Nadene Goldfoot
Making an Aliyah means going up; rising spiritually in your thinking, understanding. To Jews it means immigrating to Israel to live. Today we really go up, starting in a Jet Plane. Long ago people braved it in ships.
The "Great Return of Jews" refers to the biblical prophecies, particularly from Isaiah and Ezekiel, that foretold the Jewish people would be regathered from their scattered positions around the world to their ancient homeland, Israel.
While a previous return occurred after the Babylonian captivity, many interpretations, especially in Christian and Zionist thought, see the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and the subsequent mass migrations of Jews to the land as the fulfillment of these prophecies, marking the "Great Return".
Way back in 1121, some 300 Jews went to Palestine from France and England. Life was unbearable for them in France and England. England expelled the Jews in 1290 which lasted for 365 more years till 1656. France has expelled its Jewish population multiple times, with key expulsions occurring in 1182 (under Philip Augustus), 1306 (under Philip IV), and 1394 (under Charles VI). Jews were also targeted during World War II by the Vichy regime and the German occupiers, leading to deportations to concentration and extermination camps.
In 1267 Nahmanides and Obadiah of Bertinoro in 1488 went to Palestine and were both followed by groups of disciples; while as a result of the Spanish expulsion in 1492 (when Columbus sailed the ocean blue), many Sephardi Jews, including an important kabbalistic circle, entered the country of Palestine. In 1564 was Joseph Nasi's resettlement attempt which had brought groups from Italy.
Finally, while in 1700, 1,500 Jews arrived from Eastern Europe in response to Rabbi Judah Hasid's call. In the latter 18th century, there was a considerable number of both Hasidim and followers of the Vilna Gaon. Approximately 511 disciples of the Vilna Gaon, along with their families, followed him to Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) in the years 1808–1810, a significant aliyah movement that took place a decade after his death. While the Gaon himself promoted immigration to Israel, it was his disciples who made the journey, fulfilling his wish and bolstering the Jewish community in what was then Ottoman Palestine.
In the 30 years (1850-1880) preceding the BILU (Bet Yaakov lekhu ve-nelkhah) or "Oh house of Jacob, come ye and let us go.", it is estimated that 20,000-30,000 Jews settled in Palestine. Organized mainly and influenced by Zionism, this began in 1882.
This was the 1st Aliyah (1882-1903) which started under the attacks of Russian pogroms and was led by the BILU (It was the first modern Zionist pioneering movement founded at Kharkov by Jewish students reacting against the wave of Russian pogroms). Several branches of BILU numbered 525 members, with only a few actually going to Palestine, for it was a risky scary move.
The first group was made up of 15 men and women who reached the town of Jaffa in the summer of 1882 an the others, later that year. They experienced severe hardship. Some of them settled on the land in different colonies and others went to Jerusalem to master handicrafts. They came with their visions of social reform. Guess what! It antagonized various circles of Hoveve Zion but they received support from Jehiel Michael Pines who urged them to settle the colony of Gedera by 1884.
So, in 1882, 300 families and additional smaller groups arrived from Russia, 450 pioneers from Romania, and a few dozen from the Yemen.
There was a conference held in 1884 by Hoveve Zion to coordinate immigration which resulted in the KATTOWITZ CONFERNCE. The Turkish authorities tried to create difficulties for them and an increasing number of AGRICULTURAL SETTLEMENTS were founded
Persecutions kept happening in Europe in 1890 which sent thousands of Russian Jews to Palestine. The number got smaller during the rest of the decade. About 25,000 Jews immigrated during the 1st Aliyah, but a number subsequently also emigrated. They had gone from cold Russia to hot hot Palestine with Turkish guards.
The 2nd Aliyah (1904-1914) ended with WWI's beginning. Olim from Russia kept coming, especially from Kishinev and Homel pogroms and the failure of the 1905 revolution in Russia. Many of these newcomers were motivate by socialist idealism. 35,000-40,000 Jews entered during this period, many from eastern Europe and oriental countries. A number left the country after a time but in 1914 the Jewish population was 90,000, falling to 50,000 by the end of World War I.
The Balfour Declaration gave the impetus to the 3rd Aliyah (1919-1923) after the war. This had a youthful element that predominated with members of the HE-HALUTZ being prominent. In 1920, free immigration was permitted to persons with means of subsistence, craftsmen, those joining their families, and Talmud students whose upkeep was assured. In addition, a quota was fixed for immigrants whose maintenance was guaranteed by the Zionist Organization. These regulations were modified the following year but the principle remained. Annual immigration figures for 1920-1923 averaged 8,000 and at the end of the period the country's Jewish population was again about 90,000.
80,000 more entered during the next period of the 4th Aliyah (1924-1931). The largest majority came from 1924-1925. The main source of Jews came from Poland where Jews suffered from fiscal restrictions. Many of the newcomers were middle-class some being "capitalists", that is...owners of 500 lbs, and later 1,000 lbs. A number left, especially during the 1926 depression, but there were 190,000 Jews in Palestine in 1931.
The 5th Aliyah that divides into two periods:
(1932-1935). This was the beginning of the Nazi persecution, when 144,000 immigrants of which 62,000 came in 1935, followed by economic prosperity. During this time YOUTH ALIYAH was founded.
(1936-1940) This coincided with Arab riots and economic depression, when Aliyah was restricted by the mandatory government of Great Britain; first for economic and later for political reasons. Nevertheless, in 1936 to 1938 there were 53,000 immigrants. In 1939, the MacDonald White Paper recommended that only 75,000 more Jews be allowed admission during the next 5 years and then Aliyah would be dependent on Arab agreement. However, 36,000 immigrants entered during the 2nd phase of the Fifth Aliyah, including 15,000 "illegal" immigrants meaning they lacked government permits in 1939-1940.
The 6th Aliyah (1941-1947) This was a period of struggle against restrictions on immigration. Many tragic incidents were recorded and during the latter years many intending immigrants were interned in Cyprus. 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 in 1948. Free Jewish immigration waas immediatlaey proclaimed and the period of mass Aliyiot was inauagurated. 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 like Yemen, 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 with my husband and I making Aliyah in 1980 with 20,428 others that year, mostly Russians and since 1989 with mass Aliyah from the USSR, of course. Total immigration figures for the period 1948-1990 were running from:
1948=101,819 and 1991=175,000. Every year in-between was a 5 figured number.
Marco Rubio, Sec of State just gave a great speech about the Jews and their return and how they have lasted while the others who attacked and took the land have not existed till today. It was an amazing speech ! Found on you tube.
This was the time talked about in the Bible, the return of the Jews. "It's a powerful reminder of the Judeo-Christian values that inspired America's Founding Fathers," he wrote, a reference to the site's biblical significance. The excavated road is believed to have been traversed by visitors to Judaism's Second Temple around the time of Jesus Christ.
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