Sep 9, 2016

Israel Safe Haven for Olim from Ukraine and Germany

Federation, through our overseas partner, The Jewish Agency for Israel, recently helped 200 new immigrants move from Ukraine and Germany to Israel. In 2015, Ukraine was the second-largest source of aliyah, with 7,000 olim (new immigrants) moving to Israel, compared to 2,000 just two years prior. Many Ukrainian Jews have abandoned their homes in the embattled eastern areas of the country and have looked to The Jewish Agency for support in relocating to the Jewish homeland. The number of olim arriving from Germany has also seen significant increase, rising 50 percent last year. Some 85 percent of the German Jewish community is made up of individuals who immigrated to that country from the former Soviet Union.

Many of the young families who made aliyah will spend their first six months in Israel living on kibbutzim. They will also attend job fairs, receive individual counseling and attend seminars aimed at increasing Jewish identity. In addition to those making aliyah, participants in The Jewish Agency’s Selah and Na’ale teen education programs also arrived in Israel. They hailed from some 30 cities and towns across Ukraine and Germany, and their average age was 17½.