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THE

STORY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE

EDITOR’S NOTE

In 150 years Israel has grown from an empty area occupied by some Arab villages to one of the most advanced countries in the world.  During the 19th century, many residents and visitors attempted to estimate the population without recourse to official data, and came up with a large number of different values. Estimates that are reasonably reliable are only available for the final third of the century, from which period Ottoman population and taxation registers have been preserved.  (Wikipedia)

MARK TWAIN

In Chapters 46, 39, 52 and 56 of his Innocents Abroad, American author Mark Twain wrote of his visit to Palestine in 1867: "Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes. Over it broods the spell of a curse that has withered its fields and fettered its energies. Palestine is desolate and unlovely – Palestine is no more of this workday world. It is sacred to poetry and tradition, it is dreamland."(Chapter 56)[4][5] "There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country". (Chapter 52)[6] "A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action. We reached Tabor safely. We never saw a human being on the whole route". (Chapter 49)[7] "There is not a solitary village throughout its whole extent – not for thirty miles in either direction. ...One may ride ten miles (16 km) hereabouts and not see ten human beings." ...these unpeopled deserts, these rusty mounds of barrenness..."(Chapter 46)[8)   See Land Ownership in Palestine, 1880–1948   
Rebuilding and cultivation started with the 1st Aliyah (see below) in the 1880’s.   Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 by the Yishuv (Jewish residents) as a modern housing estate on the outskirts of the ancient port city of Jaffa, then part of the Jerusalem province of Ottoman Syria. It was at first called 'Ahuzat Bayit' (lit. "House Estate" or "Homestead"),[ the name of the association which established the neighbourhood, a name changed the following year to 'Tel Aviv'. Its name means "Tell of Spring", symbolising both ancient legacy and renewal. Other Jewish suburbs of Jaffa established outside Jaffa's Old City even before Tel Aviv, eventually became part of Tel Aviv, the oldest among them being Neve Tzedek (est. 1886)

It is a global city and is ranked 25th in the Global Financial Centres Index. Tel Aviv has the third- or fourth-largest economy and the largest economy per capita in the Middle East. The city has the 31st highest cost of living in the world. Tel Aviv receives over 2.5 million international visitors annually. A "party capital" in the Middle East, it has a lively nightlife and 24-hour culture. Tel Aviv is home to Tel Aviv University, the largest university in the country with more than 30,000 students.   (Wikipedia)

AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES IN ISRAEL

THE KIBBUTZ MOVEMENT
The proud and turbulent history of Israel's experiment
in communal living
My Jewish Learning, Rachael Gelfman Schultz    
(go to link for more information)

The kibbutz — a collectively owned and run community — holds a storied place in Israeli culture, and Jews (and non-Jews) from around the world, including 2016 Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders, have volunteered on them. Launched in 1909, with the founding of Degania, Israel’s first kibbutz, this unique movement has changed dramatically over its more-than-100-year history.

Degania, in northern Israel, was founded by a group of young Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. They dreamed of working the land and creating a new kind of community, and a new kind of Jew — stronger, more giving, and more rooted in the land.

Kibbutz Degania's first building, 1910. (Wikimedia Commons)Kibbutz Degania’s first building, 1910. (Wikimedia)

The community they founded, and the hundreds more kibbutzim (plural of kibbutz) that popped up across the country, aimed to realize the Marxist principle, “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.” In the early years, kibbutz members worked mostly in agriculture. Instead of earning individual incomes for their labor, all money and assets on the kibbutz were managed collectively. In keeping with the ideal of total economic equality, kibbutz members ate together in a communal dining hall, wore the same kibbutz clothing (and had them washed at the kibbutz laundry), and shared responsibility for child-rearing, education, cultural programs, and other social services.

By 1950, two years after the establishment of the state, 67,000 Israelis lived on kibbutzim, making up 7.5 percent of the country’s population. At this time, kibbutzim played a key role not only in Israel’s agricultural development, but also in its defense and political leadership. Early kibbutzim were often placed strategically along the country’s borders and outlying areas in order to help in the defense of the country. Many of the country’s top politicians and leaders in military and industry, particularly in the 1950s and ’60s, came from the kibbutz movement.

THE MOSHAV
encyclopedia.com   (for more information see article)

The moshav (plural, moshavim) is a collective village, of which there were 410 in 1991 with a combined population of 152,500. The collective provides agricultural inputs and marketing services to the families living there and the various moshav movements have national and regional organizations to provide these services. Land on the moshav is divided between the member families. In the early years, hired labor was banned and communal cultivation of some land prevailed. This changed in the 1960s and 1970s when Arab labor became an important part of the economy of many moshavim. The moshavim have their own bank, savings and pension schemes, insurance company, and regional purchasing organizations.

