Aliyah to Israel hits 30-year peak!
Published on: 8.6.2023
Join the ICEJ’s urgent efforts to bring Jews home from all directions
By: David Parsons, ICEJ Vice President & Senior Spokesman
Israel is currently witnessing the highest surge in Jewish immigration in 30 years, and the Aliyah wave is still building. But excitement over the rising number of new arrivals is also mixed with concerns about the urgent crises now driving Jews to return home from around the world.
This week, Israeli authorities released the latest Aliyah figures showing that over 100,000 new immigrants have arrived in Israel since the start of 2022, marking the highest number since the mass Soviet Jewish influx three decades ago. Over these past 17 months, some 60,000 Jewish immigrants have come from Russia, 20,000 from Ukraine and the remaining 20,000 from other countries worldwide.
Jews about to make Aliyah
The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem is doing our part to help bring as many of these Jewish families as possible home to Israel. Our current efforts are focused on Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic states and other former Soviet republics, plus Ethiopia and the Bnei Menashe from India.
So far this year, supporters of the Christian Embassy have funded over 1,120 Aliyah flights, while also helping assist another 1,500 Jewish immigrants with other stages of their move to Israel. Our actual flight numbers this year include 180 from Ukraine, 197 from the Baltic states, 370 from other former Soviet republics, and 375 from Ethiopia. This is an amazing testimony of Christian love and concern, and the opportunity is here to do even more over coming months because the number of Jews seeking urgent Aliyah assistance is so great right now!
Aliyah from the North
Much of the current surge in immigration to Israel has been sparked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of last year. In the 16 months since, over 80,000 Russian-speaking Jews have moved to Israel. About one-quarter fled the war in Ukraine, but surprisingly the vast majority are arriving from Russia and other former Soviet states to escape the economic impact and other uncertainties brought on by the conflict.
Youth at summer camp seminars
This mass stream of Aliyah from the North shows no sign of letting up, so the ICEJ will continue to sponsor urgent Aliyah flights from these regions in the months ahead. We also have three large Aliyah camps planned this summer for Jewish youths from the Baltic states (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) and Ukraine, to help prepare them for life in Israel.
Aliyah from the South
The Ethiopian Aliyah also has taken on a fresh urgency due to tribal and religious clashes in the Gondar region, where many Jewish families have been waiting for decades for their chance to reach Israel.
Ethiopian flight arrival with Nicole Yoder and Ethiopian immigrants
In 2015, the Israeli government decided to bring another 9,000 members of the ancient Ethiopian Jewish community still stuck in transit camps in Addis Ababa and Gondar. So far, some 6,750 of these eligible immigrants have been flown to Israel, with the ICEJ sponsoring roughly half (3,255) of those flights.
However, the Ethiopian Aliyah has often been slowed by unforeseen events, such as the repeated elections in Israel, the global pandemic, as well as drought, famine and civil war in Ethiopia.
To speed things up, Israel launched a special airlift in late 2021 called “Operation Rock of Israel” to bring another 3,000 Ethiopian Jews to the Promised Land. As of now, 2,809 of these Ethiopian olim (newcomers) have arrived, with the ICEJ covering the flights for 635 of them. The last two flights of the airlift are expected by early July, and the Christian Embassy just committed to helping sponsor one of these flights. Hopefully, even more Ethiopian Jews will be able to come in near future.
These upcoming flights are urgently needed as recent reports indicate riots between Muslim and Christian tribes have broken out in the Gondar region where many Ethiopian Jews are still living. Three men approved to make Aliyah to Israel were just shot and killed, while an Ethiopian Jewish boy was wounded – all innocent victims of the spiralling violence. Thus, the Israeli government is facing pressure to take urgent action by bringing the remaining Ethiopian Jews to Israel. With your support, the Christian Embassy can be there to help bring them home.
Bnei Menashe Jews
Aliyah from the East
Meantime, the Bnei Menashe community also has been caught in the crossfire of recent clashes between rival tribes in northeast India. An isolated remnant of Chinese Jewry, the Bnei Menashe – like the Ethiopian Jews – have been recognised as “Sons of Israel” and thus are eligible to make Aliyah. But they too have been waiting many years to make the journey home to Israel.
Several thousand Bnei Menashe have already made it to Israel, many on flights provided by the ICEJ, leaving some 5,000 members of the community still waiting their turn to make Aliyah. But those in the Manipur region of India are now facing violent attacks from Hindus lashing out at the Kuki ethnic minority, which consists mainly of Christians but also of this small Jewish remnant.
Burnt Torah Scrolls
Several Bnei Menashe were killed and many more went missing after fleeing into the forests. Two synagogues were burned, and nearly 200 Bnei Menashe families lost their homes and belongings in the widespread fires and looting. Hindu rioters were even heard yelling: “Go back to Israel where you belong!”
