The first new immigrants to Israel in 2026 are the Sacks family from Sydney, Australia, the Immigration and Absorption Ministry says.
The family – father Trevor, mother Dalit and daughter Ashira – received their Israeli identity cards upon landing at Ben Gurion Airport at 6:08 a.m. this morning. The couple’s son, Levi, had previously immigrated to Israel and enlisted in the IDF.
The family was very close with one of the victims killed at the terror attack at Bondi Beach on Hanukkah last month, a ministry representative notes.
Nearly 22,000 new immigrants arrived in 2025, according to data from the ministry, and a raft of new measures designed to encourage immigration have been launched in recent months, including 0 percent income tax rate for immigrants arriving in 2026.
“We are working for the aliya of Australian Jews to Israel and have already taken and will continue to take significant steps toward that end,” says Immigration and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer.
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Thursday, January 1, 2026
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