Several thousand Jews are also waiting to make Aliyah to Israel from Ethiopia.
These numbers include people who define themselves as Jewish and do not identify with another religion.
If you were to add all the people
eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return to those numbers, the global total rises to 25.5 million people, including 7.5 million in Israel. 500,000 Israelis entitled to citizenship under the Law of Return are not registered as Jews.
The updated statistics by Prof. Sergio Della Pergola of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem will be published in the American Jewish Year Book 2022.
5782 was largest year for Aliyah in two decades
The Hebrew calendar year 5782 saw the largest number of olim (new immigrants) in 20 years, with The Jewish Agency and Aliyah and Integration Ministry helping 60,000 immigrants from 93 countries come to Israel.
Of these 60,000 olim, 26,000 came from Russia, 14,000 from Ukraine, 3,800 from the US and Canada, 2,500 from France, 1,600 from Belarus, 1,450 from Ethiopia, 1,100 from Argentina, 600 from the UK, 500 from South Africa and 400 from Brazil.
Over a quarter of the new immigrants were between the ages of 18-35, with about 5,500 participating in special Jewish Agency programs that help them integrate into the job market and higher education.
Another 2,200 olim serving as lone soldiers in the IDF received support from the Wings program.
In 5782, 15,000 young Jews from 60 countries came to Israel to take part in leadership, volunteering and career programs, mostly as part of the Masa Israel Journey.
Over 3,500 community leaders and professionals from 41 countries took part in resilience and emergency preparedness training as part of The Jewish Agency’s JReady global emergency network, which aims to promote resilience in global Jewish communities.
2,200 shlichim (emissaries) served in Jewish communities worldwide to strengthen Jewish identity and connections with Israel.
“Wishing a very happy New Year to the Jewish people the world over – a year of hope and a year of greater connection between us,” said Chairman of the Executive of The Jewish Agency Major General (Res.) Doron Almog. “The challenges facing us at the start of this new year are significant and important. We will work together to strengthen the strategic relationship between Israel and global Jewry and to strengthen Israeli society as a whole, for the sake of our common future. And to the tens of thousands of olim who arrived in Israel this year with the help of The Jewish Agency, I wish you all a very happy new year and a soft and successful landing. Welcome to Israel.”/the jerusalem post
