By: David R. Parsons, ICEJ VP & Senior Spokesman

Rather than bringing Aliyah to a halt, the Corona crisis appears to be producing a surge in interest among Jews worldwide to move to Israel. In fact, Israeli and Jewish Agency officials are estimating that as many as 90,000 Jews will immigrate to Israel over the next 18 months. That would be nearly double the average rate of Jewish return of the past decade.

There are several factors driving the Aliyah wave at present, but the main reason is the sense that Israel has done well so far in handling the Corona pandemic.

Even among the world’s Jewish population alone, the difference between Israel and the Diaspora communities is quite stark. Israel is home to some 6.6 million Jews and yet it has seen fewer than 300 deaths so far due to the Coronavirus, whereas an estimated 10,000 Jews have died from the virus to date in Europe and North America, out of a Jewish population of around 7 million.

Thus, Israel is increasingly viewed as having a better health system than many other Western countries with significant Jewish communities.

Israel’s economy also is seen as stronger and more able to recover from the impact of the pandemic. Many Israeli workers placed on temporary layoffs in March and April are back at work, although unemployment does remain abnormally high and incoming tourism is still blocked.

Israel also has shown its unique national resiliency over recent months. This is a people who have become accustomed, unfortunately, to facing a myriad of crises over the decades – especially wars and natural disasters – and they know how to collectively pull together and respond.

Despite almost 18 months of political deadlock and three failed elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took firm command of the nation’s battle against the “unseen enemy” of COVID-19 and even counselled other national leaders on how to deal with the global health menace. Polls instantly gave him a decisive boost for truly taking the lead in confronting the viral threat.

Finally, there are growing concerns among Jews worldwide about the sharp rise in antisemitism over recent months, as many are falsely blaming the Jewish people for the Corona pandemic as well as for the racial tensions rocking the United States and many other nations right now.

Thus, there has been an dramatic increase in the number of Jews applying to make Aliyah in just about every Jewish community abroad – from Sydney to St. Petersburg to São Paulo.