How Wars bring Waves of Aliyah into Israel

 By Howard Flower ICEJ Aliyah Director

The history of Jewish migration to Israel is inextricably tied to conflict—both as a catalyst for flight and as a reaffirmation of Zionism’s promise of refuge.

1. Introduction

Since its founding in 1948, Israel has been a haven for Jews fleeing persecution, war, and instability. But the very conflicts that threaten Jewish communities abroad—or those that embroil Israel itself—often accelerate the waves of immigration known as Aliyah (Hebrew for "ascent"). From the ashes of World War II to the current war following Hamas’s October 7th massacre, global and regional wars have repeatedly reshaped Jewish demographics, driving survivors and seekers of safety toward the Jewish state. Each crisis underscores a recurring theme: when the world feels unsafe for Jews, Israel becomes not just a homeland but a necessity.

2. World War II and the Holocaust Survivors 

The most devastating war in modern history also set the stage for the largest wave of Jewish migration to Israel. The Holocaust annihilated six million Jews, leaving survivors displaced across Europe. Many found themselves in Allied-run displaced persons (DP) camps, unwelcome in their former homes.

Despite British restrictions on Jewish immigration to Mandatory Palestine, underground networks like the Bricha ("escape") movement smuggled survivors in. After Israel’s establishment in 1948, over 300,000 Holocaust survivors arrived, comprising nearly half of the new state’s Jewish population. Their arrival was not just a rescue—it was a political statement. Israel became the answer to Jewish statelessness; a lesson seared into Jewish consciousness by war.

3. The 1948 War of Independence

"The State of Israel will not be established by the UN resolution, but by the waves of Jewish immigration that will break upon its shores."- David Ben-Gurion Israel’s First Prime Minister 1948, as hundreds of thousands of Holocaust survivors and Mizrahi Jews fled to Israel.

Israel’s birth was baptized in violence. As soon as David Ben-Gurion declared independence, five Arab armies invaded. The war displaced over 700,000 Palestinians—but it also triggered a mass Jewish exodus from Arab states.

 "What is happening in Palestine today is not a war of conquest. It is a war of survival. The Jews are fighting for their right to exist, and no decent human being can deny them that."- Harry S. Truman

Pogroms erupted in Iraq, Libya, Yemen, and Syria, where centuries-old Jewish communities faced expulsion. Between 1948 and 1951, nearly 700,000 Jews from the Middle East and North Africa fled to Israel. The Iraqi Jewish community, for instance, was airlifted in Operation Ezra and Nehemiah (1950-51) after Baghdad stripped Jews of citizenship. These refugees, known as Mizrahim, transformed Israel’s cultural fabric, turning it from a predominantly Ashkenazi state into a Middle Eastern mosaic.

4. The 1956 Suez Crisis

The Suez War—a brief but pivotal conflict involving Israel, Britain, France, and Egypt—did not spark a major wave of Aliyah, but it reinforced Israel’s role as a sanctuary for Jews under threat.

"The last Jews of Damascus arrived with nothing but the clothes they wore. Their resilience shamed the dictators who tried to erase them." Ehud Barak

In Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser’s regime escalated persecution of Jews, confiscating property and expelling thousands. Nearly 25,000 Egyptian Jews fled, with most resettling in Israel. Meanwhile, in Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union’s suppression of the Hungarian Revolution (coinciding with Suez) reminded Jews behind the Iron Curtain of their precarious position. Though large-scale Soviet Aliyah would come later, the seeds were planted.

“From Ethiopia to Iraq, if Jews are in danger, we must bring them—not tomorrow, not next year, but yesterday." – Golda Meir

5. The 1967 Six-Day War

"Israel is the only nation whose immigrants are not strangers but returning natives—every Jew who arrives is a restoration of history." – Abba Eban 1968 Abba Solomon Meir Eban was a South African-born Israeli diplomat and politician, and a scholar of the Arabic and Hebrew languages. During his career, he served as Foreign Affairs Minister, Education Minister, and Deputy Prime Minister of Israel.

The war that reshaped the Middle East also redefined global Jewish consciousness. Israel’s stunning victory over Egypt, Syria, and Jordan tripled its territory and emboldened Jewish pride worldwide. But for Jews in the Arab world, the war was a catastrophe.

"Every tank captured in the Sinai, every plane downed in the Golan, is meaningless if we do not fill this land with Jews. The Arabs have oil, but we have our people—and each immigrant is another brick in our wall of survival." Golda Meir 1969

Riots and state-sponsored persecution erupted from Morocco to Iraq. Libya expelled its remaining Jews, Tunisia’s Jewish community dwindled. In Poland, a Soviet-backed antisemitic purge forced out thousands of Polish Jews, many of whom went to Israel. Between 1967 and the early 1970s, over 200,000 Jews from the Soviet Union, North Africa, and Eastern Europe arrived. The war proved that even in victory, Israel’s existence remained precarious—and for many Jews, there was no alternative.

6. The 1973 Yom Kippur War

If 1967 made Jews feel invincible, 1973 was a brutal awakening. Egypt and Syria’s surprise attack shattered Israel’s sense of security, leading to soul-searching and, paradoxically, renewed Zionist commitment.

