Aliyah to Israel surged by 30% in 2021, with 27,050 new immigrants having moved to the Jewish state from across the globe compared to last year's 21,820 olim, according to statistics published on Thursday by the Aliyah and Integration Ministry, The Jewish Agency for Israel, and Nefesh B'Nefesh.
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This past year also brought a record-breaking 4,000 olim from the United States, who arrived in Israel with the assistance of Nefesh B'Nefesh. This immigration from the US constituted a 30% increase over 2020 and the highest annual number of new arrivals from the USA since 1973. Another 400 olim arrived this year from Canada, bringing the expected total of new immigrants from North America in 2021 to over 4,400.
The aliyah numbers also show a 40% jump in immigration from France this year compared to 2020, with the arrival of 3,500 French Jews, the highest number of arrivals from that country in the last four years.
Elsewhere around the world, aliyah figures for 2021 included 7,500 olim from Russia this year, an increase of 10% from 2020; 3,000 immigrants from Ukraine, up 5%; and 1,636 immigrants from Ethiopia as part of "Operation Tzur Israel."
Other significant sources of aliyah this year include 900 olim from Argentina, an increase of 55% over last year and the highest number of immigrants from that country since 2003; 650 immigrants from the United Kingdom, an increase of 22% over 2021; 550 new arrivals from Brazil; 550 olim from South Africa, a dramatic increase of 72%, particularly in comparison with figures from the last decade; and 290 Jews from Mexico, a 55% increase.
The growing popularity of aliyah among the younger generation continued as well, as 55% (14,620 olim) of all this year's new immigrants olim were under the age of 35. Further, 16.5% of arrivals were ages 36-50; 13.6% were 51-64; and 14.7% were 65 and older.
The city welcoming the most olim in 2021 was Tel Aviv, where 2,870 immigrants chose to make their new home, followed by Jerusalem, with 2,760 arrivals, Netanya with 2,710, and Haifa with 2000. Other cities where new immigrants arrived in 2021 included Ashdod (940), Bat Yam (920), Raanana (880), Beit Shemesh (860), Nahariya (825), and Beersheba (750).This year also brought olim with diverse professional backgrounds, including over 1,100 doctors and paramedical professionals who will join the Israeli health system; 1,670 olim from the fields of technology and engineering; 960 from the fields of accounting and law; and 750 educators.
Aliyah and Integration Pnina Tamano-Shata said: "Despite the pandemic and its limitations, aliyah to Israel did not stop and we're happy to welcome tens of thousands of olim who chose to make aliyah this year. Olim are an incredible growth engine for the Israeli economy and are a national, economic, and moral powerhouse for the nation."
Yaakov Hagoel, acting chairman of The Jewish Agency concurred.
"We are thrilled to see a sharp increase, of tens of percentage points, in aliyah from countries, such as the US, France, Argentina, Britain, South Africa, Australia, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and more," he said. "Growing interest in aliyah continued this year, with The Jewish Agency's Global Aliyah Center, which provides aliyah information throughout the day in six languages, opening almost 32,000 new aliyah files. However, the best is yet to come – we haven't yet maximized on the potential aliyah"
Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, co-founder and executive director of Nefesh B'Nefesh said, "After an incredibly challenging year, we celebrate each and every oleh who made the courageous move and overcame the many difficulties and ever-changing factors over the last year and made aliyah.
"The resounding interest in aliyah that we witnessed in 2020 has borne fruit this past year, translating into an actual surge in aliyah. As we look to 2022, our organization's 20th year, we are excited about the future of aliyah and look forward to helping thousands more North Americans realize their Zionist dreams," he said.
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