What is established
Meaning and history
Aliyah means 'going up'. Modern waves began in the 1880s. After 1948 hundreds of thousands arrived from Europe, the Middle East and North Africa; around a million came from the former Soviet Union after 1989, and Ethiopian Jews arrived in operations such as Moses (1984) and Solomon (1991).
The Law of Return
Israel's Law of Return (1950) gives every Jew the right to immigrate; since 1970 this includes children and grandchildren of Jews and their spouses.
Where people differ
- Many Christians see the return as fulfilment of prophecies such as Jeremiah 16:14–16 and Ezekiel 36–37; others are more cautious about linking specific events to prophecy.
- Palestinians connect the same history to the displacement of 1948 (the Nakba); both experiences are part of the story.
Biblical reflection
Jeremiah speaks of a return greater than the Exodus. Whatever our reading of prophecy, helping people who flee danger and seek a home reflects God's own heart.
Scripture: Jeremiah 16:14–16; Ezekiel 36:24; 37:1–14; Isaiah 43:5–6
Questions readers ask
What does aliyah mean?
Hebrew for 'ascent': the immigration of Jews to the land of Israel.
Sources
Related explainers
God's covenant with IsraelThe Israeli-Palestinian conflict: a timelineAntisemitism and the churchAll explainers