Throughout the world, when a man changes his place of domicile to another country and becomes a citizen, he is called an immigrant. Israel accepts this term for movements between other countries but not for itself. When somebody comes to Israel to settle he is not an immigrant - hi is an Oleh, somebody who has ascended, and thus immigration to Israel is called Aliyah, ascension.
The situation is similar with regard to people who leave Israel to live in other countries. They are called Yoredim, those who have gone down, and the act of leaving is Yeridah, going down. Both these terms, Aliyah and Yeridah, carry enormous emotional overtones, because Aliyah is the life"s blood of the nation and Yeridah is cnsidered by many to be synonymous with treachery.
There has been Aliyah to Israel for more than a century. Aliyah means faith in the future of the country; it increases the population and even brings full employments. As opposed to other countries where immigrants are welcomed apprehensively because they may cause unemployment, it has been proven that in Israel there is a definite correlation between Aliyah and economic growth, due to the massive development of new residential areas, roads, industry and agriculture needed to absorb the new Olim.
Until the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Aliyah was at the mercy of foreign rulers who not infrequently closed the gates of the country and thus brought about the phenomenon known as " Aliyah B" i.e., illegal immigration, as opposed to "Aliyah A," which was official and legal but very limited in scope. Between 1934 amd 1948, more than 100,000 Olim entered the country "illegally," some of them on dark beaches by night and others by deceiving immigration officials at the borders.
The herday of Aliyah was in the first years of the state. Within 3 years the 650,000 Jews who were in Israel when it was established absorbed 700,000 new Olim. In 1949 alone, approximately 250,000 arrived ! Later on, the rate stabilized to a few tens of thousand a year.
In its first 30 years, some 2,000,000 Olim have come to Israel which fact is, without doubt, one of its major achievements. At the same time, Aliyah is not without its problems which stem, mainly, from the difficulties involved in absorbing the Olim. Israel, unlike other countries, continues to look after its immigrants after they have arrived; it promises them housing and employment and makes every effort to integrate them into Israeli society as quickly as possible. In the past it was thought that some of the difficulties stem from the fact that each wave of Olim relates to the next wave with indifference and even contempt. Another problem is the integration of different ethnic groups. Since 1948, Israel has absorbed Olim from more than 100 different countries, each with its own mentality and distinctive traditions developed over generations. The objective of fusing these different groups into one homogeneous nation is taking longer than most Israelis expected 10 or 20 years ago. Yeridah also poses a problem for there is no more negative an influence on Aliyah than Olim (and even worse,native born Israelis) who leave the country.
Aliyah is the apple of Israel"s eye. Perhaps the best expression of this is the popular slogan: "From Oleh to Oleh our strength increases (= Oley in Hebrew)."
The situation is similar with regard to people who leave Israel to live in other countries. They are called Yoredim, those who have gone down, and the act of leaving is Yeridah, going down. Both these terms, Aliyah and Yeridah, carry enormous emotional overtones, because Aliyah is the life"s blood of the nation and Yeridah is cnsidered by many to be synonymous with treachery.
There has been Aliyah to Israel for more than a century. Aliyah means faith in the future of the country; it increases the population and even brings full employments. As opposed to other countries where immigrants are welcomed apprehensively because they may cause unemployment, it has been proven that in Israel there is a definite correlation between Aliyah and economic growth, due to the massive development of new residential areas, roads, industry and agriculture needed to absorb the new Olim.
Until the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Aliyah was at the mercy of foreign rulers who not infrequently closed the gates of the country and thus brought about the phenomenon known as " Aliyah B" i.e., illegal immigration, as opposed to "Aliyah A," which was official and legal but very limited in scope. Between 1934 amd 1948, more than 100,000 Olim entered the country "illegally," some of them on dark beaches by night and others by deceiving immigration officials at the borders.
The herday of Aliyah was in the first years of the state. Within 3 years the 650,000 Jews who were in Israel when it was established absorbed 700,000 new Olim. In 1949 alone, approximately 250,000 arrived ! Later on, the rate stabilized to a few tens of thousand a year.
In its first 30 years, some 2,000,000 Olim have come to Israel which fact is, without doubt, one of its major achievements. At the same time, Aliyah is not without its problems which stem, mainly, from the difficulties involved in absorbing the Olim. Israel, unlike other countries, continues to look after its immigrants after they have arrived; it promises them housing and employment and makes every effort to integrate them into Israeli society as quickly as possible. In the past it was thought that some of the difficulties stem from the fact that each wave of Olim relates to the next wave with indifference and even contempt. Another problem is the integration of different ethnic groups. Since 1948, Israel has absorbed Olim from more than 100 different countries, each with its own mentality and distinctive traditions developed over generations. The objective of fusing these different groups into one homogeneous nation is taking longer than most Israelis expected 10 or 20 years ago. Yeridah also poses a problem for there is no more negative an influence on Aliyah than Olim (and even worse,native born Israelis) who leave the country.
Aliyah is the apple of Israel"s eye. Perhaps the best expression of this is the popular slogan: "From Oleh to Oleh our strength increases (= Oley in Hebrew)."
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