400 Jews Flee Ukraine, Make Israel Their Home

This latest group follows 740 other olim in 19 flights from eight countries who arrived in the Jewish state this summer.

By: JNS and United with Israel Staff

Fleeing economic hardship and the ongoing war in their native country, some 400 new immigrants from Ukraine arrived in Israel on Wednesday and Thursday via two special flights coordinated by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ).

This is part of an influx of more than 1,000 immigrants from eight countries who have immigrated to Israel this summer through the organization.

The latest immigrants follow 740 others across 19 flights from eight countries who arrived with the Fellowship earlier this summer.

Since the 2013-2014 Maidan revolution and government crackdown, which brought violence to the streets of Kiev and was subsequently followed by a Russia-backed invasion of eastern Ukraine—heavy fighting was seen in Mariupol, Donetsk and Lugansk, the last two of which remain occupied by Russian separatists. Many Jews have been forced to leave their homes, while others have seen their homes, synagogues and communities damaged by shelling or lost people close to them.

As of 2014, at least 13,500 Jews had fled Ukraine.

Many of those who remain are elderly or still have jobs in the country, whose eastern front bore the brunt of the conflict.

Over the past year, Israel has welcomed over 28,000 new immigrants. Some 3.5 million people have made Aliyah (immigration to Israel) since 1948, making up 42 percent of the total population.

In 2018, over 70 years after the Holocaust, the world’s largest Jewish population lives in Israel. This figure represents 43 percent of world Jewry.

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