Western aliyah is surging even as total immigration falls. The real 2025 numbers, Smotrich's million-olim plan, and a new VC fund betting on immigrant founders.
Western Aliyah Surges: The Numbers Behind the Push
Immigration to Israel from Western countries is experiencing a significant surge, even as overall immigration numbers have decreased. This trend has captured the attention of both government officials and private investors. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich aims to attract one million North American and European immigrants within a decade, while a new venture capital fund is already investing in immigrant entrepreneurs before their arrival.
Overall Immigration Trends: Down, Except From the West
Israel's Aliyah and Integration Ministry and the Jewish Agency reported that between 21,900 and 22,270 new immigrants arrived in 2025 from 105 countries. This represents a decrease of approximately one-third from 2024's total of roughly 32,000 immigrants, according to year-end reporting from both organizations. The decline was primarily due to a 57% year-over-year drop in arrivals from Russia, which nonetheless remained the largest single source country with about 8,300 immigrants.
When excluding Russia, immigration from Western regions shows a different pattern. The United States sent 4,150 olim in 2025, marking a 12% increase over 2024 and the highest annual US figure in four years, as reported by Nefesh B'Nefesh and cited by Israel365 News. France saw an estimated 45% increase to approximately 3,300 arrivals. The United Kingdom increased for a second consecutive year to 840, up 19%, and Canada grew 51% to 447.
Combined, Western Europe and North America accounted for over 9,000 new immigrants in 2025. This nearly doubles the 4,954 who arrived from these regions in 2023, representing an 85% increase over two years. This growth indicates strong demand for aliyah and wealth migration from these areas.
The demand extends beyond actual arrivals. Aliyah applications from North Americans rose approximately 50% between 2022 and 2025, from 8,943 to 13,389. Globally, about 30,000 Jews opened immigration files in 2025, though not all resulted in an immediate move. Approximately one-third of all 2025 arrivals were between 18 and 35 years old. The International Medical Aliyah program facilitated the immigration of 93 physicians from North America, contributing to the 541 physicians who immigrated globally through the program last year.
What Is Smotrich's One-Million Olim Plan?
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is developing a national plan to attract one million Jewish immigrants from North America and Europe to Israel over the next decade. Smotrich outlined his vision in an August 17, 2026 interview with The Jerusalem Post, stating he had presented an initial outline to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu six weeks prior. He argued that aliyah has received insufficient attention compared to other government priorities, asserting, "we now need to take aliyah and deal with it at the same scale, the same investment, the same intensity with which we dealt with security and settlement."
A core component of Smotrich's plan involves large-scale public construction, mirroring programs from the 1990s under Ariel Sharon which built tens of thousands of housing units for immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Smotrich acknowledged his ministry's professional staff oppose this strategy. However, he contended that without state-built housing at scale, aliyah remains accessible only to immigrants with significant existing wealth. He highlighted the affordability gap, noting the disparity between property values in places like South Africa or the Paris suburbs and what they would purchase in Israel today.
Legislative Changes for Diaspora Communities
The legislative aspect of the plan proposes exempting community absorption projects from Israel's standard land tender process. Current regulations, based on equal-access rules, prevent the pre-allocation of buildings or entire neighborhoods to specific incoming communities. Smotrich seeks to modify this to allow communities to arrive with their rabbi, school, and communal institutions already planned alongside a developer.
French Jewry was cited as a model case due to the strength of its communal institutions. Smotrich emphasized the goal is to integrate these neighborhoods within existing Israeli cities, not create separate enclaves. He presented the initiative with both economic and ideological justifications. He noted that much of Israel's growth in recent decades followed the immigration of approximately one million people in the 1990s, and that current labor shortages are a primary constraint on further economic expansion.
Three Policies Supporting Aliyah
Smotrich identified three measures already implemented during his term. The first is a five-year tax exemption for new immigrants, offering up to NIS 1 million per spouse on income earned in Israel. This directly reduces the financial burden on new arrivals.
The second measure is a reform of venture capital and hedge fund taxation. Developed over a year in consultation with the industry, including major US fund managers, this reform aims to make Israeli tax rates competitive with those in New York and Florida. Smotrich noted this reform is awaiting its second and third Knesset readings, attributing the delay to the election cycle and the relevant committee chairman.
The third policy involves advance recognition of professional diplomas, allowing certification to be completed abroad before immigration rather than after arrival. Smotrich stated that 1,600 doctors are arriving from North America this summer under this new process. He framed this as essential for replacing a generation of physicians who immigrated from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s and are now retiring. When questioned about the government's immigration efforts, Smotrich admitted they were insufficient, drawing an unfavorable comparison to the government's parallel efforts in security and settlement.
What Is Aliyah Ventures Betting On?
While Smotrich addresses legislative and fiscal changes, a new private fund, Aliyah Ventures, is pursuing a related strategy. Founded by Ron Alpar, a former McKinsey senior engagement manager, Aliyah Ventures exclusively invests in immigrant founders who are building technology companies in Israel, including entrepreneurs who are still abroad but planning to relocate. This information was reported by Israel News Pulse on August 21, 2026.
