Immigration to Israel rose to the highest level in two decades over the past twelve months, according to data collected by the Jewish Agency.
A report by the Jewish Agency released Sunday found that a total of roughly 38,000 new immigrants from around the world made Aliyah to Israel since Israel’s Independence Day in 2021.
The spike in immigration to Israel resulted in part from the wave of migration from Ukraine this year, following the Russian invasion which began in February.
The coronavirus pandemic also fueled greater interest in immigration to Israel, with thousands of additional immigrants from dozens of countries moving to Israel over the past year.
According to the data collected by the Jewish Agency, approximately half of 38,000 new immigrants who arrived in Israel since last Independence Day came from Ukraine or Russia, with an additional 4,000 immigrants coming from the US, and 3,700 from France.
More than one thousand immigrants moved to Israel from Belarus, with over a thousand additional immigrants from Argentina. Some seven hundred immigrants moved to Israel from the UK, with approximately 600 immigrants making Aliyah from South Africa, 500 from Brazil, and 400 from Canada, with hundreds more from Australia, Germany, Belgium, Chile, Italy, and other countries.
Israel also received immigrants from Ethiopia as part of Operation Tzur Yisrael, which is expected to be resumed in the near future.