Thursday, December 29, 2022
Understanding the upsurge in black attacks on Jews
The path of promoting Jew-hatred as a strategy for popularizing withdrawal into racial authenticity and ethnic isolationism is today still represented by Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam and their myriad followers, including in the political, entertainment and professional athletic realms. It is also represented by significant segments of the Black Lives Matter leadership, elements of the black Hebrew Israelite movement, black college and university groups that have advocated segregation on campuses and others.Will Biden follow through on his pledge to combat antisemitism?
Black Americans who seek common cause with others and have spoken out against black antisemitism include academics and intellectuals like the Hoover Institute’s Thomas Sowell and Brown University’s Glenn Loury, various political figures on both sides of the aisle and numerous religious leaders, as well as prominent cultural and sports personalities.
Gates’ insight has implications beyond the issue of recent black antisemitism. For centuries, Jew-hatred has been used as a tool in political struggles between competing elites, with one or both sides attacking the other for being associated with or too tolerant of Jews.
In today’s America, this phenomenon is not confined to the black community. White advocates of the balkanization of America along racial and ethnic lines—whether on the far-left or the far-right—target Jews as champions of an integrationist ideal and defame Jews in order to discredit non-Jews who embrace that ideal.
For example, Martin Luther King, Jr., who advocated color-blindness and integration, would be as unwelcome on many of today’s college campuses as would defenders of the Jewish community. But to attack King directly would still generally be frowned upon. The Jews are a much easier target, and maligning and attacking them is an indirect way for both white and black bigots to undermine King and his integrationist message, especially in light of King’s lifelong alliance with Jewish activists and leaders.
The American Jewish response to the rise in Jew-hatred has been piecemeal and weak. This is largely because the increased antisemitism—or at least that part of it that has made the greatest inroads in American society—is coming mainly from sources towards which many American Jews have long felt affinity and identification: Black Americans, too often conceived as a monolithic community; progressives; and educators, especially those staffing what has become the greatest institutional font of antisemitism in America, the campuses.
The increasingly heated division between Americans who advocate balkanization and those who champion integration will likely grow even more intense, and the ever-increasing use of Jew-hatred as a weapon of the former against the latter will grow more ingrained and uglier. Gates’ observations cast a light on this reality. If American Jews wish to stem the rising antisemitism, they must cast aside their preconceptions, take a clear-eyed look at their situation and join with others who embrace the integrationist ideal in pushing back against those who would tear the nation apart and weaponize Jew-hatred as a means to that end.
President Biden could better the Trump record by entrenching the Executive Order in the Code of Federal Regulations, further fleshing it out. Biden might also use the occasion to solidify protections for other ethno-religious groups, such as Arab Muslims, Coptic Christians and Sikhs. This would be a welcome addition.It’s Time to Apply ‘Broken Windows’ Thinking to Antisemitism
Each of the last three administrations have built upon work done by their predecessors. During the George W. Bush administration, the Office for Civil Rights recognized that Jewish students enjoy legal protection under Title VI. The Obama administration affirmed the Bush policy, embellishing it with clarifying guidance. The Trump administration affirmed the Bush-Obama rules and, in addition, provided that federal agencies will use the Working Definition when appropriate.
The importance of maintaining IHRA cannot be overstated. Without this definition, OCR was long rudderless in its efforts to address a form of hate which it simply did not understand. And absent such a formal definition, the agency was unable to handle systemic campus antisemitism cases for nearly a decade and a half following the initial 2004 guidance.
Under the current OCR guidance, which includes IHRA, Assistant Secretary Catharine Lhamon has commendably opened several important cases involving systemic antisemitism, including the Brandeis Center’s cases Brooklyn College, the University of Vermont and the University of Southern California.
Whatever Biden does, he should not diminish use of the Working Definition by pairing it with a lesser standard. The controversial Jerusalem Definition, which some left-wing activists advocate, has been criticized for defining anti-Semitism too narrowly, misunderstanding Jewish experience and inadvertently giving cover to antisemites. It is hardly a substitute for the internationally agreed-upon standard, and its usage would significantly undermine civil rights enforcement.
President Biden’s words are strong, but his administration’s actions do not always match. Earlier this month, the Biden administration botched its presentation of federal hate crimes data. Nationwide underreporting has plummeted so far this year, especially in areas with high Jewish populations, that the FBI data mischaracterizes last year’s record spike in anti-Semitism as if it didn’t occur—falsely suggesting a decrease. Mistakes can happen. But it is hard to excuse the administration’s failure to correct these errors, now or in the future.
