The desire to return is not something that emerged in the last century. Jews have long prayed that they might return to their homeland. That is where their roots and their future lie.
In the nineteenth century, the return gained momentum. This was due, among other things, to the rise of Zionism, new means of transportation, and the immense persecution of Jews in Eastern Europe. Jews returned to the then-Ottoman territory of “Palestine” particularly from Eastern Europe. In the twentieth century, Jews from Western Europe and Arab countries also followed.
After World War II (1945) and the establishment of the State of Israel (1948), many Holocaust survivors migrated to the new state. But consider also the more than 800,000 Jews who were forced to flee from Arab countries. In 1950, the Law of Return was enacted in Israel, granting every Jew the right to settle in Israel; having just one Jewish grandparent is sufficient.
The Hebrew word ‘aliyah’ means “to ascend.” This word has Biblical roots (Genesis 50:14). Israel is the land to which God’s Name is bound. This means that Israel is not just any country to which Jews return. Moving there is seen, among other things, as a spiritual step upward, closer to God.
When you visit Israel, you see history come to life. This is the place that is central to the Bible. But that’s not all; God began His work with Israel there, because it is His inheritance. According to Jewish scholars, it is the site of Paradise. It is the place where God will continue to unfold His plan for the world. The return of the Jewish people is therefore not to just any country. The return of the Jewish people is, for us, proof that God is faithful to His promises.
When aliyah from the former Soviet Union began in the 1990s, Christians for Israel decided to help with this. Under the title “Bring the Jews Home,” the foundation has been active for thirty years in supporting the return of Jews to Israel. At first, this involved busloads of people traveling from Ukraine to the airports from which flights to Israel departed. Even today, thousands of Jews from the former Soviet Union arrive in Israel every year. Christians for Israel provides assistance in more countries when needed, such as Ethiopia, France, and India, but we also help with integration in Israel.
“then the Lord your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.” (Deuteronomy 30:3)
The United States
• Ca. 120.000
• A continuous, smaller but steady flow
France
• Ca. 80.000
• Mostly a growth since 2000s (antisemitism, economical factors)
Poland
• Ca. 150.000
• A great outflow of people after the Holocaust and persecutions
Romania
• Ca. 270.000
• Big flow directly after WOII and in the 1950s
• Already in 1948–1953 more than 120.000
Morocco
• Ca. 250.000–300.000
• Mainly in the 1950s–1960s
• One of the biggest groups from the Arab world
Ethiopia
• Ca. 50.700
• Partly through Operation Moses and Solomon
Former Soviet Union (including Russia and Ukraine)
• More than 1.000.000
• Biggest group until now, mostly in the 1990s
Iran
• Ca. 80.000
• Mainly after the Islamic Revolution (1979)
Iraq
• Ca. 120.000–130.000
• Almost the entire Jewish community moved (Operation Ezra and Nehemia)
Yemen
• Ca. 50.000
• Mainly through Operation Flying Carpet (1949–1950)