee-YAH) is a Hebrew word. It means "going up" or "ascent." For Jewish people, Aliyah means moving from anywhere in the world to the Land of Israel. This land is now mostly the State of Israel.

Moving to Israel is seen as "going up" towards the holy city of Jerusalem. It is a very important idea in Zionism, which is the movement for Jewish self-determination in their homeland. If a Jewish person moves away from Israel, it's called yerida, meaning "descent."

In 1950, Israel passed the Law of Return. This law gives all Jewish people, their children, and grandchildren the right to move to Israel. They can also become Israeli citizens. This law helps Jewish people connect with their Jewish identity.

For most of Jewish history, Jewish people lived outside the Land of Israel. This was because of many wars and persecution. There were also many times when Jews were forced to leave their homes. The most recent big event was the Jewish–Roman wars.

In the late 1800s, almost all Jewish people lived outside the Land of Israel. Only a small part of the population in the Palestine region was Jewish. Even though returning to Israel was a long-held dream, not many people did it until the late 1800s. This is when the Zionist movement began. Large-scale Jewish immigration to Palestine started around 1882.

Since Israel became a country in 1948, over 3 million Jewish people have moved there. As of 2014, about 42.9% of all Jewish people in the world live in Israel.

What Does Aliyah Mean?

The word Aliyah in Hebrew means "ascent" or "going up." Jewish tradition sees traveling to the Land of Israel as an "ascent." This means going up both in terms of geography and in a spiritual way. One idea is that the geographical meaning came first. Many Jewish pilgrims going to Jerusalem had to climb. Jerusalem is about 750 meters (2,500 feet) above sea level. Many Jews in ancient times lived in low-lying areas like Egypt or Babylonia. They had to climb to reach Jerusalem.

The term Aliyah became widely used for Jewish immigration to Palestine/Israel. This was thanks to a book by Arthur Ruppin in 1930. Some people, like sociologist Aryeh Tartakower, also define Aliyah as moving for the good of the community. This is true no matter where they move.

Aliyah is a very important Jewish idea. It is a main part of Zionism. Israel's Law of Return makes it a legal right. This law helps any Jewish person (and their close family members) to move to Israel. They can get help to settle there and become Israeli citizens.

A person who "makes aliyah" is called an oleh (for a boy or man) or olah (for a girl or woman). If there are many, they are called olim. Many religious Jews believe Aliyah is a return to the Promised land. They see it as fulfilling God's promise in the Bible to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Some Jewish thinkers, like Nachmanides, even say making Aliyah is one of the 613 commandments.

An ancient Jewish text called Sifre says that living in Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) is as important as all other commandments combined. Many commandments, like shmita (a special farming year), can only be done in Israel.

For many generations, religious Jews connected Aliyah with the coming of the Jewish Messiah. They prayed for the Messiah to come. The Messiah would free the Land of Israel from non-Jewish rule. He would bring Jewish people back to the land.

In the Zionist movement, aliyah (plural aliyot) means both choosing to move for beliefs or practical reasons. It also means large groups of Jewish people fleeing persecution. Most Israeli Jews today have family roots from outside the country. Many chose to move to Israel. But many others had no choice but to leave their old homes. Israel is a country of immigrants. It is also a country of refugees.

Ancient Aliyah Journeys

Biblical Times

The Hebrew Bible tells us that Abraham came to the land of Canaan around 1800 BC. His grandson Jacob went to Egypt with his family. After many centuries, the Israelites returned to Canaan. They entered the land around 1300 BC, led by Moses and Joshua.

Later, after the Kingdom of Judah fell, many Jews were sent to Babylon. Around 50,000 Jews returned to Zion after Cyrus the Great allowed them in 538 BC. This is known as the "Return to Zion." The Jewish leader Ezra led exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem in 459 BC.

Jews continued to return to the Land of Israel during the Second Temple period. Herod the Great even encouraged Aliyah. He often gave important jobs to those who returned.

Middle Ages

In ancient times, two main places for Jewish learning were Babylonia and the Land of Israel. Many Babylonian Jews moved to Israel. They became rabbis and leaders there.

In the 900s, leaders of the Karaite Jewish community encouraged their followers to settle in Israel. The Karaites created their own area in Jerusalem. There is also much proof of Jews from different countries visiting Jerusalem. They often came in the month of Tishrei for the Sukkot holiday.

More Jews moved to Israel between the 1200s and 1800s. This was mainly because Jewish people faced more difficulties and religious persecution in Europe. When Jews were expelled from England (1290), France (1391), Austria (1421), and Spain (1492), many saw it as a sign of a coming redemption. This added to the feeling that the Messiah was coming soon.

Aliyah was also encouraged by a strong belief in the coming of the Jewish Messiah. This belief was common among Jews in France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Russia, and North Africa. The idea of gathering all the exiles and rebuilding the kingdom of Israel made many people move. They often had few other choices and faced a dangerous journey.

