Making Aliyyah: The Long History of Immigration to Israel, Why, When and How Many?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                    

From the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE until modern times, only isolated instances are recorded of group immigration.  For instance, my husband and I did it in 1980 by ourselves.  To make aliyah meant more than to immigrate; it meant to ascend "spiritually" , as one was called up to read the Torah in the synagogue.  It became the word to move to Israel.  

Back in  1121 some 300 Jews went to Palestine from France and England. What was going on in England at the time?  In 1099 the Jewish community in Jerusalem was massacred by the Crusaders.  In 1290 the Jews of England were kicked out;  expulsed.  Those that made Aliyah were smart. By 1306, French Jews were kicked out of that country. 

                                                                         

In 1267, Nahmanides, better known as Moses ben Nahman or the Rambam, made aliyah, followed by groups of disciples. He was the Rabbi of Gerona (Aragon of NE Spain).  He fought against the King trying to convert Jews openly.  Though promised immunity, he wound up being tried for blasphemy and had to leave Spain.  From 1267 he lived in Palestine, where he settled in; Acre, reorganized the Jewish settlement.  

By 1488, Obadiah of Bertinero, Italy made aliyah, also followed by his group of disciples.  He was the 4th of the 12 minor Prophets.  He made the prophecy condemning Edom for refused to help Jerusalem in her hour of calamity,  happening in the period following the destruction of the 1st Temple of 586 BCE by Nebuchadnezzar.  

1492: The Spanish Inquisition caused many Spanish Sephardi Jews, including the kabbalistic circle of Jews to make Aliyah to  Palestine.  

1564: Joseph Nasi's resettlement attempt brought groups from Italy.  He was  then nephew and son-in-law of Gracia Nasi, born a Marrano (hidden Jew)  in Portugal, fleeing to Italy in 1544 fled to Constantinople in 1554 where he embraced Judaism publicly and married.  

1700:  1,500 Jews arrived from eastern Europe in response to Rabbi Judah Hasid's call, who was Judah Hasid Halevi (1638-1700). He was a Kabbalist,, born in Podolia, a place between Ukraine and Moldova of eastern Europe.  Believing in the imminence of redemption, they set out for Palestine.  After an adventurous journey in which many lost their lives, the group reached Jerusalem in 1700.  Judah Hasid died a few days after his arrival.  His followers were persecuted on suspicion of Sabbataianism, and many returned to Europe.  You can imagine the stories they told.   

Around 1780s, there was a considerable influx of both Hasidim and followers of the Vilna Gaon, otherwise known as Elijah ben Solomon Zalman (1720-1797). He was born in Lithuania.  When he was about 60 years old, he set out all by himself  for Palestine, but returned before he ever got there.  It wasn't as easy as he had thought, evidently.

1850-1880:  These 30 years preceding the BILU, it is estimated that 20,000 to 30,000 Jews settled in Palestine.                                       

1882: Making Aliyah Zionism got to Russian Jews who made aliyah as the first group (1882-1903) from  a Zionistic group.  they started after too many Russian pogroms (group attacks on Jews) 300 families and other smaller groups arrived from Russia, 450 pioneers from Romania and a few dozen from the Yemen.  It is estimated that 25,000 immigrated during this period.  A number also then emigrated.  

1884:  The HOVEVE ZION group tried to coordinate immigration which resulted in the Kattowitz Conference.  The Turkish authorities had created some difficulties, and an increasing number of Agricultural settlements were founded. 

1890:  Persecutions sent thousands of Russian Jews to Palestine, but the number dwindled during the rest of the decade.                 

                                             Land of Milk and Honey

1904-1914:  The 2nd Aliyah were mostly from Russia again.  The Kishinev and Homel pogroms had happened there, driving them out.  Also, the failure of the 1905 Revolution was during this time. Many immigrants were motivated by socialist idealism.  35,000 to 40,000 entered during this period, mainly from Eastern Europe and also the oriental countries,, where life was cheap and so difficult.  As before, there were emigrants as well who found it too hard to live in Palestine, too.  More were now leaving for the USA.  

1914, the start of World War I and the Jewish population in Palestine was 90,000, falling to 50,000 by the end of WWI in 1917.  

The Balfour Declaration gave Jews the impetus to the 3rd Aliyah from 1910 to 1923 of which young people made up the group, made up mostly of members of He-Halutz.

1920, free immigration was permitted to persons with means of a trade;  craftsmen, those joining their families, Talmud students whose upkeep was assured.  A quota was fixed for immigrants whose maintenance was guaranteed by the Zionist Organization.  These regulations were modified  the next year but the principle remained..  Immigration was about 8,000 from 1920 to 1923.  At the end of the period, the country's Jewish population was again about 90,000.                                       

1924-1931:  80,000 more Jews made Aliyah with the great majority coming in1924 and 1925.  They were coming from Poland where Jews suffered from fiscal restrictions.  Many of the newcomers were middle-class, some "capitalists" meaning they were owners of 500 pounds, and this changed later to 1,000 pounds.  

1926-1931: A number left, especially during the 1926 depression, but there were 190,000 Jews in Palestine by 1931.  