After the war, many young American Jews visited Israel as volunteers but did not stay. Golda Meir publicly scolded them in a 1974 speech at the Hebrew University: "You came to harvest oranges and feel heroic for a summer. But heroes don’t leave when the shooting stops. If you want to ‘save Israel,’ stay and build it!"

The war did not immediately trigger mass Aliyah, but it deepened the connection between Diaspora Jews and Israel. American Jews, in particular, mobilized politically and financially, recognizing that Israel’s survival was not guaranteed. Meanwhile, Soviet Jews—already facing state-sponsored antisemitism—saw Israel as their only lifeline. By the mid-1970s, détente allowed some to leave, and over 150,000 Soviet Jews arrived in Israel by the decade’s end.

7. The Cold War and Soviet Jewry

The Cold War was not a conventional war, but for Soviet Jews, it was a daily struggle. Denied religious freedom and labeled traitors, they became Zionists in secret. The 1980s saw a surge in activism, with protests like the “Let My People Go” campaign pressuring the USSR to open its gates.

 "The Iron Curtain fell, and with it, the last barriers to freedom for Soviet Jews. Our exodus was not just migration—it was redemption."- Natan Sharansky (Soviet Refusenik & Israeli Politician)

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the floodgates opened. Over one million Russian-speaking Jews immigrated to Israel in the 1990s, transforming its economy, politics, and culture. This wave was not driven by war but by the fear that post-Soviet chaos could bring violence—and the certainty that Israel would take them in.

8. The 2014 Ukraine War 

Russia’s annexation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014 marked the first major European war of the 21st century—and another turning point for Aliyah. Ukraine’s Jewish community, one of Europe’s largest, faced economic collapse and rising nationalism.

Between 2014 and 2022, over 30,000 Ukrainian Jews moved to Israel, many under the Jewish Agency’s expedited programs. The war reminded Jews that Europe, despite its philo-Semitic rhetoric, was still a place where borders could shift overnight.

Volodymyr Zelensky (Ukrainian President, Jewish himself):

"I stay to fight for Ukraine, but I understand why my fellow Jews choose Israel.- Volodymyr Zelensky Ukrainian (Jewish) President.

9. The 2014 Gaza War (Operation Protective Edge) 

Unlike wars that drove Diaspora Jews to Israel, the 2014 Gaza conflict had a different effect: it strengthened the resolve of those already there. Rocket fire from Hamas prompted global Jewish solidarity, but Aliyah numbers did not spike. Instead, the war reinforced a growing trend—Western Jews, particularly from France, were arriving due to rising antisemitism.

France’s Jewish community, the largest in Europe, had endured deadly attacks (like the 2012 Toulouse school shooting). By 2015, over 7,000 French Jews moved to Israel, a 25-year high. For them, war was not just in Gaza—it was on their streets.

"When terror struck Paris, we told French Jews: ‘Your home is open.’ Israel is not just a country—it is an insurance policy for every Jew."- Shimon Peres Israeli President

10. The October 7th War and the Current Multi-Front Conflict

Hamas’s massacre of October 7th, 2023—the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust—has triggered a new reckoning. Over 1,200 were killed, hundreds taken hostage, and Israel launched a devastating war in Gaza while facing attacks from Hezbollah, Yemen, and Iranian proxies.

In the months since interest in Aliyah has surged. Antisemitic incidents in the West have spiked by hundreds of percentage points, with Jews in Europe and America questioning their future. The Jewish Agency reported a 500% increase in French applications and record interest from the U.S., UK, and South Africa. Meanwhile, over 20,000 Russian Jews arrived in 2023, fleeing Putin’s mobilization and rising authoritarianism.

This war, like those before it, has reinforced a truth: when Jews are targeted, Israel is the only guarantee.

11. Conclusion: War, Survival, and the Unbroken Chain

For 75 years, Israel has been both a refuge and a battlefield. Its wars—whether defensive, existential, or geopolitical—have consistently driven Jews into its arms. Each wave of Aliyah carries the echoes of past traumas: the Holocaust, the pogroms, the expulsions.

Key Waves of Aliyah Linked to Wars:

1948–1951: 700,000+ Jews fled Arab states post-Israeli independence.

1967–1970s: Soviet Jews began to leave after Israel’s victory.

1980s–1990s: Ethiopian Jews airlifted during civil wars (Operations Moses/Solomon).

1945-1989 The Cold War

1989-1999: 1 million+ USSR Jews arrived post-Cold War.

2010s–2020s: Rising European Aliyah due to antisemitism

"Every time Jews faced persecution—from the pogroms to the Holocaust to Arab expulsions—the land of Israel became their sanctuary.” - The late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks British Jewish Leader.

But there is also defiance in this pattern. However violent the world, Jews continue to choose survival—and Israel remains the ultimate act of Jewish self-determination. In the words of the late historian Walter Laqueur: “Zionism was born out of the Jewish question, but it also became the answer.” As long as wars rage, that answer will endure.