Australian Jews in Israel

Israel Defense Forces - Ground Forces Officers Course Graduation Ceremony

New immigrants are required to undertake a form of mandatory service upon arrival in Israel, which is usually military service in the Israel Defense Force. The requirements for new immigrants, regarding military service, applies only to those between the ages of 18 and 27. Immigrants who arrive in Israel at the age of 28 or older are exempt from completing any form of mandatory service for the state. Additionally, if an immigrant is under the age of 18, the same requirements apply to them as they would to an Israeli-born citizen, regardless of their family status. Male immigrants who are 18 or 19, upon arrival in Israel, serve for 32 months if they are single and 24 months if they are married, regardless if they have children or not. Male immigrants who are 20 or 21 years old, upon arrival, serve 24 months if they are single and 18 months if they are married. If they are between the ages of 22 and 27, they must serve 18 months in non-combat service and 24 months in combat service. All female immigrants, regardless of their family status, serve 24 months at the age of 18 or 19, 12 months at the age of 20 or 21 and 12 months in non-combat service and 24 months in combat service if they are between the ages of 22 and 27.[6]

The students and teachers of a Hebrew language course in Gan Shmuel.

New immigrants in Israel are entitled to various benefits, provided by the Israeli government, in order to make the immigration process more manageable.[14] The Israeli government provides new immigrants, who are making Aliyah from various parts of the Jewish diaspora, with a free flight to Israel and upon arrival to Ben Gurion Airport they are given a free ride to their first destination.[14] New immigrants are entitled to bring in up to 50,000 NIS (Israeli currency) without reporting the amount to a customs officer upon arrival. Additionally, they can bring in appliances and home goods, for up to 3 years, without paying tax.[14] The Ministry of Aliyah and Integration provides new immigrants with financial assistance, through monthly installments, for 6 months. The first installment is received, as a cash payment, upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, while the remaining installments are transferred to the immigrant's bank account.[14] New immigrants in Israel are entitled to take part in a full time Hebrew language course, free of charge.[14] Newly immigrated parents are entitled to a reduction in daycare fees, for up to 2 years, if they fall within the eligible criteria list. If both parents are enrolled in the Hebrew language course or registered as unemployed and seeking a job, they are entitled to a daycare fee reduction. They are also entitled to this reduction if one parent is taking part in the Hebrew language course and the other parents is registered as unemployed and seeking a job.[14] For young immigrants, university tuition is subsidized, however, the extent of the subsidy depends on their age. Young immigrants are entitled to a subsidy for their preparation course, up until the age of 23; their Bachelor's course, up until the age of 27; and their Master's course, up until the age of 30.[14] In order to help new immigrants, tax rates are reduced when purchasing property or a vehicle as well as when income tax is paid. The Ministry of Housing also assists in rent subsidy for up to 5 years from the date an immigrant receives their 'Oleh' status.[14]

The most dominant group amongst the Australian immigrants (known as olim in the Jewish community) were the Australian-born Jews, who made up 81% of the surveyed population. The remaining percentage revealed that they were born in other parts of the world before migrating to Australia.[15]

More than half of the participants, involved in the survey, listed that they previously lived in Melbourne before they immigrated to Israel. However, Sydney was also home to a significant number of Australian Jews who moved to Israel. [15]

The participants who completed the survey were between the ages of 18 and 80. The most dominant age range was 18-39, followed closely by the age range of 40-59. [15]

The percentage of female immigrants was slightly larger than male immigrants; however, more females participated in the survey, which must be taken into account.[15]

Jews in Australia define themselves differently to those in Israel due to the variation in denominational terminology. In Australia, Jews are more widely spread across eight denominations of Judaism while Israeli citizens find themselves divided into four denominations. Australian Jews choose to either associate with no denomination or associate as being Conservative, Reform, Strictly Orthodox, Modern Orthodox, Traditional, Secular or Mixed Religion. Israeli Jews are either Religious (Modern Hebrew: דָתִי), Secular (Modern Hebrew: חִלּוֹנִי), Traditional (Modern Hebrew: מָסוֹרתִי) or Reform.[15]

A survey conducted in 2018-2019 prompted participants to evaluate the influential effect of various factors and how they did or didn't impact their final decision to leave Australia and permanently move to Israel. They were asked to rate the extent to which these factors influenced their final decision and were given three options to choose from for each factor - to a great extent; to a small extent; or not at all. These influential factors included both religious and secular aspects of life.[15]

Research found that there was a strong correlation between Jewish education and immigration to Israel.[15] Overall results demonstrated that 70% of all new immigrants to Israel had received some form of Jewish education at day-school; nearly 45% of those who spent more than a year visiting Israel were educated at a Jewish day-school; and 25% of individuals, who visited Israel for less than a year, had experienced a Jewish education of some form.[15]

Only a small percentage of participants revealed that they had no difficulties with the language upon arrival to Israel, while a large percentage admitted to experiencing difficulties with the language.[15]

New immigrants either reside in the city, a small town or on a kibbutz. Statistics show that currently 58% live in the city; 27% live in a small town; and 15% live on a kibbutz; however, upon arrival to Israel 78% lived in the city, while 5% lived in a small town and 12% lived on a kibbutz.[15]

Majority of the participants revealed that they were either living comfortably or getting along, while a small percentage claimed they were poor.[15]