Israeli Americans

Israeli Americans are Americans who hold Israeli citizenship, either through ancestry or Aliyah, or who are Americans of Israeli national origin, who are born in the United States. While the great majority of them are Jewish, they also reflect the religious beliefs of Israel's Arab-Israeli minority, including Christians, Druze, and Muslims, as well as other Jewish and non-Jewish ethnic communities in Israel.

The first wave of Israeli emigrants to the United States arrived immediately after Israel's independence from the British Empire in May 1948. According to US Immigration data, 21,376 Israeli immigrants came to the United States during the 1950s, and 30,911 Israeli immigrants came to the United States during the 1960s, which is often referred to as the "first wave" of Israeli immigration to the United States, when 52,278 Israelis emigrated to the United States. A second wave of moderate immigration proceeded, resulting in a total of 36,306 Israelis arriving between 1970 and 1979, 43,669 arriving between 1980 and 1989, 41,340 arriving between 1990 and 1999, and 54,801 arriving between 2000 and 2009. Since 2010, the number of Israelis migrating to the United States has been steady at roughly 4,000 per year. It is estimated that there are approximately 140,000 immigrants in the United States who are descendants of Israeli citizens. However, it is widely believed that there are many more Israeli immigrants in the United States, a phenomenon known as overestimation of co-ethnic population that is common to many ethnic communities.

Israeli immigration to the United States increased dramatically throughout the 1980s and 1990s, owing to a variety of factors, including the continuation of the war with the Palestinians, high taxes, and a scarcity of homes in their native country of Israel. Apart from that, the acquisition in Israel of features of American culture (particularly fashion and entertainment) has resulted in many Israelis wishing they could benefit from the economic and educational prospects available in the United States.