The stakes are high. President Biden has correctly identified the seriousness of confronting anti-Semitism. Now his administration needs to deliver a strong regulation to ensure, in his words, that evil will not win and hate will not prevail.
In another incident, this one online, Jewish students at Texas A&M University contacted us in November 2022 about posts on a Snapchat story that included crass references to the Holocaust, and defense of the murderers who perpetrated the Holocaust. The post stated, “we should’ve let the ‘ant exterminator’ do his job back in WW2,” — a reference to Hitler and the Holocaust.
This Snapchat group can only be accessed with a Texas A&M student email address. Our organization, at the request of and together with students, wrote to the administration, noting the various university policies that were being violated by this egregious display of antisemitism. The university couldn’t be bothered to respond — something inconceivable if the hate was directed at almost any other identity group. So we are bringing the story to broader attention.
Some might ask why go to such efforts over one mezuzah or a Snapchat story?
One of the reasons hate crime laws exist is because when one sees a fellow member of one’s racial, ethnic or religious group targeted with a hate crime, it makes every member of that group also feel fearful and targeted. Part of the justification for hate crime laws is the impact of this specific type of crime on the broader community. When a Jewish person learns that their neighbor’s mezuzah has been vandalized, they are not just upset that this happened to another Jew, but may also worry about their own safety.
As the director of StandWithUs’ legal team, I believe we must act in the spirit of the “broken windows” theory. There are some situations where going after “the worst, first” is necessary and appropriate. But as a general rule, we should consistently and vigorously go after the “small” antisemitic crimes with as much force as the headline-grabbing crimes. If we do not show that we are actively concerned, monitoring, and responding with vigilance and strength to all types of anti-Jewish hate, we likely will see hate crimes increase, antisemites grow emboldened, anti-Jewish bigotry normalize, and the overall environment worsen. If we show antisemites that they won’t get away with vandalizing mezuzahs or Snapchat hate, it is far more likely that we will never have to confront a wave of far more severe antisemitism.
Honest Reporting: Our Executive Director, Gil Hoffman speaking with ILTV on the winner of our Dishonest Reporter Award
Young Americans Must Oppose Antisemitism and Support Modern Israel
With anti-Jewish hate on the rise in major European and U.S. cities, there are more reports that American universities have become the new breeding ground for anti-Israel and anti-Jewish bias. “BDS” student activism (boycott, divestment, sanctions), the cornerstone of anti-Israel campus animus, easily bleeds into antisemitism.PreOccupiedTerritory: Human Rights Demand Migrants Must Stay In Israel, A Horrible Racist Country by Balila Haki, Btselem activist (satire)
Recently at the University of California, Berkeley, nine student groups in the law school amended their bylaws to ensure that no pro-Israel speaker would be allowed to address their groups. This got me thinking about the attitudes that young evangelical Christian students have and how they might differ from their secular peers. Why should young evangelical Christians not only oppose antisemitism but also be largely supportive of the state of Israel? Let me provide some answers in this two-part commentary.
I define antisemitism as a hatred of Jews that stretches across centuries and continents. It has sometimes been called “the hatred that won’t go away.”
To begin with, young evangelical students should beware of getting sucked into the world’s oldest hatred. Because so often, it has gone way beyond hatred and morphed into something far worse — the impulse to do away with and annihilate. That is what is unique about antisemitism historically. It seems that in almost every generation, there are forces that keep trying to eliminate the Jews. In ancient Egypt, Pharaoh tried to destroy them. Under Sennacherib, the Assyrians tried to do the same. Then came the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar II. Then the Persians. Remember Haman? Then the Romans. Then the Ottomans.
Then the Nazis attempted to in the most ambitious attempt at genocide in history. Israel has fought numerous wars since its founding in 1948 simply defending its right to exist. Even today, Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran want to eliminate Israel as we know it. That this hatred is so pervasive in history, coupled with the miraculous survival of the Jews through the ages, should alert us that something unique is going on here. Biblically, I believe the reason for this deep animus is because the Jews are God’s chosen people and behind Jew hatred is often a hatred of God.
