The Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel warned that skyrocketing levels of antisemitism across the West could lead to as many as 1 million Jews relocating to Israel in search of refuge.

“Over the next few years, we anticipate a million new immigrants due to the increasing antisemitism in Jewish communities around the world,” Major General Doron Almog told the Israeli news outlet N12. “The Jewish community, still reeling from the trauma, will forge ahead in building the State of Israel with unparalleled vigor and creativity. We aspire to become a beacon of hope and inspiration for the nations of the world.”

Rates of antisemitism have spiked across Western nations since Hamas’s invasion of Israel on October 7, which claimed the lives of nearly 1,000 civilians. A recent survey published by the World Zionist Organization (WZO), the Jewish Agency, as well as the Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry found a 500 percent jump in antisemitic incidents compared with the same period in 2022. The report also found a 400 percent increase in online antisemitic comments across social-media platforms.

Since the October attacks, immigration inquiries from Jews in North America jumped 81 percent and nearly 150 percent in France. Israel’s aliyah and integration minister Ofir Sofer called the situation a “global emergency” in an earlier statement from the agency. “The reports I have been receiving are very concerning. Our goal now is to strengthen the ties between us and support the communities that stand with Israel.”

“Precisely now, we are seeing a surge in the number of people interested in aliyah,” Sofer continued using the Hebrew word for immigration to Israel, which literally means to ascend. “The waves of unity and Jewish solidarity are bolstering the aliyah movement and strengthening the State of Israel.”

“The State of Israel awaits everyone.”

The projection would shatter the 70,000 new arrivals that emigrated to Israel in 2022, many fleeing the ongoing Russia–Ukraine War.