The fund provides checks ranging from $250,000 to $500,000 at the pre-seed and seed stages, with selective follow-on funding as companies develop. Ideal applicants typically seek $500,000 to $1 million in total financing. Beyond capital, Aliyah Ventures offers strategic advice and international introductions. The fund also assists founders in navigating Israeli grants, tax benefits, and immigration incentives, along with practical logistics such as office space, business-level Hebrew, and the bureaucratic, healthcare, and banking hurdles associated with relocating a family and a company simultaneously. English is the fund's working language, and its published criteria do not require applicants to be Jewish or to qualify under Israel's Law of Return.
Funding Criteria: Beyond Traditional Networks
Aliyah Ventures addresses a common challenge for new immigrants: the lack of established networks. Israel's technology sector has historically relied heavily on connections formed within elite military intelligence units, particularly Unit 8200. These networks are crucial for finding early employees, investors, and customers. New immigrants typically arrive without these connections.
Aliyah Ventures explicitly informs prospective founders that an elite army unit background or an existing Israeli network are not prerequisites. Instead, the fund prioritizes commercial experience and global market ambitions. The fund lists three portfolio companies: Klearly, a payments platform for European hospitality founded by Amsterdam-born Sam Koekoek, which closed a Series A round involving PayPal Ventures in early 2026. Conspectus, an alternative-data and intelligence company, was founded by New Jersey-born Jennifer Korn. Bayes, a prediction-market and decision-making technology company, is associated with Buenos Aires-born Benny Attar. Aliyah Ventures is a new fund, and its total capital under management, limited partners, and standard equity terms are not publicly disclosed. Its team page is listed as "coming soon," meaning the three listed investments cannot yet be independently verified against external sources.
The fund's underlying thesis extends beyond aliyah. Research led by Stanford Graduate School of Business professor Ilya Strebulaev, who examined the founders of hundreds of US unicorns, found a substantial share were born outside the United States, with Israel among the leading countries of origin. Aliyah Ventures is effectively betting on the reverse: exploring what happens when immigrant founders from other countries establish their companies in Israel. This inversion aligns with broader trends in Israel's venture capital and exits market, which has funded cybersecurity exits like the one involving SoftBank advisor Yossi Cohen.
Can Smotrich's Numbers Be Achieved?
Smotrich's target of one million immigrants puts current figures into perspective. Western Europe and North American aliyah combined reached just over 9,000 people in 2025. To achieve one million olim from these regions over ten years, an average of 100,000 people per year is required, approximately eleven times the current pace. This calculation does not account for the possibility that not every year will sustain 2025's growth rates, nor that some of that growth was driven by factors such as rising antisemitism and war-related solidarity, rather than durable, repeatable conditions. Smotrich's own framing acknowledges this gap: his plan views the current trajectory as a starting point that necessitates state-scale investment in housing and legislative changes, not a self-sustaining trend.
This is where initiatives like Aliyah Ventures and policies such as diploma recognition and the pending venture capital tax reform become critical. No single measure can move the aggregate number close to Smotrich's target. However, each addresses a specific friction point observed in the immigration data: capital and community for founders, housing affordability for families, competitive tax treatment for fund managers, and faster professional recognition for physicians. Whether these combined efforts will attract one million people over a decade remains an open question that current data cannot yet definitively answer.
The Path Forward for Western Aliyah
Two distinct forces are converging on the same objective from different parts of the system. Smotrich is focused on removing state-level barriers, including land tenders, housing supply, and tax competitiveness, which prevent aliyah from reaching diaspora communities with resources but no existing foothold in Israel. Aliyah Ventures, conversely, is addressing a private-sector obstacle that deters ambitious immigrant founders from entering Israel's aliyah pipeline: the lack of capital and networks for individuals not already integrated into the system. The 2025 numbers confirm that demand from the West is real and growing. The challenge now is whether the supply side, encompassing housing, legislation, and capital, can scale sufficiently to meet a target as ambitious as Smotrich's.
FAQ
Is aliyah actually increasing right now?
Overall aliyah fell by approximately one-third in 2025 to about 21,900 to 22,270 people, primarily due to a significant decrease in Russian immigration. However, aliyah from Western Europe and North America increased sharply: the US grew 12%, France an estimated 45%, the UK 19%, and Canada 51%.
What is Bezalel Smotrich's aliyah plan?
Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is developing a ten-year plan to bring one million Jewish immigrants from North America and Europe. This plan combines large-scale state housing construction with legislation that would exempt diaspora community absorption projects from standard land tender rules.
What is Aliyah Ventures?
Aliyah Ventures is a venture capital fund founded by former McKinsey executive Ron Alpar. It invests $250,000 to $500,000 in immigrant founders who are building technology companies in Israel, including entrepreneurs who are still abroad but planning to relocate.
Do You Need Military Connections for Funding?
No. Aliyah Ventures explicitly states that applicants do not need an elite military unit background or existing Israeli network connections. This approach counters Israel's traditional reliance on networks like Unit 8200 for technology sector success.
Can Aliyah Reach Smotrich's One-Million Target?
Current Western aliyah totals approximately 9,000 people annually. Reaching one million immigrants over ten years would require about 100,000 people per year, roughly eleven times the current rate. Smotrich's plan acknowledges this disparity by pairing the target with substantial state investment in housing and legislative changes, rather than relying solely on existing trends.