The foundations of the moshav go back to 1919, when Eliezer Yaffe published a pamphlet suggesting the creation of moshavim on nationally owned land, with mutual aid, cooperative purchasing and marketing, and the family as the basic unit.   Like the kibbutz, the moshav was to be a pioneering institution, emphasizing national and social rejuvenation for the Jewish people and the Land of Israel. The first moshav was founded at Merhavia in the Galilee.

During the 1980s, many of the moshav move-ment's economic organizations, responsible for marketing and purchasing inputs, went bankrupt as a result of overexpansion and high interest rates. Many moshavim were badly affected, and the mutual guarantee, by which each member or family supported other members, fell into disfavor. During the 1980s, an increasing number of urban families moved to moshavim; they commute to towns and are not involved in agriculture.

Members of each moshav elect a management committee that organizes the provision of economic services as well as education and health services to the community. The moshavim are also affiliated with different political parties, the largest moshav is affiliated with the Labor Party. Others are affiliated to religious parties.  Between 1949 and 1956, 250 moshavim were set up to house and provide employment for immigrants mainly from North Africa and Asia, who were not attracted to the communal life of the kibbutz, but for whom agriculture was the only possible basis for employment. By 1970 the moshavim had a population of 100,000. They had, in terms of numbers of settlements and total population, become more important than the kibbutzim.

THE FIRST ALIYAH
CIE

Zionist immigration to what is now Israel.

The First Aliyah, also known as the agriculture Aliyah, a term used to describe a major wave of Zionist immigration to what is now Israel, between 1882 and 1903. Jews who migrated to Ottoman Palestine in this wave, came mostly from Eastern Europe and from Yemen. An estimated 25,000 - 35,000 Jews immigrated to Ottoman Palestine during the First Aliyah. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

January 21, 1882

The groundwork is laid for the First Aliyah with the formation of the BILU group at a meeting at the home of Israel Belkind in Kharkov, Ukraine.  Adopting the name BILU, from the biblical verse Beit Yaakov lekhu venelkha (“House of Jacob let us go,” Isaiah 2:5), the group was founded by thirty students who were responding to the violent waves of pogroms that swept through Russia beginning in April 1881. The founders of the movement set their goals to be: a return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel; a rejection of the national spiritual revival in favor of a physical settlement in Palestine; a dismissal of European Jewish emancipation as a guarantee of Jewish survival; the development of both cultural centers and physical settlement in Palestine; the recognition that territory was needed for Jewish survival.

One early member, Ze’ev Dubnow, the brother of noted Diaspora nationalist and historian Simon Dubnow remarked, “The aim of our journey is rich in plans. We want to conquer Palestine and return to the Jews the political independence stolen from them two thousand years ago. And if it is willed, it is no dream. We must establish agricultural settlements, factories, and industry. We must develop industry and put it into Jewish hands. And above all, we must give young people military training and provide them with weapons. Then will the glorious day come, as prophesied by Isaiah in his promise of the restoration of Israel. With their weapons in their hands, the Jews will declare that they are the masters of their ancient homeland.” (Kressel, Getzel. “Bilu.” Encyclopaedia Judaica. Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. 2nd ed. Vol. 3. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 700-701)

The group first called itself DAVYU, Hebrew initials for Dabber el Benei Yisrael Ve-Yissa’u (“Speak unto the Children of Israel that they go forward,” Exodus 14:15), The name was changed to BILU because, according to Belkind, “instead of advising the people to go to Eretz Israel, we decided to go there ourselves.”

In the Spring of 1882, BILU members went to Constantinople (Turkey) where they set the preparation for gaining the Ottoman support for the establishment of Moshavot on Ottoman owned lands. When this failed, fourteen members led by Belkind left for Palestine, arriving in Jaffa on July 6, 1882.  Upon their arrival, they began their agricultural studies in the first agricultural school in the country Mikveh Israel.

By 1884 their number increased to 48 though the Movement in Russia ceased to exist.

Some went to Nachalat Shiva in Jerusalem (first Jewish neighborhood outside the Old City Walls). Other went to Rishon Lezion and another small group founded Moshava Gedera (The photo shows BILU pioneers working at Gedera in 1910).

