The Long Road Home
Following the expulsion of most of the Jews from the Land of Israel some 2,000 years ago, they were dispersed to other countries; mainly in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Over the centuries, they established many large Jewish communities in lands near and far, where they experienced long periods of growth and prosperity, but were also subjected at times to harsh discrimination, brutal pogroms, and total or partial expulsions. Each wave of persecution and violence strengthened their belief in the concept of the "ingathering of the exiles" and inspired individuals and groups to return to their ancestral homeland.
The Zionist movement, founded at the end of the 19th century, transformed the concept into a way of life, and the State of Israel translated it into law, granting citizenship to every Jew wishing to settle in the country.
Between 1989 to 2009, 1,274,574 people immigrated to Israel, as shown in the following table:
Year |
Former Soviet Union |
Latin America |
U.S.A & Canada |
United Kingdom |
France |
Ethiopia |
Others |
Total |
1989 |
12,780 |
2,526 |
1,773 |
462 |
998 |
1,368 |
4,343 |
24,250 |
1990 |
184,177 |
2,678 |
1,903 |
495 |
1,000 |
4,174 |
5,065 |
199,492 |
1991 |
147,282 |
1,157 |
2,076 |
505 |
1,037 |
20,069 |
4,028 |
176,154 |
1992 |
64,680 |
723 |
2,548 |
460 |
1,311 |
3,539 |
3,804 |
77,065 |
1993 |
66,019 |
770 |
2,820 |
658 |
1,550 |
854 |
4,955 |
77,626 |
1994 |
67,599 |
978 |
3,160 |
700 |
1755 |
1,200 |
5,170 |
80,562 |
1995 |
64,608 |
1,604 |
3,204 |
721 |
1,865 |
1,316 |
4,160 |
77,478 |
1996 |
58,733 |
2,104 |
2,983 |
566 |
2,252 |
1,411 |
3,973 |
72,022 |
1997 |
54,520 |
2,037 |
2,878 |
552 |
2,355 |
1,717 |
3,754 |
67,813 |
1998 |
46,085 |
1,455 |
2,328 |
467 |
2,036 |
3,108 |
2,860 |
58,339 |
1999 |
67,024 |
1,828 |
2,183 |
480 |
1,633 |
2,305 |
2,930 |
78,383 |
2000 |
51,040 |
1,942 |
1,837 |
403 |
1,437 |
2,249 |
2,831 |
61,739 |
2001 |
33,911 |
2,218 |
1,757 |
360 |
1,158 |
3,299 |
2,161 |
44,864 |
2002 |
18,976 |
7,342 |
2,2025 |
324 |
2,458 |
2,692 |
1,695 |
35,512 |
2003 |
12,728 |
2,570 |
2,414 |
399 |
2,090 |
3,063 |
1,801 |
25,065 |
2004 |
10,519 |
1,272 |
2,763 |
422 |
2,413 |
3,806 |
1,831 |
23,026 |
2005 |
9,693 |
1,731 |
3,029 |
534 |
3,000 |
3,618 |
1,777 |
23,382 |
2006 |
7,665 |
1,362 |
3,238 |
697 |
2,878 |
3,618 |
1,972 |
21,430 |
2007 |
6,767 |
1,526 |
3,154 |
670 |
2,767 |
3,619 |
1,872 |
20,375 |
2008 |
5,838 |
965 |
3,300 |
646 |
1,918 |
1,598 |
2,022 |
16,287 |
2009 |
5,415 |
881 |
3,260 |
684 |
1,594 |
239 |
1,637 |
13,710 |
Total |
996,059 |
39,669 |
54,633 |
11,205 |
39,505 |
68,862 |
64,641 |
1,274,574 |
Source: Knesset Research and Information Center (February 2011)
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