“All the times we were here as tourists were a lot of fun, but you don’t know what it’s like until you put your skin in here. Once you do that jump of hope, you start seeing life in a new way, through Israeli glasses,” says Shira Denise Kilemnic Mac.
Argentine Jews making aliyah to Israel increased in 2020 - South Florida Sun-Sentinel sun-sentinel.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sun-sentinel.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Immigrants from Brazil and Argentina arrive in Israel, March 1, 2021. (Avishag Shar Yashuv/IFCJ via JTA)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina Travel restrictions and lockdowns due to the global pandemic didn’t stop Argentine Jews from making the move to Israel last year, as aliyah rose in 2020 by 26 percent.
Some 567 Argentines moved to the Jewish state last year, up from 460 in 2019. In the same period, worldwide aliyah dropped 40%, to 20,000 from 33,247, according to data from the Jewish Agency for Israel.
It’s a trend that appears to be continuing, as Jews in Argentina are increasingly taking Hebrew courses with an eye toward moving to Israel.
By JTA | March 16, 2021
Travel restrictions and lockdowns due to the global pandemic didn’t stop Argentinian Jews from making the move to Israel –
aliyah rose in 2020 by 26 percent.
Some 567 Argentines moved to the Jewish state last year, up from 460 in 2019. In the same period, aliyah dropped 40 percent worldwide, to 20,000 from 33,247, according to data from the Jewish Agency for Israel.
It’s a trend that appears to be continuing, as Jews in Argentina are increasingly taking Hebrew courses with an eye toward making aliyah.
The World Zionist Organization’s classes, managed by Israel’s Department of Aliyah Promotion, had a nearly 50 percent increase in participation in 2020 over the previous year, to 1,300 students from 900. And reconfigured online courses launched this year to manage the high demand are proving popular, with 2,000 students.