Early Jewish settlements in Palestine had mixed success. For example, we don't know much about what happened to the "aliyah of the three hundred rabbis" in 1210. Few are thought to have survived the Crusader invasion in 1229. Many Jews moved to the Holy Land after the Byzantine Empire fell in 1453. More came after Jews were expelled from Spain (1492) and Portugal (1498). Some Ukrainian Jewish refugees also settled there after the Khmelnytsky Uprising in the mid-1600s.

Later, in the 1700s and early 1800s, thousands of followers of Kabbalist and Hassidic rabbis moved. Disciples of the Vilna Gaon and the Chattam Sofer also came. This greatly increased the Jewish populations in Jerusalem, Tiberias, Hebron, and Safed.

19th Century

The dreams of the Gaon of Vilna led to one of the biggest waves of immigration to Israel before Zionism. In 1808, hundreds of his followers, called Perushim, settled in Tiberias and Safed. They later formed the core of the Old Yishuv (old Jewish community) in Jerusalem. This was part of a larger movement. Thousands of Jews from places like Persia, Morocco, Yemen, and Russia moved to Palestine. This started in the early 1800s and grew after Muhammad Ali of Egypt took over in 1832. They were all hoping for the Messiah to arrive around 1840.

Jewish immigration to Palestine really began after the Tanzimat reforms in 1839. Between 1840 and 1880, the Jewish population of Palestine grew from 9,000 to 23,000.

Zionist Aliyah (1882 Onwards)

In Zionist history, the different waves of aliyah are grouped by when they happened and where the immigrants came from. The first modern wave started with the Biluim from Russia in 1882.

In the late 1800s, 99.7% of the world's Jews lived outside the region. Jews made up only 2–5% of the population in Palestine.

Before the 19th century, smaller groups of Jews returned to the Land of Israel. This is called the Pre-Modern Aliyah. Since Zionism began in the late 1800s, people who supported Aliyah worked to help Jewish refugees settle. They helped them move to Ottoman Palestine, then Mandatory Palestine, and finally the State of Israel.

The idea of numbering the Aliyah waves came after the Balfour Declaration in 1917. People expected a huge wave of immigration, called the "Third Aliyah." This was compared to the Biblical "First Aliyah" and "Second Aliyah" from the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Over time, the terms "First Aliyah" and "Second Aliyah" began to refer to the modern immigration waves.

In the 1930s and 1940s, historians started dividing the immigration periods into different phases. This helped show the special qualities of Aliyah and the Zionist effort. The five main waves we talk about today were first described in 1944. These are the First Aliyah and Second Aliyah to Ottoman Palestine. Then came the Third Aliyah, Fourth Aliyah, and Fifth Aliyah to Mandatory Palestine.

Later periods include Aliyah Bet (secret immigration against British rules) from 1934 to 1948. There was also the Bericha of Holocaust survivors. After Israel became a state, many Jews came from Arab and Muslim countries. Later, Jews came from Western and Communist countries after the Six-Day War. A large wave also came from post-Soviet states in the 1990s. Today, most Aliyah is people choosing to move for their beliefs, for economic reasons, or to reunite with family.

The first modern period of immigration to get a number was the Third Aliyah. People called it the next step after the Biblical First and Second Aliyot. The idea of calling earlier modern periods the First and Second Aliyot started in 1919.

Ottoman Palestine (1881–1914)

Between 1881 and 1910, many Russian Jews faced harsh treatment. This led to a big wave of emigration. Most of these Jews did not go to Ottoman Palestine. Between 1881 and 1914, only about 30,000–40,000 moved there. Over 1.5 million Russian Jews and 300,000 from Austria-Hungary went to North America instead.

First Aliyah (1882–1903)

From 1882 to 1903, about 35,000 Jews moved to Ottoman Palestine. They joined the 20,000–25,000 Jews already living there. These new immigrants came in groups, mostly from Romania and Russia. This migration happened after the Russian pogroms (violent attacks). About 3% of Jews leaving Europe went to Palestine.

These groups were called Hibbat Tsiyon, meaning "fondness for Zion." They were also called Hovevei Tsiyon or "enthusiasts for Zion." While they loved Palestine, they were not a huge movement like later waves. Most were part of the Hovevei Zion and Bilu movements. They came from the Russian Empire. A smaller number came from Yemen. Many of them started farming communities. Towns like Petah Tikva (started in 1878), Rishon LeZion, Rosh Pinna, and Zikhron Ya'akov were founded by them. In 1882, Yemenite Jews settled in the Arab village of Silwan, near Jerusalem. Kurdish Jews also settled in Jerusalem starting around 1895.

Second Aliyah (1904–1914)

From 1904 to 1914, 35,000–40,000 Jews moved to Ottoman Palestine. Most came from the Russian Empire, especially from the Pale of Settlement in Eastern Europe. Jews from Romania and Bulgaria also came. They were leaving because of pogroms and anti-Semitism (hatred of Jews). However, Mountain Jews from the Caucasus and Jews from Yemen, Iran, and Argentina also arrived.

These Eastern European Jewish immigrants were inspired by socialist ideas. They created the first kibbutz (a communal farm), Degania Alef, in 1909. They also formed self-defense groups, like Hashomer. These groups helped protect Jewish communities from Arab attackers. A new suburb of Jaffa, called Ahuzat Bayit, was started in 1909. This later grew into the city of Tel Aviv.

