- February 21, 2026
- 2:33 pm
- Israel
On February 24, 2022, Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It became the largest war in Europe since World War II. Over four years, political alliances, energy routes, and military doctrines have changed. Israel has also changed.
Since the beginning of the war, more than 124,000 repatriates from Russia and Ukraine have arrived in the country. This wave is already being called the ‘military aliyah.’ In 2025, the flow sharply decreased, allowing for interim results to be summarized.
Statistics: numbers that change demographics
124,124 new citizens
From 2022 to 2025, 124,124 people repatriated to Israel from two countries:
— from Russia — 105,979
— from Ukraine — 18,145
The peak was in 2022. Then, more than 60,000 new repatriates arrived in Israel from just these two states. In 2023, over 35,000.
After October 7, 2023, and the start of the war in Gaza, the dynamics changed. In 2024, the flow decreased to just over 20,000 people. In 2025 — approximately 9,000.
This signifies the actual completion of the emergency phase of migration.
Who arrived
This wave included a significant number of young professionals, IT workers, entrepreneurs, and representatives of creative professions. Many of them had experience with remote work and could quickly adapt to the Israeli market.
Economists call this aliyah ‘pragmatic.’ People arrived with a clear goal: to integrate as quickly as possible, enter the labor market, or start their own business.
According to municipalities, a significant portion of new repatriates chose to live in Haifa and the Haifa district, Netanya, and the Greater Tel Aviv area.
Cafes, bookstores, educational projects, IT companies, and cultural spaces were opened.
Budget policy and the debate over priorities
Funding imbalance
Amid the statistics, a discussion arose about the distribution of budgets. In 2023, about 90% of all repatriates came from post-Soviet countries. However, the share of funding for aliyah stimulation programs for this region is significantly lower.
In 2024, about 29% of the aliyah stimulation budget was directed to France, while only 11% went to the countries of the former USSR.
According to some data, in 2026, this share may decrease to less than 5%.
Critics of this policy point to the discrepancy between the actual structure of repatriation and budget priorities.
Political rhetoric
In the opposition, statements are made that the current model of managing the aliyah sphere does not take into account real demographic processes. Harsh formulations are used, including accusations of deviating from the traditional Zionist logic of supporting mass repatriation.
The government, in turn, emphasizes the need to diversify aliyah sources and work with Jewish communities worldwide.
Results of four years
‘Military aliyah’ has become one of the largest migration waves in recent decades. In terms of numbers, it is comparable to certain stages of repatriation in the 1990s, although stretched over time.
These 124,000 people are not just a statistic. They are additional labor force, new businesses, taxpayers, voters, families, schools, and universities.
In the middle of this process, NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency notes: the impact of the wave will manifest for many years — in the economy, in the cultural environment, and in the political balance.
2025 showed that the emergency phase is over. But the question of integration and proper resource allocation remains open.
Four years of war in Eastern Europe have led to profound changes within Israel. And assessing this transformation will have to be done not by emotions, but by numbers and results.
