HOLY LAND BOOK - Draft

Special operations were undertaken to evacuate Jewish communities
perceived to be in serious danger, such as Operation
Magic Carpet, which evacuated almost the entire Jewish population
of Yemen, and Operation Ezra and Nehemiah, which
airlifted most of the Jews of Iraq to Israel. Nearly the entire
Jewish population of Libya left for Israel around this time.
This resulted in a period of austerity. To ensure that Israel,
which at that time had a small economy and scant foreign
currency reserves, could provide for the immigrants, a strict
regime of rationing was put in place. Measures were enacted
to ensure that all Israeli citizens had access to adequate
food, housing, and clothing. Austerity was very restrictive
until 1953; the previous year, Israel had signed a reparations
agreement with West Germany, in which the West German
government would pay Israel as compensation for the Holocaust,
due to Israel’s taking in a large number of Holocaust
survivors. The resulting influx of foreign capital boosted
the Israeli economy and allowed for the relaxing of most
restrictions. The remaining austerity measures were gradually
phased out throughout the following years. When new
immigrants arrived in Israel, they were sprayed with DDT, underwent
a medical examination, were inoculated against diseases,
and were given food. The earliest immigrants received
desirable homes in established urban areas, but most of the
immigrants were then sent to transit camps, known initially
as immigrant camps, and later as Ma’abarot. Many were also
initially housed in reception centers in military barracks. By
the end of 1950, some 93,000 immigrants were housed in 62
transit camps. The Israeli government’s goal was to get the immigrants
out of refugee housing and into society as speedily
as possible. Immigrants who left the camps received a ration
card, an identity card, a mattress, a pair of blankets, and $21
to $36 in cash. They settled either in established cities and
towns, or in kibbutzim and moshavim.Many others stayed in
the Ma’abarot as they were gradually turned into permanent
cities and towns, which became known as development
towns, or were absorbed as neighborhoods of the towns they
were attached to, and the tin dwellings were replaced with
permanent housing.
In the early 1950s, the immigration wave subsided, and emigration
increased; ultimately, some 10% of the immigrants
would leave Israel for other countries in the following years.
In 1953, immigration to Israel averaged 1,200 a month, while
emigration averaged 700 a month. The end of the period of
mass immigration gave Israel a critical opportunity to more
rapidly absorb the immigrants still living in transit camps. The
Israeli government built 260 new settlements and 78,000
housing units to accommodate the immigrants, and by the
mid-1950s, almost all were in permanent housing. The last
ma’abarot closed in 1963.
In the mid-1950s, a smaller wave of immigration began from
North African countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria,
and Egypt, many of which were in the midst of nationalist
struggles. Between 1952 and 1964, some 240,000 North
African Jews came to Israel. During this period, smaller but
significant numbers arrived from other places such as Europe,
Iran, India, and Latin America. In particular, a small immigration
wave from Poland, known as the “Gomulka Aliyah”, took
place during this period. From 1956 to 1960, Poland permitted
free Jewish emigration, and some 50,000 Polish Jews
immigrated to Israel.
Since the founding of the State of Israel, the Jewish Agency
for Israel was mandated as the organization responsible for
aliyah in the diaspora.
The Holy Land - The Essential Guide to Living in Israel 133