In August, 1,000 people immigrated to Israel from North America. The organization Nefesh B'Nefesh considers this a new record, for which there are several reasons.
The immigration organization Nefesh B'Nefesh has recorded a new record: A total of 1,000 North American Jews made Aliyah in August. No other month has seen Nefesh B'Nefesh process so many new immigrations, according to a press release issued Tuesday.
Among the immigrants were a total of 362 families, 391 single individuals, and 160 retirees. The majority of the immigrants come from the American East Coast, but Jews from California have also left their homeland. The most popular destinations in Israel are Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. However, peripheral areas have also become preferred destinations for immigrants, explains Nefesh B'Nefesh.
The managing director of Nefesh B'Nefesh, Jehoshua Fass, expressed his delight at the high number of new immigrants. He explained that the coronavirus pandemic, in particular, had been a major challenge. As of the end of August, 3,000 North American Jews had already made aliyah this year. He hoped that the number would rise to 4,000 to 5,000 by the end of the year.
Multifaceted reasons for immigration
There are many reasons for the increase, explained Josch Brook, press spokesman for Nefesh B'Nefesh, in response to an inquiry from Israelnetz. The pandemic is causing many people to re-evaluate their priorities. For Jews living abroad, this includes the issue of Aliyah (immigration). Furthermore, the pandemic has shown that working from home is possible in many sectors. The place of residence is therefore playing an increasingly smaller role compared to the place of work. In addition, Israel offers significant opportunities in the high-tech sector. This sector has not suffered any losses due to the pandemic. Overall, however, the summer months are generally the peak season for immigration, says Brook. This is due to the new school years, semesters, and language courses that begin after the summer holidays. The spokesman did not cite antisemitism as a reason.
However, a recently published FBI statistic shows that Jews in the US are the target of 58 percent of all religiously motivated hate crimes. The FBI recorded a total of 676 hate crimes against Jews. The study refers to the year 2020. Compared to 2019, the figures represent a slight decrease. Two years ago, 63 percent of all religiously motivated hate crimes targeted Jews.
According to Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata (Blue and White), a total of 18,520 Jews from around the world have immigrated to Israel since the beginning of the year. She described this as a "very impressive and encouraging" number. According to the Jewish Agency, the number of olim (immigrants) in Israel in 2020 was 20,000.
Nefesh B'Nefesh (roughly: "From Soul to Soul") is an immigration organization that, since its founding in 2002, has been assisting Jews from Canada, the USA, and Great Britain with their immigration. It works closely with the Israeli government and Jewish organizations. Its goal is to help immigrants with formalities and job searches in their new home of Israel.