During this time, the foundations for an independent nation began to form. Hebrew, the ancient national language, was brought back as a spoken language. Newspapers and books were published in Hebrew. Political parties and worker organizations were created. The First World War effectively ended the Second Aliyah. It is thought that over half of those who arrived during this period eventually left. David Ben Gurion even said that nine out of ten left.

British Palestine (1919–1948)

Third Aliyah (1919–1923)

Between 1919 and 1923, 40,000 Jews arrived, mostly from Eastern Europe, after World War I. The British took control of Palestine and created the British Mandate. This allowed the promises of the Balfour Declaration to start happening. Many Jewish immigrants were pioneers, called halutzim. They were trained in farming and could build self-sufficient communities. Even with British immigration limits, the Jewish population reached 90,000 by the end of this period.

The Jezreel Valley and the Hefer Plain marshes were drained. They were turned into farmland. More national organizations were created, like the Histadrut (General Labor Federation). There was also an elected assembly, a national council, and the Haganah, which later became the Israel Defense Forces.

Fourth Aliyah (1924–1929)

Between 1924 and 1929, 82,000 Jews arrived. Many came because of increasing anti-Semitism in Poland and other parts of Europe. Most Jewish immigrants came from Europe, especially Poland, the Soviet Union, Romania, and Lithuania. But about 12% came from Asia, mostly Yemen and Iraq. The immigration limits in the United States kept many Jews out. This group included many middle-class families. They moved to growing towns, starting small businesses and light industries. About 23,000 of these immigrants later left the country.

Fifth Aliyah (1929–1939)

Between 1929 and 1939, with the rise of Nazism in Germany, a new wave of 250,000 immigrants arrived. Most of these, 174,000, came between 1933 and 1936. After that, the British made immigration harder. So, immigration became secret and illegal, known as Aliyah Bet.

The Fifth Aliyah was almost entirely from Europe. Most came from Central Europe (especially Poland, Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia). Some also came from Greece, Turkey, Iran, and Yemen. This wave included many professionals like doctors, lawyers, and professors from Germany. Architects and musicians who were refugees brought the Bauhaus style of building. Tel Aviv's White City of Tel Aviv has many buildings in this style. They also founded the Palestine Philharmonic Orchestra.

With the new port in Haifa and its oil refineries, important industries were added to the mostly farming economy. The Jewish population reached 450,000 by 1940.

At the same time, tensions grew between Arabs and Jews. This led to Arab riots against the Jews in 1929. Many people died, and the Jewish community in Hebron had to leave. More violence followed during the "Great Uprising" from 1936–1939.

Because of these growing tensions and World War II starting, the British issued the White Paper of 1939. This paper greatly limited Jewish immigration to 75,000 people over five years. This created a relatively peaceful eight years in Palestine while the Holocaust happened in Europe.

Soon after the Nazis came to power, they made an agreement called the Ha'avara or "Transfer" Agreement with the Jewish Agency. This agreement allowed 50,000 German Jews and $100 million worth of their belongings to move to Palestine.

Aliyah Bet: Secret Immigration (1933–1948)

The British government limited Jewish immigration to Mandatory Palestine with quotas. After the Nazis rose to power in Germany, secret immigration to Mandatory Palestine began. This illegal immigration was called Aliyah Bet ("secondary immigration") or Ha'apalah. It was organized by groups like the Mossad Le'aliyah Bet and the Irgun. Most immigrants came by sea, and some by land through Iraq and Syria. During World War II and until Israel became independent, Aliyah Bet was the main way Jews immigrated to Palestine.

After the war, an organization called Berihah ("escape") helped smuggle Jews from Eastern Europe through Poland. This group was made of former partisans and ghetto fighters. In 1946, Poland was the only country in the Eastern Bloc that allowed Jews to leave freely for Palestine without special papers. In contrast, Stalin forced Soviet Jews back to the USSR.

Refugees were sent to Italian ports and then traveled to Mandatory Palestine. More than 4,500 survivors left the French port of Sète on a ship called President Warfield (later renamed Exodus). The British sent them back to France from Haifa and forced them ashore in Hamburg. Despite British efforts to stop illegal immigration, 110,000 Jews moved to Palestine during these 14 years. In 1945, news of the Holocaust and its 6 million Jewish victims made many Jews in Palestine turn against the British Mandate. Illegal immigration grew quickly as many Holocaust survivors joined the Aliyah.

Early Statehood (1948–1960)

After Aliyah Bet, people stopped numbering the individual Aliyah waves. But immigration continued. A huge wave of Jewish immigration happened from 1948 to 1951. These immigrants mainly came from Europe after the Holocaust and from Arab and Muslim countries. In just three and a half years, Israel's Jewish population, which was 650,000 when the state was founded, more than doubled. About 688,000 immigrants arrived. In 1949, the most Jewish immigrants ever in a single year arrived: 249,954. This period is often called kibbutz galuyot (meaning "ingathering of exiles"). This is because so many different Jewish communities from the Jewish diaspora made Aliyah.

