Aliyah
Aliya (Aliyah) is a Hebrew word ( עליה or עלייה ) meaning literally rise or spiritual rise . This term indicates the act of Immigration in Holy Land (Eretz Israel, in Hebrew) by a Juif. The Jewish immigrants are thus called " Olim ". On the contrary, the fact for a Jew of emigrating apart from the Ground of Israel, is called " ירידה " - Yérida and the Jewish emigrants are the " Yordim ".
The religious aliyah
During centuries, there was punctually small aliyoth, individual or by small groups. It was about a religious immigration, aiming at living close to the holy places of the Judaïsme. In 1881, there were thus 25.000 religious Jews, living primarily in the 4 Holy Cities of the Judaism: Jerusalem, Safed, Tibériade and Hebron.
The aliyah Zionist
As from 1881, one sees appearing a new immigration: that of nationalist laic Jews (the " term; sioniste" will appear in second half of the years 1880), of which the goal is in the long term to create a State for the Jewish people in Palestine.
The aliyoth Zionists have several characteristics which distinguish them from the religious aliyoth:
- they are laic, generally not very interested by the religion (there are exceptions);
- they are political: they aim creating or at reinforcing the Jewish State (what did not interest the monks);
- they are massive, infinitely more important than the religious aliyoth;
- they are mainly made up of refugees driven out by anti-Jewish marks of hostility in their countries of origin (an element of choice exists however: some choose to remain towards and against all in the countries of origin, others emigrate towards other directions that Palestine). Aliyoth nuns were only voluntary.
- they can have economic motives, Israel being a country often more prosperous than the country of origin (at least since the years 1960).
See the article detailed on the History of the Zionism.
One can divide this aliyah Zionist into two large waves: before the creation of the State of Israel (1948) and afterwards.
Before the creation of the State of Israel: 1881-1948
It is about a aliyah which must be made accept Othoman governments (until 1918), then British (until 1948), which will not go without evil. The reaction of the Palestinian Arab local populations, which feel dispossessed, will be often hostile (especially after 1918).
The Othoman period
Especially activates after the Russian pogroms of 1881, it is done in two principal waves: 1881-1884 and 1890-1891. It especially counts approximately 10.000 people, originating in the Russian Empire, who create small agricultural colonies, in the coastal strip. Some will become Israéliennes cities at the XXe century. One also owes with a member of this first Aliyah (Eliezer Ben-Yehuda) the creation of the Hebrew
modern.
It starts after the pogroms of Kichinev (Russian empire) of 1903 and hard until 1914 (
First World War). 30.000 to 40.000 immigrants, especially Zionist-Socialists and originating in the Russian Empire.
David Ben Gourion belonged to this Aliyah. Many the founding fathers of
Israel came at that time. Tel-Aviv (founded in 1909) and the first Kibboutz (including created in 1909) are creations of this second Aliyah. The political parties Zionists of left (Poale zion and
Hachomer hatzaïr), which will direct the state during its creation in 1948, are also created by these immigrants.
The British period
It makes following the declaration Balfour and with the establishment by Great Britain and the international community (SDN) of a " National hearth Juif" in
Palestine agent. It also makes continuation with the political disturbances in Eastern Europe after the First World War: revolution Bolshevik, Hungarian civil war, etc There will be approximately 35.000 immigrants, especially Eastern-European and Zionist-Socialists.
It brings in Palestine 80.000 rather different immigrants. It is mainly of the Poles members of the middle-classes, driven out by the anti-Jewish economic measures of the government of
Warsaw. Even if much supports the left, others, more preserving, go towards the general Sionistes, the revisionists of right-hand side directed by
Vladimir Jabotinsky, even the religious Zionists. Fourth Aliyah involves an urban development (these immigrants are not very interested by the rural communities of the pioneers Zionists - Socialists), of the trade, the craft industry. But this wave of immigration involves also an imbalance between the economic capacities of the country and the surge of new populations. This imbalance brings an important unemployment. The crisis is severe and hard of 1926 to 1929, involving a phenomenon of departure of some of the new immigrants.
