| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Approximately 1,300,000 Russian-speakers[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Bat Yam and many other places | |
| Languages | |
| Russian, Hebrew, Russian Sign Language,[2] Shassi | |
| Religion | |
| Judaism, also Russian Orthodox Church, non-religious, Secular Judaism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Russians, Russian Jews, Ashkenazi Jews |
Russians in Israel or Russian Israelis are post-Soviet Russian citizens who immigrate to Israel and their descendants. As of 2022, Russian-speakers number around 1,300,000 people, or 15% of the Israeli population.[3][4] This number, however, also includes immigrants from the Soviet Union and post-Soviet states other than Russia proper.[1][5]
Some of the immigrants are not considered Jewish according to Halacha, which defines a Jew if their mother is Jewish or they formally converted to Judaism. According to the Law of Return, anybody with at least one Jewish grandparent is eligible to become an Israeli citizen. Because of the Soviet Union's policy of state atheism and Russia's historically large Jewish population, there were some mixed marriages between Russian Jews and ethnic Russians during the Communist period. Some Russian Jews are Israelis only by marriage, as the Law of Return also allows the non-Jewish spouses of Jews to claim Israeli citizenship. A few Russian Israelis are instead descended from Russian Subbotnik families, who have migrated to Israel over the past century.[6]
Most Russians in Israel have full Israeli citizenship. Israeli Russians are involved in the country's economy on all levels.
In addition to the languages that emerged and developed in Israel, at least two languages were brought by immigrants and are still used in Israel today: Russian Sign Language (Yoel 2007) brought by immigrants from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s...