“We were helpless as stones rained down on our house. We had to hide under our beds for cover”, recalled Yosef Vaiphei, who fled with his family when their home in Imphal was ransacked.
He added that the local police seemed to be siding with the majority Meitei tribe, who are Hindus. Only when the Indian army arrived to restore order were Yosef and his family safely evacuated to an army base and later to a hotel for refugees in another city.
“It has been a tough month for me and my family as we try to come to terms with what happened”, Yosef lamented. “We felt shocked, helpless, hurt, sad, tired, numb and angry at the same time… No words can bring back what we’ve lost.”
Manipur riots
Yosef Vaiphei is still not able to return to their burned and plundered home, but he knows that the only path forward for his family is to make the journey to Israel.
Israeli officials are busy arranging to bring a group of endangered Bnei Menashe on Aliyah flights over the coming months, and the ICEJ stands at the ready to help with their soon return. For many generations, this ancient Israelite community has longed for the Promised Land. With your support, we can help them finally reach their true home in Israel.
Please Act Now!
Whether it is the Russia-Ukraine conflict, or tribal-religious riots in Ethiopia and India, now is the time for Christians to stand with the Jewish people by bringing these sons and daughters of Israel home as soon as possible.
Over the coming weeks and months, the ICEJ will be engaged in pre-Aliyah activities, ground transportation, rescue flights and urgent integration of Jews from Ethiopia, India and the former Soviet republics. We invite you to be a part of helping to regather these Jewish communities to Israel from all directions, just as the Hebrew prophets foretold!
“Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west; I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’ Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 43:5-6)
猶太人歸回以色列地創30年新高！
發表於：2023 年 6 月 8 日
加入 ICEJ 從四面八方將猶太人帶回家的緊急努力
作者：大衛柏森斯，ICEJ 副總裁兼高級發言人
以色列目前正見證著 30 年來最高的猶太移民潮，而 Aliyah 浪潮仍在醞釀之中。 但是，對新移民人數不斷增加的興奮與對目前驅使猶太人從世界各地返回家園的緊迫危機的擔憂交織在一起。
本週，以色列當局發布了最新的 Aliyah 數據，顯示自 2022 年初以來已有超過 100,000 名新移民抵達以色列，這是自30年前蘇聯猶太人大規模湧入以來的最高數字。在過去的17個月裡，約有 60,000名猶太移民來自俄羅斯，20,000名來自烏克蘭，其餘20,000名來自世界其他國家。
猶太人即將回歸以色列地
