Over 29,000 immigrants have moved to Israel since October 7, WZO says
After steep fall-off following Hamas massacre, figures show uptick in Jews immigrating to Israel under Law of Return, in trend thought to be fueled by increase in antisemitism
Nearly 30,000 people have immigrated to Israel since October 7, the head of the World Zionist Organization said Tuesday, marking a sharp reversal after immigration numbers fell off a cliff in the months following the Hamas attack.
According to WZO chairman Yaakov Hagoel, over 29,000 people have moved to Israel under the Law of Return in the past nearly 11 months, including 150 immigrants who arrived from France Tuesday.
The claim from WZO, which promotes Jewish immigration to Israel, dovetails with reports from officials over the last several months of a stark increase in people inquiring into the possibility of making the move.
Analysts say the spike in interest is being fuelled by a wave of antisemitism in Europe, the US and elsewhere ignited by Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which was launched following the October 7 shock attack.
” On October 7th, a war erupted not against the state of Israel, but against the Jewish people. Today, in many countries around the world, it is hard to be a Jew, whether at school, at work, or at prayer,” Hagoel told the French immigrants, according to a statement.
Immigration figures plummeted in the immediate aftermath of the October 7 assault, during which some Hamas-led terrorists killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel and beyond, and took 251 hostage. The worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, the attack plunged the region into war and sparked questions about Israel’s ability to protect its citizens.
In October 2023, just 1,163 people moved to Israel, compared to 2,364 people in September, the Central Bureau of Statistics said late last year. The agency said 6,091 people moved to Israel in October 2022.
Figures have slowly gathered in the months that followed. From October to April, over 12,000 immigrants moved to Israel, according to government figures and statistics from the Jewish Agency for Israel, which facilitates immigration.
A spokesperson for Nefesh B’Nefesh, which supports North American immigration to Israel, told the Forward at the time that immigration typically slackens during the fall and winter.
“We have registered, however, a remarkable leap in aliyah applications, mostly in the US and France, but also in Canada and the UK. This means the tide will certainly turn in the coming months, when the security situation will stabilize, as we all hope,” Jewish Agency spokesperson Yigal Palmor told the Forward.
Immigration to Israel reached a high in 2022, with the arrival of 73,000 immigrants, mostly from Ukraine and Russia.
Jewish communities around the globe have reported marked increases in antisemitic attacks and incidents, much of it tied to large anti-Israel protests that have erupted worldwide since October.