She sees the immigration of 180.000 Jews. They come from Eastern Central Europe, where of the authoritative nationalist modes anti-semites structure themselves more or less. 40.000 come from Germany and Austria, where the Nazi S have just seized the power. There will be even an agreement called of Haavara (“transfer”) concluded between the World Organization Zionist and the
Third Reich in 1933, and active until 1938. This agreement aimed at facilitating the " transfert" funds of the immigrants. New fact, 15.000 of these 180.000 immigrants are the clandestine ones, the British not granting enough visas for the enormous increase in the requests for emigration of the period. The sociology and the political composition of this Aliyah are close to those of fourth Aliyah.
Approximately 80.000 immigrants, especially of clandestine (British prohibiting immigration now), including 20.000 during the war and 60.000 afterwards. They are especially (but not exclusively) refugees fleeing the Nazisme and the
Shoah (during the war) or their consequences (between 1945 and 1948). Over the period, the emigration practically ceases between 1942 and 1944 taking into account the paroxysm of the war in Europe.
It is in 1939 qu ' appears the " Mossad Aliyah Beth " , or " Mossad Aliyah Beth" , the organization for the emigration " B" (" Beth" , in Hebrew), in load of the clandestine immigration, and which depends on the
Haganah, therefore of the Jewish Agence. Mossad Aliyah Beth is thus the clandestine branch (because refused by the British) of an official organization, the Jewish Agency.
After the creation of Israel (1948-2005)
Jewish immigration towards Israel of 1948 to 2000.
Nearly 700.000 Jews unload. Population of the double State. There are two origins with this immigration: approximately the half is made up of survivors of the Jewish genocide in Europe. They all are almost Ashkénazes (there exist Séfarades in Balkans and in Western Europe, however). Another half comes from the Arab countries, sometimes within the framework of massive transfers, as at the time of the Opération Flying Carpet with the
Yemen or of the Opération Ezra and Néhémie in
Iraq.
One second wave of 500.000 people arrives. It consists of a minority of Jews leaving communist Eastern Europe, and of a majority of Eastern Jews. Those flee a anti-Jewish new wave related to the Israeli-Arab war of 1956. 250.000 North-African Jews (approximately half of the Jews of this area) also arrive from the French Maghreb after the independence of Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria. The most francized Jews (generally the most educated) came to France. The least francized Jews (generally poorer and less educated) made the choice of Israel. Among them, the Morrocans are particularly numerous.
A small wave of immigration of 50.000 people, consequence of the War the six day old of 1967: the last " Jews arabes" , of the Western Jews galvanized by the Israeli victory and of the Jews of Eastern Europe (especially Polish) rejected by the countryside " Antisioniste" who follows the defeat of the allied Arab armies of the Soviet Union.
A little less than 400.000 people: Jews Soviet, but such Western, in particular of ultra-orthodoxe (haredim) and religious Zionists.
The immigration of the Jews of Ethiopia, or Beta Israel. And always of the Western Jews (American especially, but also French), of which much monk.
Approximately 1.000.000 people: especially Jews ex-Soviet (and their families not always Jewish), but also the remainder of Ethiopian Israel Beta. And always a small Western immigration, maintaining installed well and numerically significant (often more than 10.000 immigrants per annum), often nun.
Demographic conclusions
The religious aliyoth had created a Jewish community in strong but limited Palestine: approximately 25.000 people in 1881. The aliyoth Zionists strongly developed the population: there is in 2005 almost 5.300.000 Jews in Israel.
The Israeli national statistics count the Israelis who leave the country for more than one year. Although Olim (those which go up to Israel) remained largely more numerous than Yordim (those which leave) since the creation of Israel, the Israeli company tends to worry about the reasons which lead Jews to leave the country: the hope of better economic conditions, nostalgia, problems political…