Two thirds of Anglo and French olim think coronavirus will increase aliyah

64% of French and English speaking immigrants to Israel believe that the coronavirus pandemic "will significantly increase" immigration to Israel.

By DONNA RACHEL EDMUNDS
Jews making aliyah from Ukraine arrive on International Fellowship of Christians and Jews sponsored flight (photo credit: ARIK SHRAGA)
Jews making aliyah from Ukraine arrive on International Fellowship of Christians and Jews sponsored flight
(photo credit: ARIK SHRAGA)
A majority of Anglophone and Francophone Israelis believe that the coronavirus epidemic will increase immigration to Israel, an i24NEWS poll found. The respondents also believed overwhelmingly that Israel's success in containing the virus was down to the country's leadership doing a good job.
Some 64% of French- and English-speaking immigrants to Israel believe that the coronavirus pandemic "will significantly increase" immigration to Israel, with French respondents more likely to think so - 67% of French speakers thought immigration would increase significantly, against 56% of English speakers who thought the same.
Last week, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews reported a 20% rise in aliyah (immigration to Israel) requests, while applications from New Jersey increased by 46.5%, and from New York increased by 50% in 2020, both areas hit particularly hard by COVID-19 in the US.
The poll of 464 Israelis over the age of 18 conversely found that 27% overall thought the pandemic would "have no effect," a result which was much more even, as 27% of French speakers felt this way, against 26% of English speakers. Meanwhile, 18% of the English speakers didn't know either way, while just 6% of the French speakers were unsure.
This may be a reflection of overall trends in making Aliyah from the two countries. Although the rates of olim arriving from France have dropped significantly in recent years, 2,723 olim arrived from France in 2018, a decrease of 23% from the previous year.  By comparison, just 523 olim arrived from Britain in the same year, 5% down on 2017. 3,052 olim arrived from the US in 2018, and 347 from Canada.
The poll, conducted by Shlomo Filber and Zuriel Sharon of Direct Research Institute Polls on May 24, specifically quizzed Israelis who had immigrated to Israel, most within the last decade, or their children in order to gain insight into their experiences as immigrants and their familiarity with the diaspora.
Respondents were also asked what the main reason was behind Israel's success in fighting the coronavirus. The country has recorded just 16,771 cases to date, of which 14,486 have recovered and 281 were fatalities.
More than half of respondents - 56% overall - said Israel's "leadership managed the crisis correctly," with English speakers more likely to think so, 63% against 53% of French speakers who thought the same.
The remainder of respondents were split between four causes: 14% overall thought it was down to "Israel's technical and military capabilities," 11%  who said it was because of "the discipline of Israeli citizens, compared to other countries," 13% who thought it had more to do with "unrelated factors, such as age or weather," and 6% overall who didn't know.
French speakers were more likely to chalk it up to technical capabilities, with 17% of Francophones opting for this, against 6% of Anglophones, while English speakers were more likely to attribute it to the discipline of Israelis (17% to 10% of French speakers). 


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