1932-1940 The 5th Aliyah fell into 2 periods, from 1932 to 1935 covering the beginning of the Nazi persecutions, which saw 144,000 immigrants and 62,000 in 1935 alone, and was followed by economic prosperity.  During this time, YOUTH ALIYAH was founded. and then from 1936 to 1940, coinciding with the Arab riots and economic depression, when Aliyah was restricted by the mandatory government of England, first for economic, and then later for political reasons.  They were enabling the Arabs to enter Palestine instead of the Jews who they kept out. However, from 1936 to 1938, there were 53,000 immigrants.  In 1939, the MacDonald White Paper recommended that only 75,000 further Jews be allowed admission during the next 5 years and then it would be dependent on Arab agreement.  

However, 36,,000 immigrants entered during the 2nd phase of the 5th Aliyah including 15,000 "illegal" immigrants, meaning without government permits in 1939-1940. These are the years that Jews were in mortal danger in Germany and the rest of Europe, and was when Germany went into Poland and the 2nd World War had started.

                                                                     

 The British, bent on refusing entry to Jews into Palestine, immediately transferred the refugees to another much larger ship docked in Haifa Port, the SS Patria. The Patria was meant to transport them to a British detention camp in Mauritius.  About 3 weeks later the Atlantic arrived, on 24 November. The immediate transfer of around 800 refugees. The next day, when about 850 were still to be transferred over from the Atlantic, there was a huge explosion on the Patria that ripped a gaping hole through the hull, sinking it within about 15 minutes.  Everyone on board was blown into the water. More than 250 were drowned. The remaining 2000, including my aunt and uncle plus 4 year old Zeev and one month old baby Uri, somehow made it onto the quayside. Following this, the British ordered that all the refugees be interned in Atlit, a British detention camp, 12 miles south of Haifa. (The camp is now a museum of the history of illegal Jewish immigration to Palestine and was declared a National Heritage site in 1987.) Their intention was to procure a replacement vessel to take all the refugees to Mauritius. Arranging this took at least a couple of months and during that time — most unexpectedly — the British had a change of heart, ruling that all the Patria survivors would be permitted to remain in Palestine. Good news for the majority, but the 800 or so from the ship, Atlantic who hadn’t transferred onto the Patria, were transported some weeks later to a British detention camp in Mauritius until the end of the war.

                                             

 On December 12, 1941, The Struma set out with 769 Romanian Jews making Aliyah to Palestine. It 

was the last ship to leave, a cattle ship, commissioned by the Irgun.  On the way, they were taken

to Turkey,  who wound up towing them into the Black Sea on February 23,, 1942.  It was the British 

who kept them out of Palestine.  There, the Stuma sunk when a torpedo from a Russian submarine 

hit it.  All died except one person.  .  

                                                                    

Exodus,  Passengers on the deck of the refugee ship Exodus 1947 in Haifa. British 

forces returned them to displaced persons camps in Germany, dramatizing the plight 

of Holocaust survivors attempting to enter Palestine. Haifa, Palestine, July 18, 1947.

The 6th Aliyah of 1941-1947 was a period of struggle against restrictions on immigration.  

Many tragic incidents were recorded of ships carrying Jews and being turned away with

 the  results of death for them, like the EXODUS, PATRIA, STRUMA, and during the 

later years many intending immigration were interned in Cypress. 

 85,000 Jews arrived in this time, of whom 28,000 were "illegal immigrants."  

There were 750,000 Jews in Israel when the state was established on May 14, 1948. 

 Free Jewish immigration was immediately proclaimed and the period of mass Aliyah 

inaugurated.  The survivors of Nazi rule in Central Europe, the internees in Cyprus, 

the Jewries of countries behind the Iron Curtain, and the communities under Arab

 rule, such as Yemen and Iraq were transferred to Israel under the auspices of the 

Jewish Agency's Immigration Department.  Jews have  continued a steady 

immigration since that time again reaching large numbers in the early 1970's and 

since 1989 with mass Aliyah from the USSR.  My husband and I were in the 1980 

group with many Russians, a few Americans, Canadians, English, etc.  It was like a 

smorgasbord of different people who thankfully, spoke English.  The Russians were 

former English teachers, of which their English was as poor as my Hebrew.  We all 

sat in classes together learning Hebrew.  Russians were excellent students.  They 

were used to learning languages.  We Americans were not as good, but we knew our

 English!  

Total immigration figures for the period 1948-1990 were as follows:

1948-101,819  War                 1956-36,324  Sinai War     1964-54,716

1949-239,076                         1957-71,224                      1965-30,736

1950-170,215                         1958-27,082                      1966-15,730

1951-175,129                         1959-23,895                      1967-14,327  Six Day War

1952- 24,369                          1960-24,510                      1968-20,544

1953- 11,326                          1961-47,638                      1969-20,544

1954-18,370                           1962-60,328                      1970-36,750

1955-37,348                           1963-64,634                      1971-41,980

1972-55,888                           1981-12,599                      1990-199,526

1973-54,886                           1982-13,723                      1991-175,000

1974-31,979                           1983-16,906

1975-20,028                           1984-19,984

1976-19,754                           1985-10,642

1977-21,429                           1986- 9,505

1978-26,594                          1987-12,965

1979-37,222                          1988-13,304

1980-20,428                          1989-24,050

We graduated and got a job in Safed in 1981.  While driving up there, our driver pointed to a building on the right side of the road and told us that two weeks before, a bomb had landed in their yard.  I told my dog, Blintz, that we were not in Oregon any more....Yikes.  

Resource:

The New Jewish Encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podolia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aragon

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/quot-struma-quot-illegal-immigration-ship