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Doha – A new study by the Pew Research Center has found that Morocco is the fourth largest origin country for Jewish migrants worldwide, with 200,000 Moroccan Jews now living outside their country of birth.
The vast majority – 160,000 – have moved to Israel, making this the second most common migration route for Jews globally.
“As of 2020, about 1.5 million Jews born elsewhere reside in Israel, making up just over half of all Jewish migrants worldwide,” the report states.
“Top sources of Jewish migrants in Israel include former Soviet republics such as Ukraine (170,000) and Russia (150,000), with Morocco also high on the list at 160,000,” it adds.
The report, titled “The Religious Composition of the World’s Migrants,” analyzed United Nations data to examine global Jewish migration patterns as of 2020.
It found that while Jews make up just 0.2% of the world’s population, they account for a disproportionate 1% of all international migrants.
According to the research, Jews are more likely than other religious groups to live outside their birth country, with 20% of the global Jewish population having migrated across borders compared to just 6% of Christians and 4% of Muslims.
In the decades before and especially after Israel’s independence in 1948, substantial numbers of Jews relocated from Morocco and other Middle Eastern and North African countries to the newly established Jewish state.
This mass emigration has dramatically reduced the once vibrant Moroccan Jewish community, which today numbers only a few thousand.
Israel, which grants Jews the right to immediately claim citizenship, is by far the top destination for Jewish migrants, home to over half of the world’s 3 million Jewish migrants. The United States hosts the second largest number at 400,000.
Read also: In Shadow of Gaza War, Mimouna Still Unites Jews and Muslims in Morocco
While Israel is the leading destination, it is also the top origin country, with 270,000 Israeli-born Jews now living elsewhere. The next largest sources of Jewish migrants are Russia (240,000), Ukraine (240,000), and other former Soviet republics.
Together these account for 28% of Jewish migrants worldwide, with many having departed for Israel in the decade following the USSR’s collapse.
The global population of Jewish migrants grew by 28% between 1990 and 2020, a smaller increase than seen among Hindus or the religiously unaffiliated.
The report found that Jewish migrants tend to follow established routes, moving from countries with shrinking Jewish populations to those like Israel, the US and the UK where Jewish communities are thriving.
On average, Jewish migrants travel about 2,300 miles from their origin to destination countries.
