Following their expulsion and after the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans in 70 CE, the majority of the Jews were dispersed throughout the world. The Jewish national ideal, however, was never abandoned. There was a steady, if small, flow of Jews to Eretz Yisrael, particularly since the 13th century, reaching large proportions in the 19th and early 20th centuries with the advent of modern Zionism. Jewish immigration to Palestine continued, despite excruciating restrictions under Turkish and later British rule, during which entry for Jews trapped in Nazi-ruled Europe was denied.

But, as unhindered immigration was made possible after the establishment of Israel in 1948, Jews poured into the fledgling State. Within three years, the population of the country had doubled to 1.4 million. Portrayed in a novel, the scene would perhaps have been more orderly, with less shouting, shoving and trauma.

Despite the chaos from this crush of new immigrants, daily life in the infant State bared the best in individuals. In the face of hardships, these newcomers showed unparalleled patience and a steadfast hope in the future. The immigrants included survivors of the Holocaust from displaced person’s camps in Germany, Austria and Italy; one third of the Jews of Romania; a majority of the communities of Bulgaria, Turkey and Poland, and nearly the entire Jewish populations of Libya, Yemen and Iraq.

From 1948, while still fighting for survival against the attacking Arab armies, Israel had to confront the very complex issue of an Arab minority within the Jewish State. Integration of Arab citizenry into the national ethos remains one of Israel’s most pressing and complicated challenges. Many Western immigrants picked up the gauntlet, and together with native-born Jewish and Arab Israelis, are determined to carve out a modus vivendi for co-existence and mutual enrichment. After all, is not a nation judged by its treatment of minorities, and are not we as Jews painfully aware of this?

Leaps and Bounds

During the ’50s and early ’60s, hundreds of thousands of immigrants arrived from Morocco, Tunisia and Poland, Hungary and Egypt. Awakened Jewish identity and a desire to be part  of the Jewish nation-building experiment in the post-1967 era spurred thousands of idealistic Western Jews to make aliyah. Immigration from the Eastern Bloc progressed sporadically until the massive exodus following the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. The impact of this aliyah is as yet unmeasured. It is comparable to the US welcoming 50 million or the UK welcoming 12 million new citizens over the course of a decade.

In a show of unsurpassed drama, Israel engineered two large airlifts from Ethiopia. In 1991, Israel literally paid to stop a war in Africa for 36 hours in order to bring over 14,000 Jews to Israel.

Creating a National Identity

As half a million European Jews poured into reception centers and transit camps in Israel half a century ago, they met in an unexpected confluence with two of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Operation Magic Carpet brought 49,000 Yemenite Jews and Operation Ezra and Nehemiah brought 100,000 Iraqi Jews to Israel in 1949 and 1950. Long before multi-culturalism gained popularity, this clash of cultures rocked the foundations of the young state. Each pointed the finger at the other - 'These people are Jews?!' However, before questions could be asked, these newcomers, regardless of their origins, needed housing, food, medical care, jobs and education.

As for the European immigrants, many had come from Zionist homes and most were comfortable with the reigning Western values of the young Israel. They had endured hardships which ranged from harsh to indescribable, and were ready to build a new Jewish life for themselves and their families, despite the unfamiliar climate and Levantine atmosphere. The early immigrants from Asia and the Arab world tended to be traditional and viewed their return to Zion in a more spiritual sense. The national institutions and civic culture were foreign to them, but their physical surroundings and foods were more familiar. Differences not withstanding, a sense of common destiny was reinforced daily through education, media, military service and the harsh realities of early Statehood.

Embarking on this huge absorption project for such a tiny, poor, embattled country took a single-mindedness and persistence that perhaps no other nation-building enterprise can boast. But Israel was in a demographic battle with its Arab neighbors, as well as bent on proving itself a safe haven for the Jewish masses. The young State needed the immigrants - and the immigrants needed a home.

Drawing on the sturdy belief in the oneness of the Jewish people, the national ideology of Zionism sought to relegate ethnic identities of the Jewish immigrant populations to mere anecdotes. This meant that absorption had to address more than the practicalities of housing, clothing, medicine and employment, but emotional and cultural needs as well. And it is fair to say that the project is a success. While from time to time, 50-some years later, the ethnic demon raises its head, the over five million Jewish Israelis claim a robust shared identity, language and memory.

After a short lull in immigration in the mid-1950s, the flow began anew. With each fresh wave of immigrants the Jewish Agency, working with the State of Israel, further improved its absorption services. Together they provided support to hundreds of thousands of new Israelis. Supplying the enormity of required resources - practical and professional - for successful absorption, demands steadfast commitment and cooperation from the Israeli government, the Jewish Agency, Diaspora Jews as well as Israelis. 

In addition, the success of absorption depends to a large degree on the creative initiatives of individuals, many of them new immigrants themselves - the doctors who introduced the concept of family clinics and public health; the thousands of teachers, nurses, social workers and employment counselors who devoted themselves to welcoming the newcomers with an everchanging gallery of new ideas. 

Prior to and during the 20th century, ardent Zionists from the countries of plenty-the US, Canada, Latin America, UK and Western Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand -made aliyah with an idealistic euphoria balanced with a clenchedteeth determination to change the world. And they did .

These hundreds of thousands of individuals with a dream of living a more meaningful life in a national Jewish home made an impact in every aspect of life in Israel. Their immigrant associations became models of community responsibility and volunteerism. Their conspicuous involvement in the fields of public health, education, and social work have had a direct impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of immigrants from before the founding of the State until today.

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