Israel sees 128% increase in Jewish immigration
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Israel has seen a 128% increase in “Aliyah” – Jewish immigration to Israel – since last September, the Jerusalem Post reports. Israel has taken in 60,000 new immigrants in the last year, compared to 28,500 immigrants the country absorbed last year.
The countries from which most immigration to Israel took place over the last year were Russia at 47%, Ukraine at 25%, the US at 6%, France at 4%, and Ethiopia at 2%, Jpost reports. Around 12% came from other countries.
In particular, Operation “Olim Return Home,” an Israeli effort to rescue Jews in countries affected by the Russian-Ukraine war, has brought 39,214 immigrants to Israel since February: this number includes 11,191 from Russia and 7,513 from Ukraine, JPost said.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, Israel’s Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata said organizations, including Jewish Federations of North America, had helped to bring immigrants impacted by the Russian invasion. “World Jewry put close to $100 million into this operation,” she said. “We saw Jewish mobilization in its glory, and it helped in our ability to invest budgets in absorption while they invested in rescue.”
The Aliyah and Integration Ministry said most of this year’s Aliyah intake were settled in Tel Aviv, with 6,327 immigrants, followed by Haifa with 6,182, Netanya with 6,069, and Jerusalem with 4,285, JPost reports.