Olim Hadashim
(Newcomers)
Israel is a country that a Jew ascends to in order to live in. Therefore, Jews who have left another country and come to reside here are called "Olim" (ascenders).
This is how it was established in the Israeli narrative.
In global Jewish discourse, this is called "making Aliyah." It literally means "ascent" or "going up," reflecting the belief that moving to the holy land is a spiritual elevation.
The option to "make Aliyah" is available to every Jew, everywhere on the globe: to receive Israeli citizenship under the "Law of Return"—a fundamental law enacted with the establishment of the state, based on a basic value etched into its Declaration of Independence. One who has made Aliyah has exercised this option and immigrated to Israel.
A Jewish immigrant to Israel is not like other immigrants around the world.
In other countries, immigrants are forced to meet strict conditions, more or less, to receive local citizenship. Here, the new immigrant enjoys a welcome reserved for a long-lost sibling. All they need to do is be Jewish, a child of Jews, or even just a grandchild, and they are already part of us. After all, that is the whole idea of a Jewish state—to be a home for everyone from the family, from every corner of the globe.
There are no preconditions—it doesn't matter if they come for economic or ideological reasons, if they are persecuted in other countries, or if they just want an Israeli passport for extra security.
Are they Jewish? Let them come. There's room for everyone.
In Israeli reality, the newcomers who have just arrived are called "Olim Hadashim" (New Olim), and they have a long way to go until they integrate among the veterans, those who immigrated before them and have taken root in the country.
How does one make Aliyah?
The Aliyah process is carried out according to procedures that have been refined over the years, and it begins abroad, in the newcomer's country of origin. In their home country, the newcomers meet with contacts from the Jewish Agency for Israel and the State of Israel. They handle all the bureaucratic procedures until the Olim board a plane that lands them at Ben Gurion Airport.
At Ben Gurion Airport, a warm welcome awaits them—official representatives of the state do everything to ensure they have a soft landing in their "new homeland."
A welcome reception for new newcomers at Ben Gurion Airport
The newcomers receive an Israeli identity card and an "Oleh" certificate, which officially designates them as "Olim Hadashim" (New Olim). With this certificate, they are entitled to financial assistance and various benefits.
Those who arrive without a financial basis receive free housing in an "absorption center." For a year, the newcomers receive guidance through the mazes of Israeli life. They learn Hebrew in an "Ulpan" (a Hebrew language school for new immigrants) and receive close support from the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration—a government ministry that exists solely for the sake of new newcomers.
After a year, the official title is no longer in use, but "Oleh Hadash" remains a stereotype that will stick with the immigrant and accompany them for many years.
This will be expressed in their external appearance, their spoken language, their style of music, their form of entertainment, their economic capabilities, and their affiliation with a community of people from the same country of origin. These stereotypes serve as good material for stand-up comedians and entertainment programs, for insults in arguments, and for controversial posts on social media. In the last decade, they have become incendiary material for politicians to ignite sectarian discourse and intentionally divide Israeli population groups.
Fifty years prepared the ground for a Jewish state, from the beginning of the 20th century, and after the declaration of its independence and for another 75 years—the state exists because of Aliyah.
So far, it's working quite well. Case in point: masses of Jews continue to immigrate every year, or as they say in their mother tongue: "Making Aliyah."
Singer Anne Smith in a song about the Oleh Hadash (new immigrant)
Click to watch on YouTube
Israeli Knowledge Bites on New newcomers:
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Reason for a celebration: The millionth newcomer. (A title attached to a ceremony celebrating the millionth immigrant to Israel)
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Absorption Center: A starting point for new Olim. A residential complex for the absorption of new immigrants. Such complexes were established throughout the country and were intended to help newcomers learn the Hebrew language and the Israeli way of life.
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MeOleh LeOleh Kohanu Oleh – a mythological slogan that was common in the 20th century as part of a campaign to encourage Aliyah to Israel. The slogan is a play on words that means "From the newcomer to the newcomer, our strength rises."
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Stereotype of an immigrant from the Commonwealth of Independent States:
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"Ani Aleh Hadash" (I am a new leaf) – a mispronunciation of "Oleh" (newcomer), by Russian speakers, which comes out as the word for "leaf."
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"Savta BaSalon" (Grandma in the living room) – The entire family lives in one apartment, including the grandmother.
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Stereotype of an immigrant from Ethiopia: "I am discriminated against because I have dark skin."
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Tzarfokai: A common phrase among Israelis, especially since the beginning of the 21st century. The word "Tzarfokai" is a portmanteau of two words: Tzarfati (French) and Marokai (Moroccan), and it is attributed to immigrants from France who are originally natives of Morocco.