I do not know how to make my organization’s position on this matter any clearer. Our assertion, born of dedication to moral sensitivity and global awareness, is and remains that people who have traversed much of East Africa to reach Israel, a country so profoundly unjust that it maintains racial Apartheid, persecutes non-Jews, and disenfranchises people o color, must not be sent out of the country, but, according to the dictates of human rights, stay there. Because Israel is oppressively racist, and keeping the migrants in an oppressively racist country is what upholding human rights demands.The surprising Muslim organization that lobbied Google, fought antisemitism
So racist is Apartheid Israel that tens of thousands of Africans each year try to make it here, traveling through Egypt and other countries on the way, but deciding not to remain in those countries because they are oppressive and dangerous, and they mistreat people from other countries. Once the unfortunate migrants make it past the human traffickers and the smugglers, suffering untold abuse and extortion along the way, they wind up in Israel, which as everyone knows perpetrates the worst crimes of all, and we cannot tolerate Israel flying the migrants out to some other, less racist, country. Because it’s all about doing the right thing, for us human rights organizations.
Any attempt by Israel to deport those who entered and remain there “illegally” only cements the country’s status as a bigoted hellhole that thousands of migrants risked their lives to reach. Imagine the desperation of people who decline the relative enlightenment of Sudan, Egypt, Eritrea, and elsewhere to seek a life in Apartheid Israel. They could stop anywhere along the way to make a life in a place far less problematic than Israel, but they do not, presumably because racist Israel forces them to keep going, with its promise of a better, safer locale for earning a living, which is all a chimaera because Israel is a racist country – did I mention that yet? – that wants to do nothing but persecute and expel minorities, and obviously the humane thing to do is keep those unfortunate migrants in Israel.
A large international Muslim organization has approached Google after the word "Jew" was listed on Google as a verb marked offensive, defined as "to bargain with someone in a miserly or petty way" for most of the day on Tuesday.BBC WS radio airs Palestinian disinformation in Israel government item
The Global Imams Council (GIC), the world’s first and largest transnational nongovernmental body of Muslim religious leaders from all Islamic denominations, sent a letter to Google headquarters in response to the antisemitic character describing Jews.
“We write to you to share a serious concern that demands swift action,” the GIC wrote in the letter. “We were appalled to learn that if one searches the word ‘Jew’ on Google, the first definition displayed is an antisemitic trope. The top result is an 'Offensive' verb that defines ‘Jew’ as ‘bargain with someone in a miserly or petty way.’ This presentation of this definition is entirely unacceptable.”
They added that the second definition of “Jew” displayed – that of a noun, “is perfectly acceptable.” This definition stated that “a member of the people and cultural community whose traditional religion is Judaism and who trace their origins through the ancient Hebrew people of Israel to Abraham.”
The GIC added that “this should not be buried within the 'more definitions' section, and should be the first definition displayed by Google.” They further urged Google to “amend the verb definition to one that is accurate and reflective of the remarkable history, culture, and faith of the Jewish people.”
Listeners were not informed that Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip over 17 years ago before they heard a recording of pure propaganda from a person who is obviously not an Israeli voter and who had nothing at all to say about the result of the recent Israeli election.2022’s Best of the Worst: Top 10 Anti-Israel Cartoons
Muna: “Hello, my name is Muna. I’m from Palestine. I live in Gaza City. As you know we have been under occupation since 1948. We think the Israeli occupation have reportedly decide not to hand over of the body cancer-stricken Palestinian prisoner Nasser Abu Hmeid who died yesterday due to medical negligence in Israeli prisons. [unintelligible] dozen of Israeli settlers break into Al Aqsa Mosque under the protection of the occupation forces. Every day we have injured and arrests and a lot of broken hearts. Especially the mother hearts. I wish all of the world know about [unintelligible] and speak about us with our right.”
Reynolds did nothing to counter that deliberate disinformation. No “Israeli settlers” broke into “Al Aqsa Mosque”: what Muna’s dangerously inflammatory claim describes is Jews (regardless of their post code) visiting Temple Mount. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade terrorist Abu Hmeid – who was convicted of murdering seven Israelis (as well as five Palestinians) – died in Assaf Harofeh hospital, also called the Shamir Medical Center, rather than in prison. Abu Hmeid died of lung cancer – for which he had been treated – not “medical negligence” as claimed by Muna and other Palestinian propagandists.
Moreover, the BBC’s international editor not only likewise refrained from relieving listeners of the inaccurate impressions given by that totally unchallenged blatant propaganda that BBC World Service radio bizarrely chose to air but provided wind for its sails.