At the start of this immigration wave, most immigrants were Holocaust survivors from Europe. Many came from displaced persons camps in Germany, Austria, and Italy. Others came from British detention camps on Cyprus. Large parts of Jewish communities across Europe, like those from Poland and Romania, also moved to Israel. Some communities, like those from Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, almost entirely moved.

At the same time, many Jewish immigrants came from Arab countries. Special operations were carried out to bring Jewish communities in danger to Israel. For example, Operation Magic Carpet brought almost all the Jewish people from Yemen. Operation Ezra and Nehemiah airlifted most of the Jews from Iraq to Israel. Egyptian Jews were secretly brought to Israel in Operation Goshen. Almost all the Jewish people from Libya left for Israel around this time. Secret Aliyah from Syria also happened, as the Syrian government did not allow Jews to leave. Israel also saw many Jews come from non-Arab Muslim countries like Iran, Turkey, and Afghanistan during this time.

This led to a period of austerity (strict rationing). To make sure Israel, which had a small economy, could support the immigrants, strict rationing was put in place. This ensured everyone had enough food, housing, and clothing. Austerity was very strict until 1953. The year before, Israel signed a reparations agreement with West Germany. West Germany paid Israel as compensation for the Holocaust. This money helped Israel's economy. Most restrictions were then lifted. The remaining austerity measures were slowly removed in the following years.

When new immigrants arrived, they were checked for health. They were given food and basic supplies. The first immigrants got good homes in cities. But most were sent to transit camps, first called "immigrant camps," then Ma'abarot. Many also stayed in military barracks. By the end of 1950, about 93,000 immigrants lived in 62 transit camps. The government wanted to move immigrants out of these camps quickly. Immigrants who left the camps received a ration card, an identity card, a mattress, blankets, and some cash. They settled in cities, towns, kibbutzim, or moshavim (types of communal farms). Many stayed in the Ma'abarot as they slowly became permanent towns, called development towns. Their temporary homes were replaced with permanent ones.

In the early 1950s, the immigration wave slowed down. More people started leaving Israel. About 10% of immigrants eventually left Israel for other countries. In 1953, about 1,200 immigrants arrived each month, while 700 left. The end of mass immigration gave Israel a chance to help immigrants still in transit camps. The government built 260 new settlements and 78,000 homes. By the mid-1950s, almost everyone had permanent housing. The last ma'abarot closed in 1963.

In the mid-1950s, a smaller wave of immigration began. It came from North African countries like Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Egypt. Many of these countries were fighting for independence. Between 1952 and 1964, about 240,000 North African Jews came to Israel. During this time, smaller numbers also came from Europe, Iran, India, and Latin America. A small wave from then-communist Poland, called the "Gomulka Aliyah," also happened. From 1956 to 1960, Poland allowed Jews to leave freely. About 50,000 Polish Jews moved to Israel.

Since Israel was founded, the Jewish Agency for Israel has been in charge of helping with Aliyah around the world.

From Arab Countries

From 1948 until the early 1970s, about 900,000 Jews left, fled, or were forced out of various Arab nations. About 650,000 of them settled in Israel. In Operation Magic Carpet (1949–1950), almost the entire community of Yemenite Jews (about 49,000) moved to Israel. Another name for this operation was Operation On Wings of Eagles. This name came from Bible verses like Exodus 19:4 and Isaiah 40:31. About 120,000 Iraqi Jews were flown to Israel in Operation Ezra and Nehemiah.

From Iran

After Israel was created, about one-third of Iranian Jews, mostly poor, moved to Israel. Immigration from Iran continued for decades. An estimated 70,000 Iranian Jews moved to Israel between 1948 and 1978. After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, most of the Iranian Jewish community left. About 20,000 Iranian Jews moved to Israel. Many also settled in the United States.

From Ethiopia

The first big wave of Aliyah from Ethiopia happened in the mid-1970s. A huge airlift called Operation Moses began bringing Ethiopian Jews to Israel on November 18, 1984. It ended on January 5, 1985. During those six weeks, about 6,500–8,000 Ethiopian Jews were flown from Sudan to Israel. An estimated 2,000–4,000 Jews died on their way to Sudan or in refugee camps there. In 1991, Operation Solomon was launched to bring the Beta Israel Jews from Ethiopia. On May 24, 34 planes landed in Addis Ababa. They brought 14,325 Jews from Ethiopia to Israel in one day. Since then, Ethiopian Jews have continued to move to Israel. Today, there are over 100,000 Ethiopian-Israelis.

From the Soviet Union and Post-Soviet States

The Soviet government did not want many people to leave. The only acceptable reason was family reunion. A formal request from a relative abroad was needed to start the process. Often, this request was denied. Applying for an exit visa was risky. The whole family had to quit their jobs. This made them vulnerable to charges of "social parasitism," which was a crime. Because of these difficulties, Israel created the group Lishkat Hakesher in the early 1950s. Its job was to keep in touch with Jews behind the Iron Curtain and encourage Aliyah.

