Jewish immigration to Israel up 31% in 2021
Drop in arrivals from Russia, growth from U.S., South Africa and Ethiopia as part of Operation Tzur Israel. Immigrants mostly young people. The influx never stopped, not even during the most acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. For the Israeli minister, these are "positive" figures.
Jerusalem (AsiaNews/Agencies) - In the first months of 2021, Jewish immigration to Israel grew by 31%, with an increasing number of entries from the United States, France, Ukraine, Belarus, South Africa and Ethiopia, while there is a slight decline from Russia.
This is what emerges from official data provided by the Israeli Ministry of Immigration and the Jewish Agency, on the eve of tomorrow's holiday in remembrance of those who undertook the journey to the "promised land".
According to official statistics, again for this year the largest number of Jewish immigrants came from Russia (5,075), despite a 5% decrease in the number compared to 2020. There were 3,104 new entries from the United States, a 41% growth over the first nine months of last year.
At least 2,819 new immigrants moved from France (+55%), 2,123 from Ukraine (+4%), 780 from Belarus (+69%), 633 from Argentina (+46%), 490 from the United Kingdom (+20%), 438 from Brazil (+4%) and 373 from South Africa (+56%). From Ethiopia, 1,589 immigrants were registered as part of Operation Tzur Israel, an initiative desired by the government to encourage the immigration of members of the Jewish community from the African country.
Based on age, more than half of the Jewish immigrants to Israel who arrived in 2021 are under 35, with 23.4% between the ages of 0 and 17; 33.4% are between the ages of 18 and 35. 16.3% fall in the 36-50 age bracket, 13% are between 51 and 64 years old, and 13.9% are over 65 years old.
The Immigration Ministry adds that 2,184 new immigrants moved to Jerusalem, 2,122 to Tel Aviv, 2,031 to Netanya, 1,410 to Haifa and 744 to Ashdod. Department head Pnina Tamano-Shata speaks of "positive" figures, emphasizing the great contribution made by Jewish immigrants to Israeli society from an overall development perspective.
In a note written in English, but using Hebrew terms to refer to immigration and immigrants, the minister said, “I am pleased to launch Aliyah Week for 2021 where we salute olim [immigrants] for their contribution to the State of Israel. I worked in the government to ensure aliyah does not stop for a moment — also during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns — because aliyah is the realization of the Zionist dream”.
Last year, during the most acute period of the health emergency triggered by the new coronavirus pandemic, the figure for Jewish immigration to Israel dropped by about 40%. The figure in 2020 stopped at 21,200, compared to 33,500 the previous year, an overall drop of 36.7%.
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06/10/2022 13:29
28/04/2021 11:00
