Emigration to Israel of Italian Jews to double this year

Roughly 300 Italian Jews are expected to move to Israel this year, according to Italo-Israeli demographer Sergio Della Pergola.

The Jewish Agency has confirmed that the estimate, which marks a huge rise in the number of Italian Jews emigrating to Israel, was accurate. In 2013, 152 Italian Jews moved to Israel, according to the agency, with the most common reason for making the decision to make the move being due to the Italian ongoing plight of the Italian economy. Many now believe they can live a more fruitful life in Israel.

A number of Italian Jewish leaders have also said the economic woes of the European country, such as the difficulty of finding employment, has led to many young people deciding the time was right to emigrate. The economic downturn is said to have hit Rome’s Jewish community particularly hard as many of the capital’s estimated 12,000 Jews runs small businesses or are shopkeepers.

Some 12 per cent of people of working age in Italy are now jobless, although the figure among young people is a worrying 40 per cent. There are currently around 24,000 members registered in the Italian Jewish community.