From Israel's founding in 1948 until the Six-Day War in 1967, very few Soviet Jews made Aliyah. Those who did were mostly elderly people allowed to leave for family reasons. Only about 22,000 Soviet Jews reached Israel. After the Six-Day War, the USSR ended its diplomatic ties with Israel. The government started an anti-Zionist campaign in the media. This led to harsher discrimination against Soviet Jews. By the late 1960s, Jewish cultural and religious life in the Soviet Union was almost impossible. Most Soviet Jews had become assimilated and non-religious. But this new wave of government-sponsored anti-Semitism and pride in Israel's victory over Soviet-armed Arab armies stirred up Zionist feelings.

After the Dymshits-Kuznetsov hijacking affair and the crackdown that followed, strong international criticism made the Soviet authorities allow more people to leave. From 1960–1970, the USSR let only 4,000 people leave. In the next decade, this number rose to 250,000. The exodus of Soviet Jews began in 1968.

Between 1968 and 1973, almost all Soviet Jews allowed to leave settled in Israel. Only a small number moved to other Western countries. However, in later years, more people moved to other Western nations. Soviet Jews allowed to leave were taken by train to Austria for processing. Then they were flown to Israel. Those who chose not to go to Israel were called "dropouts." They exchanged their immigrant invitations to Israel for refugee status in a Western country, especially the United States. Eventually, most Soviet Jews allowed to leave became dropouts. Overall, from 1970 to 1988, about 291,000 Soviet Jews got exit visas. Of these, 165,000 moved to Israel, and 126,000 moved to the United States. In 1989, a record 71,000 Soviet Jews were allowed to leave the USSR. Only 12,117 of them moved to Israel.

In 1989, the United States changed its policy. It no longer automatically gave Soviet Jews refugee status. That same year, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ended limits on Jewish immigration. The Soviet Union itself collapsed in 1991. Since then, about a million people from the former Soviet Union have moved to Israel. This includes about 240,000 who were not Jewish according to religious law. But they were eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return.

The number of immigrants from the former USSR who are not Jewish by religious law has been growing since 1989. For example, in 1990, about 96% of immigrants were Jewish. Only 4% were non-Jewish family members. But in 2000, the numbers were different. About 47% were Jewish (including children with a non-Jewish father and Jewish mother). Other groups included non-Jewish spouses of Jews (14%), children with a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother (17%), and non-Jews with a Jewish grandparent (14%).

After the Russo-Ukrainian War began, Ukrainian Jews making Aliyah from Ukraine increased. In the first four months of 2014, it was 142% higher than the year before. In 2014, Aliyah from the former Soviet Union went up 50% from the previous year. About 11,430 people, or 43% of all Jewish immigrants, came from the former Soviet Union. This was mainly due to the increase from Ukraine, with about 5,840 new immigrants.

The wave of Aliyah from Russia since 2014 has been called "Putin's Aliyah" or "Putin's exodus." The number of people returning to Israel in this wave is similar to those who came from the USSR between 1970 and 1988.

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Israel announced an "Immigrants Come Home" operation. As of June 2022, over 25,000 people arrived in Israel from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and Moldova.

From Latin America

During the economic crisis in Argentina (1999–2002), banks faced problems. Billions of dollars in savings were lost. This greatly affected Argentina's middle class. Most of the country's estimated 200,000 Jews were impacted. About 4,400 chose to start fresh and move to Israel, where they saw opportunities.

More than 10,000 Argentine Jews have moved to Israel since 2000. They joined thousands of earlier Argentine immigrants already there. The crisis in Argentina also affected its neighbor, Uruguay. About half of Uruguay's 40,000-strong Jewish community left, mainly for Israel, during the same period. In 2002 and 2003, the Jewish Agency for Israel started a big campaign to encourage Aliyah from the region. They offered extra financial help for immigrants from Argentina. Even though Argentina's economy improved, and some who moved to Israel returned, Argentine Jews continue to immigrate to Israel, though in smaller numbers. The Argentine community in Israel is about 50,000-70,000 people. It is the largest Latin American group in the country.

There has also been immigration from other Latin American countries that faced problems. However, these numbers are smaller.

In Venezuela, growing antisemitism and violence against Jews caused more Jews to move to Israel in the 2000s. For the first time in Venezuela's history, Jews began leaving for Israel by the hundreds. By November 2010, more than half of Venezuela's 20,000-strong Jewish community had left the country.

From France

From 2000 to 2009, over 13,000 French Jews moved to Israel. This was largely because of growing anti-Semitism in France. A peak was reached in 2005, with 2,951 immigrants. However, between 20% and 30% eventually returned to France. After Nicolas Sarkozy was elected, French Aliyah dropped. This was because the Jewish community felt more comfortable with him. In 2010, only 1,286 French Jews made Aliyah.

In 2012, about 200,000 French citizens lived in Israel. That same year, after François Hollande was elected and the Jewish school shooting in Toulouse, more French Jews started buying property in Israel. This was also due to ongoing anti-Semitism and Europe's economic problems. In August 2012, reports showed that anti-Semitic attacks had risen by 40% in the five months after the Toulouse shooting. Many French Jews were seriously thinking about moving to Israel. In 2013, 3,120 French Jews moved to Israel. This was a 63% increase from the previous year. In the first two months of 2014, French Jewish Aliyah increased sharply by 312%. 854 French Jews made Aliyah in those two months.