They experienced economic hardships, had many confrontations with Baron Edmond Rothschild’s clerks and were subjected to Arab hostilities. Some of the group left the country and returned to Russia. Of all the original members of the movement only one remained alive (Nenashe Meirovitz) to witness the establishment of the State of Israel.

They became part of the lore of the pioneering movements that renewed the settlement of Eretz Israel.

THE FIRST ALIYAH (1882-1903)
Ministry of Aliyah and Immigration

The influx of immigrants into the Land of Israel during the years 1882-1903 is known as “The First Aliyah.” This was the first large wave of immigrants that were motivated by nationalism.  During these years some 25,000 Jews emigrated from Russia and Rumania, and 2,500 arrived from Yemen.​

PRIMARY MOTIVATIONS

 

Immigrants of the First Aliyah arrived in two waves, stimulated by pogroms and violence against the Jews.  The first influx followed pogroms in Russia in 1881-1882, and the second mass influx from Russia took place during 1890-1891 as a result of anti-Jewish legislation and the expulsion of Jews from Moscow.  Immigration from Yemen was primarily motivated by messianic expectations.

 

THE IMMIGRANTS

 

The majority of Jews that left Russia and Rumania during this period chose to immigrate to the United States. Those that came to the Land of Israel were mainly middle class people with families.  Among them were also emissaries from different cities, organizations, and communities, who came to investigate the possibilities for settlement on behalf of their constituents.  Because of their middle-class backgrounds and lack of familiarity with rural life, most of these immigrants chose to settle in cities, primarily Jaffa and Jerusalem.  Only one quarter chose agricultural settlements.  Despite their small numbers, these original farmers became the foundation of the later pioneering agricultural settlements.

 

During the First Aliyah period some 2500 Jews also emigrated from Yemen.  The majority settled in Jerusalem, where many of them encountered economic difficulties as well as a lack of housing, and unfriendly treatment by other residents of the city. As a result, they created separate housing, community, and financial organizations for themselves.

 

MAIN ENTERPRISES

 

During the time of the First Aliyah, numerous communities were established, from Metulla in the north to Gadera in the south.  These communities were mainly agricultural settlements that were based on private farms.  Among these communities are Rishon LeTzion, Zichron Yaakov, and Yesod HaMa’aleh. The immigrants also stimulated the development of older communities such as Petach Tikva and Rosh Pinna. Despite their ambitions and pioneering vision, many of the farming communities experienced severe economic hardship due mainly to the lack of farming experience of most of their members.  They were rescued from collapse by Baron Edmond DeRothschild, who aided the settlements financially, helping them to survive until the 1900’s.

 

The resurrection of the Hebrew language under the leadership of Eliezer Ben Yehuda at the time of the First Aliyah brought about revolutionary changes in education and culture, especially due to the establishment of Hebrew-language schools.

THE SECOND ALIYAH (1904-1914)
Ministry of Aliyah and Immigration

The Second Aliyah refers to the massive influx of immigrants during the years 1904-1914.  Between these years approximately 35 thousand Jews arrived, mainly from Russia and Poland.

 

PRIMARY MOTIVATIONS

 

Like the First Aliyah, the Second Aliyah was motivated by a combination of ideology coupled with anti-Jewish violence and pogroms. It was brought to a halt by the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

 

THE IMMIGRANTS

 

Unlike the immigrants of the First Aliyah, the majority of immigrants during the Second Aliyah were single young people, many with a socialist ideology coupled with a belief in the national redemption of the Jewish People in the Land of Israel.  While some of the immigrants were established adults with families, who settled in the cities, the majority, being young and single, tended to find employment as laborers in the agricultural settlements.  During the Second Aliyah more immigrants also arrived from Yemen. Some of these immigrants came on their own initiative while others arrived as a result of the efforts of emissaries from the HaPoel HaTzair movement.  Some of the Yemenite immigrants settled among the earlier immigrants in Jerusalem and Jaffa, while others chose to join the agricultural settlements.  While the Yemenites of the Second Aliyah also encountered many difficulties, most of them eventually succeeded integrating fully into life in the Jewish Yishuv.

 

MAIN ENTERPRISES

The immigrants of the Second Aliyah founded many of the institutions and social and political organizations of the Jewish Yishuv. They established several kibbutzim, the city of Tel Aviv, and HaShomer, the first organization to undertake the defense of the Jews in the Land of Israel. They also established the Histadrut, as well as the first health and welfare organizations.  Second Aliyah immigrants continued to strengthen the revived Hebrew language. They promoted and improved education on the primary and intermediate levels, and paved the way for the development of higher education, as well as the arts, literature, and journalism.

