2025: Sharp Decline in Israeli Immigration Despite Western Arrivals Surging

Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration and the Jewish Agency for Israel reported on December 29, 2025 that immigration to Israel fell sharply in 2025 even as arrivals from Western nations rose.

The agencies put the Total Immigrants figure at approximately 21,900 new arrivals in 2025, a 34% drop from 2024. The decline was driven largely by a sharp fall in immigration from Russia, which dropped 57% to roughly 8,300, down from 19,500 in 2024.

Key takeaways

• Total immigrants in 2025: ~21,900 (down 34% vs. 2024).
• Russian arrivals: ~8,300 (down 57% vs. 2024; 2024 figure 19,500).
• Western arrivals rose, led by the United States and France.
• One-third of 2025 immigrants were aged 18–35, a younger profile than prior years.

Country-by-country snapshot

• Russian Aliyah remained the single largest country source in 2025 by raw numbers, but far below the 2024 level.
• Western inflows (U.S., France, U.K., Australia and others) offset part of the Russian decline but did not prevent the overall drop in arrivals.

Demographics and timing

• Youth profile: One-third of all 2025 immigrants were aged 18–35. The agencies described this as a younger profile than previous years but did not provide earlier age breakdowns for comparison.
• Seasonality: Nefesh B’Nefesh reported its busiest months in 23 years during the summer of 2025, describing an influx of young professionals and families. The organization did not provide a monthly numeric breakdown.

Drivers cited by the Ministry and the Jewish Agency

The ministry and agency framed 2025 as a year marked by a major shift in origins—a steep drop from Russia along with increased movement from Western nations. They attributed the Western rise to several overlapping factors:

• Rising global antisemitism and related security concerns in Diaspora communities.
• War solidarity and a sense of standing with Israel during its multi-front regional conflict.
• Policy developments abroad that altered push/pull calculations for some potential immigrants.
• A reported “reactivated identity” among many Western immigrants, according to the Jewish Agency and Nefesh B’Nefesh.

The agencies specifically cited two violent incidents as major “push” factors for Diaspora communities in 2025: a Manchester synagogue attack on Yom Kippur and a Hanukkah massacre in Sydney, Australia. They did not provide additional numerical data about those incidents in the summary.

U.S. policy context and quoted guidance

The agencies highlighted U.S. policy developments in 2025 as part of the broader environment influencing migration decisions.

• On August 19, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued policy alert PA-2025-16, directing officers to treat support for antisemitic ideologies as a critical factor in discretionary decisions.

“USCIS considers factors involving circumstances where an alien has endorsed, promoted, supported, or otherwise espoused the views of. groups who support or promote antisemitic terrorism, antisemitic terrorist organizations, and antisemitic ideologies, to be an overwhelmingly negative factor in USCIS discretionary analyses.”

• On November 27, 2025, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow spoke about security concerns and strict vetting standards:

“My primary responsibility is to ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible. This includes an assessment of where they are coming from and why. The Trump administration takes the opposite approach [of previous years]. Effective immediately, I am issuing new policy guidance that authorizes USCIS officers to consider country-specific factors as significant negative factors.”

• On December 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued memorandum PM-602-0192, pausing and re-reviewing benefit requests from 19 “high-risk” countries to ensure a “comprehensive re-review” for national security reasons.

The agencies said these U.S. policy shifts, including increased ideological vetting, formed part of the environment shaping some decisions to make Aliyah. They described the USCIS guidance as reflecting an “Israel First” stance on ideological vetting and said it led to heightened review of social media and political expressions regarding Israel. No case numbers tied to denials were provided.

Role of immigrant organizations

• Nefesh B’Nefesh and other immigrant-focused organizations were cited as active facilitators of the Western movement, particularly during the summer surge.
• Nefesh B’Nefesh’s reported busiest months in 23 years were noted but not broken down by month or by precise headcounts in the agencies’ summary.

Data limitations and caveats

• The agencies released topline figures as of December 29, 2025, and did not provide a detailed month-to-month breakdown in the summary.
• They did not give exact regional share percentages in the topline data nor provide survey counts for motivations (e.g., solidarity vs. security).
• The meaning and approval rate of “Aliyah file openings” (Australia) were not further defined; the agencies did not state how many file openings resulted in approved immigration in 2025.

Agencies’ framing and significance

• The ministry and Jewish Agency described the Western increase as notable despite a domestic war in Israel and called the shift highly significant for demographers (no specific demographers were named).
• Overall, 2025 combined a substantial reduction in arrivals from Russia with notable increases from several Western countries, producing an overall fall of about one-third in total new immigrants.

Sources and where to find official material

• Israeli Ministry of Aliyah and Integration — official portal: Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration
• USCIS policy alerts and news releases: USCIS policy alerts and news releases
• U.S. Department of State press briefings 2025: U.S. Department of State press briefings 2025

(Agency figures and statements referenced above were provided by Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration and the Jewish Agency as of December 29, 2025.)