A poll conducted by Israel’s Aliyah and Integration Ministry revealed on Tuesday that more than 80% of Russian and Ukrainian Jews who arrived in Israel after the breakout of the war in Ukraine on February 24 intend to stay in the country.
Prof. Zeev Hanin conducted the survey and presented his findings at the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress.
"Over 80% of respondents among new immigrants from Russia and Ukraine want to stay in Israel," he said.
Figures were slightly higher for Olim from Russia, with 83% of them responding positively to the question. Meanwhile, over 78% of Ukrainians who made Aliyah after the Russian invasion said they intend to remain in the Jewish state.
Nearly 70% of the respondents said they were satisfied with their first steps in Israel, with 74% saying they were “very content” with the government’s financial support.
The same number of respondents said they were satisfied with their living conditions and their children’s education opportunities.
Among the most pressing issues, the majority of the respondents listed finding permanent housing (66%), stable jobs (63%), and learning Hebrew (73.7%).
According to the Integration Ministry, since the beginning of the year, over 28,000 Jews from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus have immigrated to Israel until early June. This figure is more than double that of the same period last year.
Earlier on Tuesday, a senior ministry source said that Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman is looking for ways to enable Russian immigrants to access their bank accounts in Russia and transfer money to Israel.
There are currently 57,000 retired immigrants who cannot transfer their Russian pensions in Israel due to unprecedented economic sanctions imposed against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.