THE THIRD ALIYAH (1919-1923)
Ministry of Aliyah and Immigration

​The Third Aliyah was in many ways a continuation of the Second Aliyah, which was halted by the outbreak of the First World War.  During the Third Aliyah some 35,000 Jews arrived, the majority from Russia and Poland, with a smaller number from Lithuania and Rumania.

 

PRIMARY MOTIVATIONS

 

The Third Aliyah was spurred both by the hardships of the Jews in their countries of origin, and by the boosting of nationalist aspirations by the Balfour Declaration and establishment of the British Mandate.  Social and political upheavals in Europe also contributed to the motivation; the emergence of new nations following the First World War reinforced the aspirations for national revival among young Jews, who were encouraged by the relative successful integration of the immigrants of the Second Aliyah.

 

MAIN ENTERPRISES

Immigrants of the Third Aliyah continued the efforts of the Second Aliyah, establishing new institutions and organizations, as well as new forms of settlement. Among others, they established the General Federation of Workers and contributed to the founding of the Hagana.  The ideal of “Hebrew Labor” was expressed by the construction of buildings and roads.  Immigrants from the Third Aliyah continued to strengthen the existing agricultural infrastructure and even developed new forms of settlement which became kibbutzim and the moshavim ovdim.

THE FOURTH ALIYAH (1924-1928)
Ministry of Aliyah and Immigration

The fourth major influx of immigrants began in 1924.  More than 67,000 immigrants arrived, mainly from Poland, Russia, Romania, and Lithuania.  Other groups arrived from Yemen and Iraq.

 

PRIMARY MOTIVATIONS

 

Many Jews from Poland, who made up a large proportion of the Fourth Aliyah, wanted to leave Poland because of an economic crisis in that country, coupled with heavy taxation imposed upon the Jews. Also during these years, anti-semitism increased throughout Europe, motivating Jews from European countries to immigrate. Many chose to come to the Land of Israel because of the United State’s restrictive immigration laws and quotas from 1924.

 

THE IMMIGRANTS

 

The population makeup of the Fourth Aliyah differed from the Third Aliyah, which is why a distinction is made between these waves of immigration.  Most of the immigrants were not associated with the pioneering movements, and were largely middle-class individuals who had engaged in business, industry, and trade in their native countries.

 

MAIN ENTERPRISES

Due to their economic and social backgrounds, most immigrants of the Fourth Aliyah chose to settle in the cities, especially Tel Aviv.  As a result, the cities experience rapid development during this period.  The immigrants established light industry, workshops, small businesses, and construction.  At the same time, their contribution could be felt in the agricultural settlements, including the establishment of new moshavim as well as new agricultural undertakings, such as citrus cultivation.   The Fourth Aliyah contributed greatly to reinforcing the Jewish Yishuv during the period of financial crisis beginning in 1926, at which point many people left the country.

THE FIFTH ALIYAH (1929-1939)
Ministry of Aliyah and Immigration

The year 1929 began with signs of economical revival, which stimulated a new influx of immigrants known as the Fifth Aliyah. During the period of the Fifth Aliyah, which continued until the outbreak of the Second World War, more than a quarter of a million immigrants arrived from all parts of Europe, including Western and Central Europe.

 

PRIMARY MOTIVATIONS

 

The Fifth Aliyah began in 1929 with small numbers of immigrants who chose to immigrate for nationalistic reasons. However, beginning with the rise of Hitler in 1933, greater numbers began to immigrate. Between 1933 and 1936 more than 160,000 immigrants arrived legally.  Thousands more, unable to immigrate legally due to British restrictions, arrived clandestinely.

 

THE IMMIGRANTS

 

The majority of the Fifth Aliyah immigrants settled in the cities, mainly in Tel Aviv, stimulating further urban development.  There were large numbers of academics, doctors, and other professionals, as well as musicians who founded the Philharmonic Orchestra.  A small number chose agricultural settlement and founded new moshavim and kibbutzim.

 

MAIN ENTERPRISES

There is no question that along with the contributions of the immigrants of the Fifth Aliyah in stimulating urban development, the establishment of new agricultural settlements, and their contributions to the professions, the Fifth Aliyah also helped to significantly increase the size of the Jewish population, bringing it to 475,000 persons and 40% of the total number of inhabitants on the eve of the Second World War.

