On the one year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the record of non-Jewish immigrants who arrived in Israel in the past year was broken - this is according to the analysis of the immigration data according to the Population and Immigration Authority, carried out by Dr. Nathaniel Fisher, head of the public policy department at the academic center Sha'ari Mada and Juft.
The year since the invasion, from February 2022 to February 2023, was characterized by an increase mainly from Russia.
This, in light of the massive sanctions imposed on the citizens of the country, and due to the fact that those entitled to the Law of Return from Ukraine had other countries open, unlike immigrants from Russia.
Most of the non-Jewish immigrants are from Russia
The analysis of the data shows that about 36.5 thousand non-Jews immigrated to Israel from Russia, out of about 51 thousand immigrants in the last year, while about 8.5 thousand non-Jews immigrated from Ukraine out of about 14 thousand immigrants.
That is - 49,852 new immigrants in total arrived this year from Russia and Ukraine who are not Jews according to Halacha, although they are entitled to the Law of Return according to the grandson section.
Immigration from Russia and Ukraine increased following the war in Ukraine // Photo: AP,
This is an all-time record, since even in 1991, the year of the fall of the Iron Curtain, which was a record year for immigration, most of the immigrants were Jews according to Halacha.
In this year, when hundreds of thousands of immigrants from the countries of the former Soviet Union immigrated to Israel, 24 thousand non-Jewish immigrants were registered according to Halacha.
"Be prepared for the consequences"
The non-Jewish immigration continues even now, and since the beginning of the year approximately 8,000 additional non-Jewish immigrants immigrated to Israel, a figure that brings the non-Jewish non-Arab population to approximately 520 thousand people.
While Russia and Ukraine together are estimated to have about 200,000 Jews, there are another 600,000 non-Jews in these countries who are entitled to immigrate according to the Law of Return, because they are the children and grandchildren of Jews.
New immigrants from the Soviet Union in the 1990s // Photo: Moshe Shai, Photo: Moshe Shai
Dr. Nathaniel Fisher points out: "There is no doubt that these data should provoke a significant public debate." He analyzes the data and adds: "In my opinion, there is no choice but to update the Law of Return.
Even those who do not think so cannot avoid the fact that the Law of Return has become a law for non-Jewish immigration.
The current wave of immigration indicates that any large wave of immigration in the future will be non-Jewish in nature, so it is necessary to prepare from now on for the dramatic consequences of the change in the nature of immigration to Israel."
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