Number of UK Jews moving to Israel rising significantly, says minister
Israel’s aliyah and integration minister has said that Israel “ranks first” for British Jews and that the number of them migrating to Israel has risen significantly since 2023.
Ofir Sofer, who is in charge of attracting and integrating Jews to Israel from abroad, was speaking to Israeli radio station Kol BaRama on Monday.
Aliyah is a key concept in Israel, in which the state facilitates for Jewish people from around the world to move to the country - often by including financial incentives.
“Three years ago we were at 300 olim from England and today we are at 900,” he said, referring to Brits deciding to move to Israel.
“Today Israel ranks first in the choice of English Jews, those who make aliyah are connected to what's happening here in the country.”
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
According to the integration ministry and the Jewish Agency, 840 Jews moved from the UK to Israel last year - a 19 percent increase on 2024. The figure in 2023 was 391.
France saw a huge jump, with 3,300 people making the move, a rise of 45 percent.
Russia had the most people moving to Israel with 8,300 (though this was a drop of 57 percent from 19,500 in 2024), likely as a result of the war with Ukraine. The US was second with 4,150, up 12 percent year-on-year.
More moving back to UK than leaving
Some have attributed the increase in British Jews moving to Israel to antisemitism in the UK, particularly since 7 October 2023.
The integration ministry said earlier this month: “Over the past year, we continued to see the trend… of increased aliyah from Western countries.
“In places such as France and the UK, where antisemitism is on the rise, and in parallel to our sustained outreach, we see growing numbers choosing Israel.”
According to a survey by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) last summer, 14 percent of British Jews said there was a good likelihood they would leave for Israel within five years.
People who make aliyah are exempt from income tax on income earned abroad for 10 years, and exempt from income tax on yearly earnings in Israel below roughly £250,000 for two years. That threshold drops to around £37,500 in 2030.
JPR has previously played down the idea of an “exodus” of Jews from the UK.
Its director Jonathan Boyd said last year that typically fewer than two British Jews in every 1,000 were making aliyah each year.
He also added that data shows that for every two British Jews moving to Israel, three Israelis are moving to the UK.
In October, it was reported that record numbers of Israelis had left the country since 2020, with policymakers enjoying little success in stemming the outflow over the past five years.
A report released by the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, was alarming politicians who feared the impact of a declining Jewish population in the state.
The Knesset’s Research and Information Center (RIC) said between 2020 and 2024, some 145,900 more Israelis left the country for the long term than returned.
In 2020, 34,000 Israelis left the country for extended periods, followed by 43,400 in 2021, while 32,500 and 23,600 returned in those respective years.
There was a sharp jump in long‑term departures in 2022 and 2023, with 59,400 Israelis leaving in 2022 and 82,800 in 2023 - a surge partly linked to the start of the Gaza war in October that year.
Some 82,000 left Israel in 2024, while 69,000 left the country in 2025, Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics reported at the end of last year, a second record year of net emigration from the country.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
