A total of 52,513 Holocaust survivors from around the world made aliyah to Israel since the establishment of the state, according to data by the Aliyah and Integration Ministry obtained by The Jerusalem Post in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
In addition, in 2022, 551 Holocaust survivors made aliyah, mainly due to the war in Ukraine.
According to the ministry’s data, half of the 52,513 Holocaust survivors who made aliyah to Israel, 27,015, immigrated from the former Soviet Union (FSU) and more than half of the Holocaust survivor olim from FSU immigrated from Ukraine.
According to the ministry, since the large wave of aliyah from the FSU, beginning 1989, the year with the most Holocaust survivors olim was 1990, during which 8,593 Holocaust survivors immigrated to Israel, the vast majority of them came from the FSU. During 1990, only one survivor immigrated from Ukraine, 17 from France, 45 from Romania, 14 from Bulgaria, 6 from Poland and one from Venezuela.
The year in which the lowest number of Holocaust survivors immigrated to Israel was 2020: A total of about 150 Holocaust survivors immigrated, mainly from Ukraine, Russia and France. This is probably due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why did so many Holocaust survivors move to Israel in 2022?
During 2022, mainly due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, 551 Holocaust survivors made aliyah, most of them from Ukraine and Russia but also from France, as well as from Morocco and Germany. One single Holocaust survivor made aliyah in 2022 from countries such as Moldova, Canada, Argentina and Spain.
Of the Holocaust survivors who made aliyah in 2022, 222, were aged 75 to 84, 329 were aged 85 and above. 324 of these survivors were women and 227 were men.
The five cities receiving the most Holocaust survivor olim in 2022 are Haifa (82 survivors), Jerusalem (47), Netanya (40), Bat Yam (31) and Ashkelon (27).
Interestingly, the survivors who made aliyah in the past two and a half decades, according to the Aliyah and Integration Ministry, came from a variety of countries. 182 survivors immigrated from Morocco, 87 from the UK, 67 from Georgia, 42 from Italy, 33 from Switzerland, 31 from Argentina, 27 from Brazil, 22 from Poland, 14 from Tunisia, 7 from Iraq, 4 from Peru, 3 from Mexico 3, and from one survivor made aliyah each from Turkey, Cuba, China, Monaco, the Ivory Coast and India.
"The Holocaust survivors who immigrated to the State of Israel were a significant part of the uprising of the Jewish people in their country.”
Adi Kahana
"The Holocaust survivors who immigrated to the State of Israel were a significant part of the uprising of the Jewish people in their country,” Aliyah and Integration Ministry Director-General Avihai Kahana told the Post. “The Aliyah and Integration Ministry considers it important to allow Holocaust survivors to live with dignity and well-being, every day of the year and not just on this important day."