“ON EAGLES’ WINGS” – ALIYAH FROM YEMEN (1949)
Ministry of Aliyah and Immigration

In 1949,  50,000 Jews made aliyah from Yemen via airlift from the city of Aden, in an operation that has come to be known as “On Eagles’ Wings.”  The name of this aliyah was derived from the Book of Exodus, 19:4, where it is written “…and I will transport you on eagles’ wings and bring you to me…”  The airlift is also known as “Operation Magic Carpet.”

 

PRIMARY MOTIVATIONS

 

The ancient Yemenite Jewish community always maintained ties to the Jews in the Land of Israel.  At the time of the establishment of the State of Israel, there were some 50,000 Jews in Yemen living in dozens of villages, cities, and towns.  

The establishment of the State Israel on Hay Iyar 5708 (May 14, 1948), endangered many Jewish communities in Arab countries, including Yemen.  In order to assist them, the State of Israel began to organize rescue operations to bring them to Israel.  

When, in 1949, the Imam of Yemen agreed to allow Jews to leave his country, this gave a green light for the beginning of a massive operation to bring the Jews to Israel.   This operation brought thousands of Yemenite Jews to Israel within a very short period of time.  It was necessary to airlift them quickly out of fears that the Imam would shortly rescind his permission.  Since there are no land links between Israel and Yemen it was necessary to transport all of the immigrants by air.

 

THE IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR JOURNEY

 

The immigrants were centralized in an encampment next to the city of Aden which was nicknamed “Geula,” (redemption). Within a short period of time thousands of people had joined the camp, traveling in numerous risky and dangerous ways from their communities throughout Yemen.  Many made the journey on foot or on donkeys, vulnerable to robbers as well as the hostility of the local population along the way.   A small number of aliyah shalichim who had managed to get inside of Yemen were only able to assist a few people, and then only once they had reached the environs of Aden, from whence the shalichim were able to arrange for transport to the Geula encampment.

 

Organization of the mission was extremely complicated due both to the lack of any reliable information on the exact number of Jews in Yemen, as well as because of the large number of persons already moving towards the encampment.  Organizers also lacked information about the numbers and condition of people already in the encampment.  All this was exacerbated by the need for secrecy due to fear of the authorities and the hostility of the local population, as well as concerns that other Muslim countries would raise objections if information reached them about the operation.

 

In the summer of 1949, the stream of people arriving at the Geula encampment increased dramatically, and a camp that had previously housed fewer than 1000 people suddenly had to accommodate some 31,000 people.   Medical personnel in the encampment reported worrying findings during medical examinations of the immigrants, and claimed that the situation in the encampment was approaching the point of catastrophe.

 

In light of the crisis situation in the encampment, Prime Minister David Ben Gurion, among others involved in the operation, gave instructions to speed up the rate of aliyah from Yemen, and from September 1949 approximately 500 Jews arrived daily. By the end of 1949 some 35,000 Yemenite Jews had made aliyah, and the influx continued during the following months. The final flight of “Operation Magic Carpet” arrived in September, 1950.  A total of 50,000 Yemenite Jews had made aliyah, almost the entire ancient Yemenite community.

 

OPERATION EZRA AND NEHEMIAH
THE ALIYAH OF IRAQI JEWRY (1950-1951)
Ministry of Aliyah and Immigration

Between 1950-1951 some 125,000 Iraqi Jews were airlifted to Israeli by an American airline company and with the special permission of the Iraqi government.  This wide-ranging operation was named “Operation Ezra and Nehemiah” after the two leaders of the return from Babylon (the forerunner of modern-day Iraq) at the beginning of the Second Temple Period.

 

PRIMARY MOTIVATIONS

 

When the State of Israel was established there were some 135,000 Jews living in Iraq. More than half of them resided in the capital city of Baghdad. The community was largely a wealthy one, and enjoyed a high social status.  

With the acceptance in 1947 by the United Nations of the Partition Plan, the Iraqi government introduced measures against the Jews.  When the War of Independence broke out, Iraq joined in the battle against the new State, and was the only Arab country that refused to sign the cease-fire agreement at the conclusion of the war.   