Immigration from France in 2014 was due to several reasons. These included increasing anti-Semitism, where many Jews faced harassment and attacks. There was also a slow European economy and high youth unemployment.

In the first few months of 2014, The Jewish Agency of Israel continued to encourage more French Aliyah. They held Aliyah fairs, Hebrew language courses, and sessions to help potential immigrants find jobs in Israel. They also helped with settling into Israeli society. A May 2014 survey showed that 74% of French Jews considered leaving France for Israel. Of these, 29.9% mentioned anti-Semitism. Another 24.4% wanted to "preserve their Judaism." 12.4% were attracted by other countries. "Economic considerations" was cited by 7.5%. By June 2014, it was estimated that 1% of the French Jewish community would make Aliyah to Israel by the end of 2014. This would be the largest number in a single year. Many Jewish leaders said the emigration was due to several factors. These included cultural ties to Israel and France's economic problems. Young people were especially drawn by the chance for new opportunities in Israel's stronger economy. During the Hebrew year 5774 (September 2013 - September 2014), for the first time, more Jews made Aliyah from France than any other country. About 6,000 French Jews made Aliyah, mainly fleeing widespread anti-Semitism, anti-Zionist violence, and economic difficulties. France became the top country for Aliyah by late September 2014.

In January 2015, events like the Charlie Hebdo shooting and Porte de Vincennes hostage crisis caused fear in the French Jewish community. Because of these events, the Jewish Agency planned an Aliyah program for 120,000 French Jews. Also, with Europe's slow economy in early 2015, many wealthy French Jewish professionals, businesspeople, and investors looked to Israel. They saw it as a place for new international investments, jobs, and business opportunities. Dov Maimon, a French Jewish immigrant who studies migration, expects as many as 250,000 French Jews to make Aliyah by 2030.

Immigration from France is increasing. In the first half of 2015, about 5,100 French Jews made Aliyah to Israel. This was 25% more than in the same period the previous year. About 7,000 made Aliyah in all of 2014. This suggests about 10,000 could be expected for the full year of 2015.

After the November 2015 Paris attacks, one source reported that 80% of French Jews were thinking about making Aliyah. According to the Jewish Agency, nearly 6,500 French Jews had made Aliyah between January and November 2015.

From North America

More than 200,000 North American immigrants live in Israel. There has been a steady flow of immigration from North America since Israel was founded in 1948.

Several thousand American Jews moved to Mandatory Palestine before Israel became a state. From Israel's founding in 1948 until the Six-Day War in 1967, Aliyah from the United States and Canada was very small. In 1959, a former president of the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel estimated that out of 35,000 American and Canadian Jews who had made Aliyah, only 6,000 remained.

After the Six-Day War in 1967, and the excitement among Jewish people worldwide, many more arrived in the late 1960s and 1970s. Before that, it had been just a trickle. Between 1967 and 1973, 60,000 North American Jews moved to Israel. However, many of them later returned to their home countries. An estimated 58% of American Jews who moved to Israel between 1961 and 1972 eventually returned to the United States.

Like immigrants from Western Europe, North Americans tend to move to Israel for religious, ideological, and political reasons. They usually don't move for financial or safety reasons. Many immigrants started arriving in Israel after the First Intifada and Second Intifada. A total of 3,052 arrived in 2005, which was the highest number since 1983.

Nefesh B'Nefesh, founded in 2002 by Rabbi Yehoshua Fass and Tony Gelbart, helps encourage Aliyah from North America and the UK. They provide financial help, job services, and simplify government procedures. Nefesh B'Nefesh works with the Jewish Agency and the Israeli Government to increase the number of North American and British immigrants.

After the financial crisis of 2007–2008, American Jewish immigration to Israel increased. This wave was caused by Israel's lower unemployment rate. It was also due to financial help offered to new Jewish immigrants. In 2009, Aliyah was at its highest in 36 years, with 3,324 North American Jews making Aliyah.

Since the 1990s

Since the mid-1990s, there has been a steady flow of South African Jews, American Jews, and French Jews who have either made Aliyah or bought property in Israel for future immigration. Over 2,000 French Jews moved to Israel each year between 2000 and 2004. This was due to anti-Semitism in France. The Bnei Menashe Jews from India slowly started their Aliyah in the early 1990s. They continue to arrive in small numbers. Their recent discovery and recognition by mainstream Judaism as descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes is a bit debated. Organizations like Nefesh B'Nefesh and Shavei Israel help with Aliyah. They offer financial aid and guidance on finding work, learning Hebrew, and fitting in to Israeli culture.

