Aliyah
Aliyah (US: , UK: ; Hebrew: עֲלִיָּה, romanized: ălīyyā, lit. 'ascent') is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine region, where (in the 20th century) the State of Israel was established. Traditionally described as "the act of going up" (namely, toward the Jewish holy city of Jerusalem), moving to the Land of Israel or "making aliyah" is one of the most basic tenets of Zionism. The opposite action—emigration by Jews from the Land of Israel—is referred to in the Hebrew language as yerida (lit. 'descent'). The Law of Return that was passed by the Israeli parliament in 1950 gives all diaspora Jews, as well as their children and grandchildren, the right to relocate to Israel and acquire Israeli citizenship on the basis of connecting to their Jewish identity.
For much of their history, most Jews have lived in diasporas outside of the Land of Israel. Dispersion has resulted both from voluntary emigration (e.g. to seek employment or improved conditions of life) and from various historical conflicts that have been associated with Jewish persecution, expulsions and exoduses. In the late 19th century, 99.7% of the world's Jews lived outside the region, with Jews representing 2–5% of the population of the Palestine region. Despite its historical value as a national aspiration for the Jewish people, aliyah was rarely undertaken prior to the "national awakening" and the development of the Zionist movement in the late 19th century. Larger-scale immigration of Jews to Palestine had consequently begun by 1882. Institutionalized antisemitism and the rise of the Nazi rule in parts of Europe, contributed to significant Jewish immigration waves from Europe during the 1930s and 1940s. Mandatory Palestine became a major destination for Jewish immigrants where Palestine absorbed 247,000 newcomers between 1932 and 1939, representing approximately 46% of Jewish emigration from Europe during that period. The 1939 White Paper set a restriction on Jewish immigration to 75,000 over the following five years, with Arab consent for further immigration afterwards. These restrictions contributed to increased illegal immigration (Aliyah Bet) during the British Mandate period. The largest surge in modern Jewish migration to the region occurred between 1948 and 1951, when more than 680,000 immigrants arrived. This period following the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948, saw the Jewish population more than double within a few years. Since 1950, millions of Jews have immigrated to Israel under the Law of Return. As of 2014, Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories contain approximately 42.9 percent of the world's Jewish population.
Since 2024, the State of Israel has seen net negative migration: yerida is higher than aliyah.
Similar Artists