In 1948, following the declaration of the establishment of the State, thousands of Iraqi Jews were arrested and imprisoned and the Zionist organizations were declared illegal.  Jews who requested to make aliyah faced the death penalty.   Various additional restrictions were imposed upon Iraqi Jews; among them the prohibition against moving from one location to another within Iraq, restrictions preventing attendance at schools and hospitals, and other harsh measures.  The government of Israel, aware of the difficulties facing Iraqi Jews, looked for ways to bring them to Israel. One solution was the creation of a secret overland escape route. Despite the length and the dangers of the route, some 3000 Jews managed to escape between December 1949 and February 1950.   A much-awaited change came in 1950, when the Iraqi government gave permission to the Jews to immigrate on condition that they renounce their Iraqi citizenship, relinquish their property, and forfeit the right to ever return in the future.  The reasons behind this permission are not clear, but seem to have been a combination of the desire of the Iraqi authorities to stop monitoring the Zionist activities of the Jews, the government’s wish to appropriate Jewish property, and their need to improve their international image and reputation.

 

THE IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR JOURNEY

 

As a result of the special permission to leave Iraq, the State of Israel made preparations to undertake a rescue operation. The Iraqi Jews, who were obliged to renounce their Iraqi citizenship, were required to register and to wait for their turn to depart for Israel.  At first only a small number of Jews registered thanks to fears that the purpose of the law was to expose Zionists amongst the Jewish community.    However, after a short time, once the Jews realized that the Iraqi government was truly willing to allow them to depart; ever-greater numbers began to renounce their citizenship and to register for aliyah.

 

The aliyah of each community was managed via local communal Jewish organizations, including registration for aliyah, waiting for a passport, and payments to the Iraqi government for each family member.  Each flight was assigned a date, and as the date approached, each community made its way to Baghdad to wait amongst relatives or others members of the Baghdad Jewish community.  Organization for the flights was handled by shalichim of the Jewish Agency and the Joint Distribution Committee.

 

The government of Israel engaged an American airline company to transport the immigrants from Baghdad to Cyprus, from whence the Jews were brought to Israel. As the rate of aliyah increased, the government of Baghdad ceased to ensure that each flight would be via Cyprus, and planes began to fly directly to Lod airport.   During Operation Ezra and Nehemiah more than 120,000 Jews were airlifted to Israel, almost the entire Iraqi Jewish community.

THE ALIYAH OF MOROCCAN JEWRY (1954-1955)
Ministry of Aliyah and Immigration

 

A large influx of Moroccan Jews arrived in Israel during the years 1954-1955. This wave of immigration, part of the legal immigration of Jews from Morocco which began in 1948 with the establishment of the State, ended with declaration of Moroccan independence in 1956.

 

PRIMARY MOTIVATIONS

 

With the establishment of the State of Israel the Jews of Morocco began to fear violence at the hands of the local population, which was shocked at the Jewish victory. These fears intensified during 1954-1955 as Moroccan independence from France seemed to be drawing nearer. The situation of the Jews in Morocco deteriorated as violence and terror became more frequent.

 

THE IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR JOURNEY

 

Immediately following the establishment of the State, Jews began making aliyah from Morocco via transit camps set up in Casablanca. The most massive influx of Moroccan Jews took place during 1954-1955 as their situation deteriorated with the approach of Moroccan independence.  The Jewish Agency was responsible for bringing Moroccan Jews to Israel during those years, and the total number of immigrants approached 35,000.  Immigration was also spurred by the lifting of criteria determined by the Israeli establishment for new immigrants which favored young, healthy persons, and persons with families.

 

The aliyah of Moroccan Jewry did not end in 1956, but continued clandestinely following Moroccan independence.  Between 1956-1961 some 30,000 Jews secretly made their way to Israel. The story of the “Egoz,” a ship smuggling 43 Jews from Morocco, as well as an Israeli representative by the name of Chaim Tzarfati, which sank during the night of January 10-11, was the most tragic incident in the history of Moroccan aliyah.  The disaster at sea brought the plight of Moroccan Jewry to the world’s headlines, and following international pressure Moroccan King Hassan II turned a blind eye to immigration by the Jews. During 1961-1964,  80,000 Moroccan Jews made aliyah, bringing the number of Moroccan immigrants throughout the years to more than a quarter of a million.  They are the largest group of immigrants from an Arab country.

OPERATION MOSES
ALIYAH OF ETHIOPIAN JEWRY (1984)
Ministry of Aliyah and Immigration

During Operation Moses in 1984 approximately 8,000 Jews made aliyah from Ethiopia. The mission was named “Operation Moses,” after Moshe Rabbenu, and as a symbol of the idea that the redemption of Ethiopian Jews was similar to the Exodus from Egypt.