Reynolds: “That was Muna in the Gaza Strip. Jeremy Bowen, our international editor, how does this new Israeli government affect the lives of Palestinians there in Gaza and also in the West Bank?”
Bowen: “Well the lives of Palestinians are already defined by Israeli occupation, by Israeli control, by the way that Israel can control their lives. […] Ahm…the things that she was talking about there – that Muna was talking about – things like the status of Palestinian prisoners who are…err…condemned by Israel as terrorists but in Palestinian society they are about the most respected people of all. They have a real special status. And she also talked about what might be going on on the area around Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Third holiest place for Muslims and it’s an area where there are people within the coalition who believe that Jews should be able to pray in that place they call the Temple Mount as well and that’s something which at the moment isn’t permitted, though it does happen. And Jerusalem itself – anything that changes the status quo in Jerusalem tends to produce a great deal of violence.”
In other words, although Bowen and Reynolds waxed lyrical about “the most Right-wing coalition in Israel’s history” for twelve minutes, they studiously avoided informing BBC audiences around the world of the political coordinates of a society in which mass murderers of civilians are “the most respected people of all” and which violently opposes egalitarian prayer rights at a site holy to three religions.
Political cartoons, when done right, can play an important role in societal discourse, criticizing and illustrating the foibles of those in power.Italian Jewish leaders condemn parliament president for honoring neo-Fascist party
Yet all too often, cartoonists use their poison pen to launch one-sided attacks against the only Jewish state. While The New York Times following controversy over a clearly antisemitic cartoon announced in 2019 that it would no longer publish editorial cartoons, artists around the world have ramped up their efforts to demonize Israel.
Here’s our top 10 of the worst anti-Israel cartoons published this year.
1. ‘If Israel Played at the World Cup…’
This cartoon, which made the rounds on Palestinian social media during the November 20-December 18 soccer World Cup in Qatar, is not only detached from reality — it also exhibits a stunning lack of self-awareness. As one Twitter critic put it, referencing the 1972 massacre by Palestinian terrorists of 11 Israeli Olympians in Munich: “Between Israel and ‘Palestine’ only one of them has a history of massacring athletes during an international tournament that occurs once every 4 years.” A well-deserved number one on our list.
2. Carlos Latuff Takes on HonestReporting
Carlos Latuff, infamous for his anti-Israeli and antisemitic illustrations, claimed second prize in the 2006 Iranian International Holocaust Cartoon Competition. So when HonestReporting revealed in August that Gaza-based New York Times photographer Hosam Salem publicly praised the mass murder of civilians in Israel, Latuff naturally jumped to his defense in a cartoon published by the far-left MintPress News website. In a display of twisted logic, the Brazilian “artist” conspiratorially implied that the “Israeli lobby” is somehow the bad guy here.
Jewish leaders in Italy had strong words for the president of the country’s parliament after he published a post on Instagram honoring the history of the Italian Social Movement, or MSI, a neo-fascist party founded in the wake of World War II.NY Governor Hochul vetoes bill meant to keep hasidim out of town
Ignazio la Russa, a senator from Cologno Monzese, a municipality in Milan, wrote alongside a picture of an MSI campaign poster: “In memory of my father, who was one of the founders of the Italian Social Movement in Sicily and who chose the path of free and democratic participation with the MSI throughout his life in defense of his ideas respectful of the Italian Constitution.”
Leaders within Italy’s Jewish community were dismayed by his decision to link MSI to the post-World War II Italian constitution. The ascendance of far-right leaders who have expressed nostalgia for the fascist period in Italy — which nearly spelled the near destruction of Italian Jewry — has Italy’s present-day Jewish community worried.
“Today we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the promulgation of the Republican Constitution, the affirmation of our anti-fascist democracy,” Noemi Di Segni, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, said on Tuesday in an op-ed in La Repubblica. “Yet there are those who believe they are celebrating another anniversary, that of the foundation of the MSI, a party which, after the fall of the fascist regime, placed itself in ideological and political continuity with the RSI, the government of diehard fascists who actively collaborated for the deportation of Italian Jews.”
Ruth Dureghello, president of the Jewish Community of Rome, wrote a critical statement of her own.
“The Italian Republic is anti-fascist and when one swears on the Constitution, it should be done knowing that there can no longer be ambiguity or inconsistency in this matter,” she wrote. “The Social Movement claimed the experience of the RSI [Fascist Italy under Mussolini], while for Italians the only model to aspire to is that of the anti-fascist movements which with their sacrifice have freed Italy from the Nazi-fascist yoke.”