In early 2007, Haaretz reported that Aliyah for 2006 was down about 9% from 2005. This was "the lowest number of immigrants recorded since 1988." The number of new immigrants in 2007 was 18,127, the lowest since 1988. Only 36% of these new immigrants came from the former Soviet Union (compared to almost 90% in the 1990s). The number of immigrants from countries like France and the United States remained steady. About 15,452 immigrants arrived in Israel in 2008, and 16,465 in 2009. On October 20, 2009, the first group of Kaifeng Jews arrived in Israel. This Aliyah operation was coordinated by Shavei Israel. Shalom Life reported that over 19,000 new immigrants arrived in Israel in 2010. This was an increase of 16% over 2009.

Paternity Testing

In 2013, the office of the Prime Minister of Israel announced a new rule. Some people born outside of marriage who want to move to Israel might need DNA testing to prove who their father is. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said this idea came from Nativ. Nativ is an Israeli government group that has helped Jews from the Soviet Union and post-Soviet countries with Aliyah since the 1950s.

Holiday

Yom HaAliyah (Aliyah Day) is an Israeli national holiday. It is celebrated every year on the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Nisan. This day remembers when the Jewish people entered the Land of Israel, as told in the Hebrew Bible. This happened on the tenth of Nisan. The holiday also celebrates Aliyah, which is immigration to the Jewish state. It is a core value of the State of Israel. It also honors the ongoing contributions of Olim, who are Jewish immigrants, to Israeli society. Yom HaAliyah is also observed in Israeli schools on the seventh day of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan.

The original day chosen for Yom HaAliyah, the tenth of Nisan, is full of meaning. Even though it is a modern holiday created by the Knesset (Israel's parliament), the tenth of Nisan is a very important religious date for the Jewish people. This is told in the Hebrew Bible and in traditional Jewish thought.

On the tenth of Nisan, according to the Book of Joshua in the Bible, Joshua and the Israelites crossed the Jordan River at Gilgal. They entered the Promised Land while carrying the Ark of the Covenant. This was the first recorded "mass Aliyah." On that day, God told the Israelites to remember and celebrate the event. They were to set up twelve stones with the words of the Torah carved on them. The stones represented all twelve tribes of the Jewish nation. They showed their thanks for God's gift of the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael) to them.

Yom HaAliyah, as a modern holiday, started in 2009. It began as a community effort and a movement by young Olim in Tel Aviv. The TLV Internationals organization of the Am Yisrael Foundation led this. On June 21, 2016, the Twentieth Knesset voted to make this effort a law. They officially added Yom HaAliyah to the Israeli national calendar. The Yom HaAliyah bill was supported by Knesset members from different political parties. This was a rare example of cooperation across the political groups.

Statistics

Recent Trends

Top Aliyah Sending Countries:

Country	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Russia		10,673	16,060	6,507	7,500	43,685
Ukraine		6,561	6,329	2,917	2,123	15,213
United States		3,052	3,141	2,661	4,000	3,261
France		2,723	2,470	2,351	2,819	2,049
Ethiopia	1,467		665	712	1,589	1,498
Belarus		969	945	586	780	1,993
Brazil	693	673			438	356
United Kingdom		523			490	526
Canada		347
Argentina	286	340			633	985
South Africa		332	442	280	373	426
Turkey	401	203	318
Germany		185
Venezuela	152	174
Belgium		121
Mexico		110
Switzerland		91
Italy		86
Hungary		43
Total	29,509	30,403	35,651	21,120	28,601	74,915

Historic Data

The table below shows the number of immigrants since 1882. It is broken down by time period and where they were born. Information about continent and country of birth is often not available before 1919.