 

PRIMARY MOTIVATIONS

 

The dream of Ethiopian Jewry to return to the Land of Israel sustained them throughout the years. Their dream began to be realized in 1975 when the Chief Rabbinate of Israel recognized them as Jews, and with the 1977 Israeli governmental decision to bring them to Israel.  Between 1977-1984 some 8000 Jews gradually arrived in Israel.  Operation Moses was organized in 1984 in order to bring as many Ethiopian Jews as possible to Israel. As the Jews were forbidden to depart Ethiopia it was necessary that the operation remain clandestine.

 

THE IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR JOURNEY

 

Ethiopian immigrants, who longed to reach Israel, faced numerous dangers along the way. They first had to secretly make their way to the Sudanese border, which they attempted by arranging small groups to journey together.  The majority traveled on foot, vulnerable to robbers and other violence along the way.  The journey to Sudan typically took between two weeks to a month, and countless numbers perished along the way.  Once across the border, the immigrants languished in camps for long periods until they were able to depart for Israel.  The conditions in the camps were harsh, and many people died in them as well.

 

Operation Moses brought 8000 Jews to Israel; 1500 of them children and young people who arrived without their parents.  The operation was halted as the result of leaks to the press and the fears of the Sudanese government of a backlash from Arab countries.

ALIYAH FROM THE FORMER SOVIET UNION (1990)
Ministry of Aliyah and Immigration

The huge influx of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, which began after the fall of the Soviet regime in 1990, brought one million immigrants to Israel.

 

PRIMARY MOTIVATIONS

 

Following a long period of isolation of Soviet Jewry from the State of Israel, relations were renewed with the fall of the Soviet regime in 1990, which opened up possibilities of aliyah.

 

THE IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR JOURNEY

The isolation of Soviet Jewry from the rest of the Jewish world, especially Israel, began during the 1920s with the rise of the Soviet government.  This isolation was not total, and attempts were made throughout the years to renew contacts and assist Soviet Jews, and strengthen their ties to Israel beyond the Iron Curtain.   In 1952 an organization by the name of “Netiv” was founded by the Israeli establishment. Their task was to reinforce Soviet Jewry’s tenuous ties to Israel and Judaism, often at great risk.   

The Six Day War awakened Soviet Jews’ interest in Israel, and people began to request permission to make aliyah. Persons involved in Zionist activities were often subject to dismissal from their jobs, arrest, and imprisonment.   Jewish organizations and individuals throughout the world worked on behalf of the Soviet Jews and pressured the Soviets to permit aliyah.   Their activities resulted in a slow trickle of immigration between 1969-1973,  and some 150,000 Jews succeeding in making aliyah.  The massive influx only arrived, as previously stated, with the fall of the Soviet regime in 1990.

OPERATION SOLOMON
ALIYAH OF ETHIOPIAN JEWRY (1991)
Ministry of Aliyah and Immigration

Following a regime change in Ethiopia in 1991, the new government agreed, for a sum of 40 million dollars, to permit the remaining Jews of Ethiopia to make aliyah.  During “Operation Solomon” which lasted less than 48 hours, 14,000 persons were brought to Israel.

 

PRIMARY MOTIVATIONS

 

The renewal of relations between Israel and Ethiopia in 1989, together with fears of violence towards the Jews, brought together the State of Israel and American Jews in joint efforts to rescue the Jews of Ethiopia.   A great deal of money exchanged hands in order to secure permission for Operation Solomon, which was named after King Solomon and his relationship to the Queen of Sheba (Ethiopia).

 

THE IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR JOURNEY

In 1989, Jews that already had parts of their family in Israel began to make aliyah. Others, upon hearing that aliyah was being renewed, began to make their way to the Israeli consulate in order to request to make aliyah.   When anti-government opposition forces began to occupy large parts of the country, encroaching upon the capital of Addis Ababa, fears began to mount for the safety of the Jews.  On Friday, May 24, 1991, within 36 hours, 14,000 Jews boarded El Al planes, and on May 25 the last immigrants arrived in Israel. Once inIsrael, many of the new immigrants were reunited with their families after many years.   A total of 35,000 Ethiopian Jews have made aliyah.