The Rabbinical Alliance of America applauded New York Governor Kathy Hochul for her veto last week of a bill it says is antisemitic in nature.
Hochul vetoed New York State Senate Bill S1810A, known as the Community Preservation Fund for the Town of Chester Bill. It would have allowed Chester in Orange County to establish a “community preservation fund” to purchase open land and prevent the expansion of housing there.
Critics of the bill say its true purpose is to prevent the expansion of the Orthodox Jewish community.
Rabbi Mendy Mirocznik, executive vice president of the RAA, said in a statement that “we appreciate the diligent attention given by Governor Hochul in vetoing this bill which many in the Orthodox community feel was designed to discriminate against the growing Hasidic population in the area. Governor Hochul sent the message that it is unacceptable to enact laws that serve as a tool to discriminate.”
In her veto message, Hochul said, “There has been well-documented tension in the town of Chester between local officials and members of a specific population of the Hasidic community which has also resulted in litigation. Similar unease exists in the neighboring area of Blooming Grove. In light of ongoing and historical tensions, it would be inappropriate to sign this legislation at this juncture and I am therefore constrained to veto this bill.”
Chester has previously been accused of discriminating against the town’s Hasidic community. In 2018, then-Town Supervisor Alex Jamieson was caught on tape saying, “We need to keep the Hasidics out.”
NEW: Hate Crimes Report by @AmericansAA & @IsraelBitton finally confirms what we've long known anecdotally:
— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) December 28, 2022
94% of Anti-Jewish Assaults in New York City (2018–2022) Were Against Orthodox Jews; and
97% Were Perpetrated By Other Minorities.
For the full report, watch this clip: pic.twitter.com/i3zKH7xAUO
#OnThisDay three years ago, five men were seriously injured in a gruesome antisemitic attack in Monsey on the 7th night of Hanukkah; one later died. The attacker's journals included antisemitic views & swastikas and referenced the Black Hebrew Israelite movement & Hitler.
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) December 28, 2022
??: NYT pic.twitter.com/u8ZIphNeBc
Thomas kept journals filled with antisemitic writing & searched for “Zionist Temples”
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) December 28, 2022
Thomas stated that “Hebrew Israelites took from the ‘powerful ppl (ebinoid Israelites)' a reference to Black Hebrew Israelite movementhttps://t.co/k4qtwcdRvc
?? Brisbane, Australia - Kanye’s antisemitism resonates around the world as more and more grotesque propaganda promoting his Jew hatred continue to pop up. pic.twitter.com/pxTlSWbaKL
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) December 29, 2022
The Circassians: Meet the Muslim Community That Fights for Israel
Who are the Circassians? What is their community’s history in the Land of Israel and the unique role they play in the modern State of Israel?How to be the wrong kind of Jew
In late December 2022, the United Nations World Tourism Organization named 32 villages around the world as “tourist villages,” highlighting locales that invite international tourism while also maintaining local traditions and customs.
One of the 32 villages named by the UN was Kfar Kama, a town in the Galilee region of Israel with a population of just over 3,000.
However, contrary to assumptions, Kfar Kama is not a Jewish town or an Arab town. It’s not even a Druze town. Kfar Kama is a Circassian town, one of only two in the entire Jewish state.
While much is written about Israel’s Jewish majority as well as its minority communities (such as the Muslim Arab community, the Christian Arab community and the Druze community), little is known about the Circassian community.
From the Caucasus to the Galilee: The Circassians in the Land of Israel
Composed of 12 tribes, the Circassians are an ethnic group from the northwestern Caucasus, which is bordered by Russia, Turkey and Iran.
The Circassians were originally pagans, later converted to Christianity and then converted to Sunni Islam around the 15th century. However, regardless of their religion, all Circassians follow a code of conduct known as “Xabze.”
Due to their geographic location, the Circassians were subject to various incursions over the centuries by warring armies. This led to the development of a disciplined warrior culture among the Circassians.
In the late 18th century, the Russian Empire sought to annex the Circassian homeland and move other populations into the area. This led to a violent struggle between the Russians and the Circassians that lasted for almost 100 years.
Near the end of this violent period, between 1860 and 1864, the Russians burned down hundreds of Circassian villages and massacred more than a million Circassians (over 90% of the Circassian population).
In the aftermath of the destruction of the Circassian community, the surviving Circassians were exiled from their homeland. Respected for their moral values and bravery, a large number of surviving Circassians were welcomed into the Ottoman Empire.