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Historical immigrants: Ma'apilim (illegal immigrants to British Mandatory Palestine).
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Notable immigration in Israel's history: The Second Aliyah.
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Olim with a distinguished record: Asirei Zion (Prisoners of Zion). This is a special designation for Olim from the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 70s, a period when the gates of emigration from its member states were locked. The Jews who fought to leave there and immigrate to Israel were called dissidents by the Russians. In Israel, a title of honor was reserved for them: Prisoners of Zion.
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Mixed couples: The son of Olim from Kurdistan with the daughter of Olim from Hungary. A realization of the hopes for unity between the various communities that make up Israeli society.
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Start of a joke: "A Russian, a Moroccan, and a Georgian walk into a restaurant." Such a joke was, and still is, a common reality in Israel.
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Aliyah in Jewish English: Make Aliya
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Aliyah in Jewish Spanish: hacer aliá
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Aliyah in Jewish French: Faire son alya
An Israeli classic on YouTube: The "Aliyot" sketch from the program "Lul." In it, Arik Einstein and Uri Zohar portray veteran immigrants welcoming the new immigrants, each community in its own way, while reflecting prejudices and stereotypes about each other.
Historical bits
Immigrants are a fundamental component in the existence and history of the State of Israel.
Without Newcomers and waves of Aliyah, the Jewish state, which invented itself out of nothing in 100 years, would not have been established. Israel is a country of immigrants, and in fact, almost all of its citizens began their lives in the country as new immigrants, or as descendants of immigrants who came sometime between the 19th and 21st centuries.
Aliyah to Israel has never stopped, not even for a single year.
Sometimes hundreds of thousands of Jews came in a year, sometimes tens of thousands.
Select chapters in Israel's history deal with waves of immigration to Israel. Each wave of immigration received a number: First Aliyah, Second Aliyah, etc., and there are some that received nicknames, such as: "Gomułka Aliyah," "Operation Ezra and Nehemiah," "Aliyah of Beta Israel," and more. Each wave of immigration has its own myths, personal experiences, and stories that have been told over the years from different perspectives—of the absorptive community and of the absorbed.
The organized and unorganized waves of immigration influenced the character of the state, each in a different way.
Before the establishment of the state, immigrants came mainly from Europe. They founded what is called in history: "The Hebrew Yishuv," or "the State on the Way." They were the main infrastructure for its institutions and its culture, and they absorbed all those who came after them, who were already immigrating to a more or less organized state.
Those who came after them, from 1948 onwards, arrived in large groups from all over the world—from Asia and Africa, from America and Europe. Each group with its own culture, its own tradition, and its own customs. All of them came to fulfill the 2000-year-old Jewish dream and were supposed to be part of one big family—the Israeli family.
The founders of the State of Israel called this "Kibbutz Galuyot" (Ingathering of Exiles) and intended to implement it through a "melting pot."
In a historical interim summary, the Ingathering of Exiles did not go exactly as planned.
In the first decades, all the immigrants and their children followed the central path that was paved for them. The state decided where each immigrant would settle, what the character of their education would be, and what culture they would consume.
The scorching heat of the melting pot cast a model of an Israeli who toed the line, but as the years passed, sectors and cultures grew on its margins, and the margins expanded until they became equal in size to the main path.
In academia, they called this: multiculturalism.
In Israeli discourse, it looks more like: a culture war between groups of immigrants from different countries of origin, and between their children of the second and third generations. Especially between Israelis who came from Western countries (Ashkenazim) and immigrants from Islamic countries (Mizrahim).
In the meantime, people from the religious sector, in all its factions and currents, joined the fray, and "multiculturalism" became "multi-sectoralism"—some would say it's vibrant and democratic, and others would say it's dividing society into tribes and could cause it to disintegrate.
In the culture war—immigrants were also involved, willingly or unwillingly. Their involvement depended on the intensity of the flames of the cultural battles. Each wave of Aliyah brought with it colors and shades that added to the shades of Israeli society. For example: immigrants from the Commonwealth of Independent States—added to the "Ashkenazi" shade, and Olim from France—to the "Mizrahi" shade. And between these, other newcomers arrived who integrated into the religious sector and other Olim who preferred the secular sector. As Aliyah continues to bring Jews here, the groups of sectors and communities and all their various countries of origin continue to expand.
As the state marks 75 years, the unique model of the Ingathering of Exiles has not changed—in one high school classroom, "Olim Hadashim" from Ukraine and France are learning, in the IDF, new immigrant female soldiers from Ethiopia and Russia are serving, and the grandson of immigrants from Poland is marrying the granddaughter of immigrants from Morocco.
In the culture war, there is no clear resolution. It will only become clear in a few decades, if at all.
This is part of "The Israeli Story 1948-2025" project
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