耶路撒冷國際基督徒大使館正在盡我們的一份力量，幫助盡可能多的這些猶太家庭回到以色列。 我們目前的工作重點是俄羅斯、烏克蘭、波羅的海國家和其他前蘇聯加盟共和國，以及埃塞俄比亞和印度的「瑪拿西之子」。
今年到目前為止，基督徒大使館的支持者已經資助了 1,120 多次 Aliyah 航班，同時還幫助協助另外 1,500 名猶太移民完成他們移居以色列的其他階段。我們今年的實際航班數量包括來自烏克蘭的 180架次、來自波羅的海國家的 197 架次、來自其他前蘇聯加盟共和國的 370 架次和來自埃塞俄比亞的375架次。這是基督徒的愛和關懷的驚人見證，在接下來的幾個月裡有機會做更多的事情，因為現在尋求緊急Aliyah援助的猶太人人數如此之多！
來自北方的阿利亞
目前以色列移民激增的主要原因是去年2月俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭。在此後的16個月裡，超過 80,000 名講俄語的猶太人移居以色列。 大約四分之一的人逃離了烏克蘭戰爭，但令人驚訝的是，絕大多數人是從俄羅斯和其他前蘇聯國家抵達的，以逃避衝突帶來的經濟影響和其他不確定性。
青年夏令營研討會
來自北方的大量 Aliyah 沒有停止的跡象，因此 ICEJ 將在未來幾個月繼續贊助來自這些地區的緊急 Aliyah 航班。 今年夏天，我們還計劃為來自波羅的海國家（拉脫維亞、立陶宛和愛沙尼亞）和烏克蘭的猶太青年舉辦三個大型Aliyah營會，幫助他們為在以色列的生活做好準備。
來自南方的阿利亞
由於貢德爾地區的部落和宗教衝突，埃塞俄比亞的阿利亞也變得更加緊迫，許多猶太家庭在那裡等待了數十年，等待他們到達以色列的機會。
埃塞俄比亞航班抵達，妮可約德和埃塞俄比亞移民
2015 年，以色列政府決定將另外9,000名仍滯留在亞的斯亞貝巴和貢德爾臨時營地的埃塞俄比亞古代猶太社區成員帶回。到目前為止，這些符合條件的移民中約有6,750人已飛往以色列，ICEJ贊助了其中大約一半 (3,255) 的航班。
然而，埃塞俄比亞的「回歸」經常因不可預見的事件而放緩，例如以色列的反復選舉、全球流行病以及埃塞俄比亞的乾旱、飢荒和內戰。
為了加快速度，以色列於 2021 年底啟動了一次名為「以色列磐石行動」的特別空運，將另外 3,000 名埃塞俄比亞猶太人帶到應許之地。 截至目前，已有 2,809 名埃塞俄比亞 olim（新移民）抵達，ICEJ 負責其中 635 人的航班。空運的最後兩次飛行預計在 7 月初進行，基督徒大使館剛剛承諾幫助贊助其中一次飛行。希望在不久的將來會有更多的埃塞俄比亞猶太人來到這裡。
這些即將到來的航班是迫切需要的，因為最近的報導表明，在許多埃塞俄比亞猶太人仍然居住的貢德爾地區，穆斯林和基督教部落之間爆發了騷亂。 三名獲准將 Aliyah 帶到以色列的男子剛剛被槍殺，一名埃塞俄比亞猶太男孩受傷——他們都是不斷升級的暴力事件的無辜受害者。 因此，以色列政府面臨著採取緊急行動將剩餘的埃塞俄比亞猶太人帶到以色列的壓力。在您的支持下，基督徒大使館可以在那裡幫助他們回家。
瑪拿西之子猶太人
來自東方的阿利亞
與此同時，瑪拿西之子社區也陷入了最近印度東北部敵對部落之間衝突的交火之中。 與埃塞俄比亞猶太人一樣，瑪拿西之子是中國猶太人相關餘下人數，被公認為「以色列之子」，因此有資格 Aliyah。但他們也已經等了很多年才踏上返回以色列的家園。
數千名瑪拿西之子人已經抵達以色列，其中許多乘坐 ICEJ 提供的航班，社區中約 5,000 名成員仍在等待輪到他們做 Aliyah。 但印度曼尼普爾地區的人們現在正面臨印度教徒對庫基少數民族的猛烈攻擊，庫基少數民族主要由基督徒組成，但也有少數猶太人殘餘。
被燒毀的托拉捲軸
幾名瑪拿西之子被殺，更多人在逃入森林後失踪。 兩座猶太教堂被燒毀，近200個瑪拿西之子家庭在大範圍的火災和搶劫中失去了家園和財產。 印度教暴徒甚至大喊：「滾回屬於你的以色列去！」
「當石頭如雨點般落在我們的房子上時，我們無能為力。 我們不得不躲在床底下躲避。」
他補充說，當地警方似乎站在佔多數的美泰部落一邊，他們是印度教徒。只有當印度軍隊趕到恢復秩序時，優素福和他的家人才安全地撤離到一個軍事基地，後來又轉移到另一個城市的難民旅館。
「對我和我的家人來說，這是艱難的一個月，因為我們試圖接受所發生的事情，」約瑟夫感嘆道。 」我們同時感到震驚、無助、受傷、悲傷、疲倦、麻木和憤怒……任何言語都無法挽回我們失去的東西。」
曼尼普爾邦騷亂
Yosef Vaiphei 仍然無法回到他們被燒毀和掠奪的家園，但他知道他的家人唯一的出路就是前往以色列。
以色列官員正忙於安排在未來幾個月內將一群瀕臨滅絕的瑪拿西之子帶到 Aliyah 航班上，ICEJ 隨時準備幫助他們盡快返回。 許多世代以來，這個古老的以色列社區一直渴望著應許之地。 在您的支持下，我們可以幫助他們最終到達他們在以色列的真正家園。
請立即行動！
無論是俄烏衝突，還是埃塞俄比亞和印度的部落宗教騷亂，現在是基督徒與猶太人站在一起，盡快將這些以色列兒女帶回家的時候了。
在接下來的幾周和幾個月裡，ICEJ將參與Aliyah前的活動、地面運輸、救援飛行以及來自埃塞俄比亞、印度和前蘇聯加盟共和國的猶太人的緊急融合。正如希伯來先知所預言的那樣，我們邀請您參與幫助從四面八方將這些猶太社區重新聚集到以色列！
「5你不要害怕，因我與你同在；我必領你的後裔從東方來，又從西方召集你。6我要對北方說，交出來！對南方說，不可扣留！要將我的兒子從遠方帶來，將我的女兒從地極領回，」 （以賽亞書 43:5-6）