 LINKS

MOSHE AND SARA ARISON MUSEUM OF THE FIRST ALIYAH
The Council for the Conservation of Heritage Sites in Israel

ISRAEL IMMIGRATION (ALIYA)

THE LAND OF ISRAEL
FROM BAR KOCHBA TO THE MUSLIM CONQUEST
Dr. Henry Abramson 2017 (53.33)
Brief survey of the major historical developments and themes affecting the land of Israel between
the 2nd-century Bar Kochba rebellion
and the
Muslim conquest in the seventh century

THE BORDERS OF ISRAEL
Dr. Henry Abramson 2014 (23.34)
This video describes the
changes in the political boundaries
of the State of Israel from its inception 1948 through the disengagement from Gaza in 2005.

THE DAWN OF THE CENTURY, 1900 - 1910
JewishHistoryDotOrg 2009  (1.07.09)

This episode introduces the uniqueness of Jewish history in the 20th century within the

context of world history. At the turn of the 20th century, Jews were scattered across the

globe, representing only ¼ of one percent of the worlds population. It was a time of

empires, imperial rule and colonial expansionism. In Russia the masses, including the

Jews, lived in dire poverty which was compounded by grassroots antisemitism. In 1905

the Russian masses revolted and there was a general strike. On Bloody Sunday the

Czar responded with force. The Czar did not abdicate until 1917, which is typically the

date given for the second Russian Revolution, which, in turn, led to increased pogroms

against the Jews. The pogroms and the economic conditions forced approximately

40% of Jewish population to leave the Russian Empire and go to Western countries

including the United States and to Palestine and other countries as far away as
South Africa and Australia.

Emigration and the Enlightenment presented Jews with the dilemma and opportunity to

maintain or reject their traditional Jewish upbringing, and many decided to forgo their

traditional Judaism and blend in with their larger non-Jewish society. Within the

traditional Jewish world, change was occurring as well, with the rise and acceptance of

the Mussar Movement, an ethical approach to Judaism. Because Jews were not

allowed into institutions of higher education in Eastern Europe, most of them went to

study in yeshivas to sharpen their intellect. The traditional yeshiva, unintentionally,

became a breeding ground for all philosophies, Jewish and secular alike. Zionism

grew as a national movement, and was led by secular Jews antithetical to traditional

Judaism. While most rabbis rejected Zionism and its leaders, because of their

nontraditional beliefs, a minority of rabbis developed religious Zionism, which combined

traditional Judaism with Zionist philosophy. The Old Yishuv Jews, who had settled in

Palestine in the late 1800s, were committed to traditional Judaism and rejected

secular, nationalistic ideas of the New Yishuv Zionists.

The Sephardic Jews living in Moslem and Arab countries at the turn of the 20th

Century maintained their own rich Jewish traditions and heritage, which often differed

from those of the Ashkenazim. There was relative peace within the Jewish community

and among the leadership in these Arab and Moslem countries, and although life was

sometimes difficult, these Sephardic Jews did not experience, by and large, pogroms

or the influences of the Enlightenment or Reform Judaism.

In Europe, Jews were the leaders of the Labor and Socialist movements and

spearheaded the establishment of labor unions in America. The challenge of

assimilation in the United States was the greatest difficulty confronting Jewish

immigrants. Attempts were made to stem the tide. Reform Judaism became a symbol

of acceptance into modern American society and Dr. Solomon Schechter initiated the

Universal Synagogue movement which became Conservative Judaism. Also

Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jewish immigrants had to find their respective places within

the Jewish community and in their new host country, the United States, as well..

A small, strong group of American Jewish immigrants managed to cling to their Jewish

traditions and adapt themselves to the new reality in America.
Meanwhile, for Jews around the world, with the threat of WWI looming,
the imperial race for supremacy was escalating.

10 FACTS - JEWISH IMMIGRATION TO PALESTINE/ISRAEL? (1800-1947)
Alternative 10s 2014 (2.21)

Part 1 details the different waves of immigration (Aliyah) from 1800 till 1947 when the UN General Assembly resolution 181 partitioned the land of Palestine into
a Jewish State, a Palestinian State and an International Territory - Jerusalem.

Part 2 The different waves of immigration after the first Arab-Israeli war of 1948

Note:  the region was under Ottoman rule till after the first World War.
The British Mandate for Palestine took place from 1922 till 1948.

INCREDIBLE

THE LAW OF RETURN
myjewishlearning, Rachael GelfmanSchultz
(click site link for more information)

An immigration policy to ensure a Jewish majority in the State of Israel.
he State of Israel will be open to the immigration of Jews and the ingathering of exiles from all countries of their dispersion,” asserts Israel’s Declaration of Independence. The 1950 Law of Return codified this mission to gather Jews from around the world by granting them the right to settle in Israel and gain automatic citizenship.