The Jewish Agency said Thursday that 2022 was a record year with the arrival of 70,000 new immigrants from 95 different countries with the help of the agency, in cooperation with the Aliyah and Integration Ministry.
This is a record number of immigrants ("olim chadashim" in Hebrew) registered in the past 23 years. It is also a dramatic increase from 2021, when an estimated 28,600 new immigrants came to settle in Israel.
According to Jewish Agency figures, most immigrants this year are from Russia and Ukraine. The Agency's operation to rescue Ukrainian Jews after the outbreak of war with Russia last February was unprecedented in its scale.
Between January 1 and December 1, 2022, 37,364 "olim" arrived from Russia, 14,680 from Ukraine, 3,500 from North America, 2,049 from France, 1,993 from Belarus, 1,498 from Ethiopia, 985 from Argentina, 526 from Great Britain, 426 from South Africa and 356 from Brazil. Final totals for 2022 will be available after the end of the year.
About 27 percent (about 19,000) of these immigrants are young people between the ages of 18 and 35, brought to revitalize the Israeli society and economy. About 24 percent (16,500) of immigrants are children and teenagers aged 0 to 17, 22 percent are aged 36 to 50, 14 percent are aged 51 to 64 and 13 percent are aged 65 and over.
Given the influx of new arrivals this year, the Jewish Agency plans to set up a new model of “open absorption centers” where young “olim” will live in the same building and benefit from community support services.
In addition, 2,180 emissaries were sent to Jewish communities in 65 countries around the world to strengthen Jewish identity and the bond with Israel. Dozens of Jewish Agency emissaries have worked on college campuses, strengthening the pro-Israel community and supporting students in their fight against growing antisemitism.