Region/Country	1882– 1918	1919– 1948	1948– 1951	1952– 1960	1961– 1971	1972– 1979	1980– 1989	1990– 2001	2002– 2010	2011– 2020	Total
Africa		4,033	93,282	143,485	164,885	19,273	28,664	55,619	31,558	20,843	561,642
Algeria		994	3,810	3,433	12,857	2,137	1,830	1,682	1,967	324	29,034
Egypt and Sudan		0	16,028	17,521	2,963	535	372	202	166	21	37,808
Abyssinia→ Ethiopia and Eritrea		0	10	59	98	309	16,971	45,131	23,613	10,500	96,691
Libya		873	30,972	2,079	2,466	219	67	94	36	5	36,811
Morocco		0	28,263	95,945	130,507	7,780	3,809	3,276	2,113	384	272,077
South Africa		259	666	774	3,783	5,604	3,575	3,283	1,693	2,560	22,197
Tunisia		0	13,293	23,569	11,566	2,148	1,942	1,607	1,871	398	56,394
Zimbabwe		0	37	22	145	393	82	26	14		719
Other (Africa)		1,907	203	83	500	148	16	318	85	24	3,284
Americas and Oceania		7,579	3,822	6,922	42,400	45,040	39,369	39,662	36,209	51,370	272,373
Argentina		238	904	2,888	11,701	13,158	10,582	11,248	9,450	3,150	63,319
Australia		0	116	107	742	1,146	835	977	524		4,447
Bolivia		0	0	0	199	94	80	53	84		510
Brazil		0	304	763	2,601	1,763	1,763	2,356	2,037	4,320	15,907
Canada		316	236	276	2,169	2,178	1,867	1,963	1,700	6,340	17,045
Chile		0	48	401	1,790	1,180	1,040	683	589		5,731
Colombia		0	0	0	415	552	475	657	965		3,064
Cuba		0	14	88	405	79	42	629	606		1,863
Ecuador		0	0	0	40	38	44	67	69		258
Mexico		0	48	168	736	861	993	1,049	697		4,552
New Zealand		70	0	13	91	129	124	142	42		611
Panama		0	0	0	64	43	48	50	40		245
Peru		0	0	0	269	243	358	612	1,539		3,021
United States	2,000	6,635	1,711	1,553	18,671	20,963	18,904	17,512	15,445	32,000	135,394
Uruguay		0	66	425	1,844	2,199	2,014	983	1,555		9,086
Venezuela		0	0	0	297	245	180	418	602		1,742
Other (Central America)		0	17	43	129	104	8	153	157		611
Other (South America)		0	42	194	89	62	0	66	96		549
Other (Americas/Oceania)		318	313	0	148	3	8	44	12		846
Asia		40,776	237,704	37,119	56,208	19,456	14,433	75,687	17,300	1,370	500,053
Afghanistan		0	2,303	1,106	516	132	57	21	13		4,148
Burma		0	0	0	147	83	383	138	33		784
China		0	504	217	96	43	78	277	74	190	1,479
Cyprus		0	21	35	28	21	12	32	0		149
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka		0	2,176	5,380	13,110	3,497	1,539	2,055	961	1,180	29,898
Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines		0	101	46	54	40	60	205	42		548
Persia→ Iran		3,536	21,910	15,699	19,502	9,550	8,487	4,326	1,097		84,107
Iraq		0	123,371	2,989	2,129	939	111	1,325	130		130,994
Israel		0	411	868	1,021	507	288	1,148	1,448		5,691
Japan		0	0	9	25	34	57	98	32		255
Jordan		0	6	9	23	6	9	15	0		68
Lebanon		0	235	846	2,208	564	179	96	34		4,162
Mongolia, South Korea, and North Korea		0	0	0	4	5	10	100	36		155
Saudi Arabia		0	177	0	4	0	5	0	0		186
Russian Empire→ Soviet Union→ Russia (Asia)							61,988	12,422		74,410
Syria		0	2,678	1,870	0	0	0	1,664	23		6,235
Turkey		8,277	34,547	6,871	14,073	3,118	2,088	1,311	817		71,102
Yemen	2,600	15,838	48,315	1,170	1,066	51	17	683	103		69,843
Other (Asia)		13,125	947	0	60	21	45	205	30		14,433
Europe		377,487	332,802	106,305	162,070	183,419	70,898	888,603	96,165	162,320	2,380,069
Albania		0	0	5	8	0	0	376	0		389
Austria		7,748	2,632	610	1,021	595	356	368	150		13,480
Belarus										5,530	5,530
Belgium		0	291	394	1,112	847	788	1,053	873		5,358
Bulgaria		7,057	37,260	1,680	794	118	180	3,999	341		51,429
Czechoslovakia		16,794	18,788	783	2,754	888	462	527	217		41,213
Denmark		0	27	46	298	292	411	389	85		1,548
Finland		0	9	20	172	184	222	212	33		852
France		1,637	3,050	1,662	8,050	5,399	7,538	11,986	13,062	38,000	90,384
Weimar Republic→ Nazi Germany→ Germany		52,951	8,210	1,386	3,175	2,080	1,759	2,442	866		72,869
Greece		8,767	2,131	676	514	326	147	127	48		12,736
Hungary		10,342	14,324	9,819	2,601	1,100	1,005	2,444	730		42,365
Ireland		0	14	46	145	157	233	136	54		785
Italy		1,554	1,305	414	940	713	510	656	389		6,481
Luxembourg		0	30	15	15	7	12	0	4		83
Netherlands		1,208	1,077	646	1,470	1,170	1,239	997	365		8,172
Norway		0	17	14	36	55	126	120	19		387
Poland		170,127	106,414	39,618	14,706	6,218	2,807	3,064	764		343,718
Portugal		0	16	22	66	56	55	47	28		290
Romania	???	41,105	117,950	32,462	86,184	18,418	14,607	6,254	711		317,691
Russian Empire→ Soviet Union→ Russia (Europe)	47,500	52,350	8,163	13,743	29,376	137,134	29,754	844,139	72,520	66,800	1,301,479
Spain		0	80	169	406	327	321	269	178		1,750
Sweden		0	32	51	378	372	419	424	160		1,836
Switzerland		0	131	253	886	634	706	981	585		4,176
United Kingdom		1,574	1,907	1,448	6,461	6,171	7,098	5,365	3,725	6,320	40,069
Ukraine										45,670	45,670
Yugoslavia→ Serbia and the former Yugoslavia		1,944	7,661	320	322	126	140	2,029	162		12,704
Other (Europe)		2,329	1,281	3	173	32	0	198	93		4,109
Not known		52,982	20,014	3,307	2,265	392	469	422	0	0	79,851
Total	62,500	482,857	687,624	297,138	427,828	267,580	153,833	1,059,993	181,233	236,903	3,857,489

See Also