In the latter half of the 19th century, the Circassians established three communities in the Galilee region of northern Israel. Kfar Kama was established in 1878, Rihaniya was established in 1880 and a third community was established near Hadera but was soon abandoned after a malaria outbreak.
The Ottomans allowed the Circassians to settle in the Galilee since the region suffered from lawlessness and anarchy, with bands of Bedouin and Druze controlling the area, and it was thought that the Circassians would be able to instill some order in the region. Ultimately, they were successful and paved the way for Jewish pioneers to establish Galilean communities soon after.
Hen Mazzig and I had a wonderful conversation — about Jewish otherness, intersectionality, and the intricate nature of Jewish identity in the world today.2022: Israel’s population rises 2.2% to over 9.5 million
Check this out.
That was Jewish music. Authentic Jewish music. That was Niggun Yerushalmi, an Israeli folk group, performing the medieval piyyut, a liturgical poem, Ma L’Ahuvi.
If you have never heard Jewish music like that before – if your idea of Jewish music is Freudenthal’s “Ein Keloheinu,” with its musical roots, supposedly, in a German drinking song, or something from “Fiddler on the Roof,” then perhaps it is time for all of us to confess the sin of Ashkenormativity – the widespread Jewish sin of imagining that our central and eastern European Jewish experience is the heart of Judaism. That would be the idea that the Yiddish language, chicken soup, gefilte fish, and stories of the shtetl are essential to Jewish life.
Yes, we are from Berlin and Ukraine…and also from Yemen and Iraq and Iran and Morocco. Those are the Sephardim, but more accurately, they are the Mizrahim, the so-called eastern Jews who come from Arab lands – who today constitute more than fifty percent of Israeli Jews. They have their own stories of grandeur and persecution and pogroms and exile – stories that we almost never hear, and that we almost never honor.
Even though it is where we began. We began in Ur, in ancient Babylonia. The stories of Genesis make that clear: we are constantly returning there. It is where ancient Judaism was shaped during the exile. It is where the definitive Talmud – not the Talmud of the land of Israel – was created. Maimonides himself was a Mizrahi Jew.
In his new book, The Wrong Kind of Jew: A Mizrahi Manifesto, the author Hen Mazzig writes about his quadruple layers of otherness: a Jew in the world; a Zionist in the world; a Moroccan-Iraqi Jew in an Ashkenazic Jewish world; a gay man in a straight world.
He writes about the persecution of Mizrahi Jews at the hands of the Israeli Ashkenazic establishment, its old political elite that created the state – some of it cruel, some of it subtle, all of it lasting and hurtful. He writes that this is a partial explanation of the success of Likud and the right wing – that those politicians paid attention to the Jews whose identity had been erased twice—once from the earth and then from our collective memory.
Israel’s population increased by 2.2% in 2022 to a total of 9,656,000, according to Central Bureau of Statistics figures released on Thursday.
Of the country’s residents, 7,106,000 are Jews (73.6%), 2,037,000 are Arabs (21.1%) and 513,000 are of other denominations.
The population increase dwarfed the 1.8% growth in 2021, with the difference being attributed in part to a larger number of immigrants in the past 12 months.
Approximately 73,000 new immigrants arrived in Israel during 2022, compared to 25,000 last year, 80% of them coming from Russia and Ukraine.
Jewish Agency data for the period between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1, 2022, shows that 37,364 immigrants arrived from Russia; 14,680 from Ukraine; 3,500 from North America, with assistance from Nefesh B’Nefesh; 2,049 from France; 1,993 from Belarus; 1,498 from Ethiopia as part of Operation Tzur Israel; 985 from Argentina; 526 from Great Britain; 426 from South Africa; and 356 from Brazil. Final totals for 2022 will be available after the year concludes.
“It was a dramatic year that emphasized the value of mutual responsibility among the Jewish people, and during which the Jewish Agency helped strengthen the resilience of Jewish communities, empowered weaker populations in Israel, brought tens of thousands of olim, saved lives from all over Ukraine and brought them to a safe harbor in Israel,” said Jewish Agency chairman IDF Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog.
Overall in 2022, approximately 204,000 persons were added to the Israeli population, including 178,000 infants (74.8% born to Jewish mothers, 23.8% to Arab mothers), while some 52,000 persons died and approximately 4,000 Israelis left the country for at least 12 months.
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