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Communities

Find your community’s corner of Israel.

Landing where people already share your language, your background or your way of life makes the first year far softer. Israel holds many communities, and this is a growing index of where each actually concentrates, along two axes: where you come from, and how you live. Drawn from real data, confidence-rated and honest about what we cannot source.

Where you come from

Language, country and heritage communities.

Russian-speaking (from the former Soviet Union)

Around 1.3 million Russian speakers, roughly 15% of the country.

On the ground

Haifa’s Hadar HaCarmel functions as a documented Russian-community district, with Russian on bilingual signage there and in Bat Yam.

On the data: No CBS city ranking by FSU origin was found, so this is assembled from Ministry data via ynet and city reporting. Treat "largest" claims as directional.

French (from France)

A large and recent wave, concentrated on the coast and in Jerusalem.

On the ground

The streets off Netanya’s Kikar HaAtzmaut are a documented French quarter: creperies, French bakeries, French estate agents and café life in French.

Latin American, Spanish and Portuguese

The weakest data of the five, so this is a guide to organised presence, not a population ranking.

On the ground

Kehila Latina in Jerusalem runs Spanish-language communal programming; La OLEI has 23 branches nationwide.

On the data: No CBS city ranking was found. La OLEI’s branch network is the honest proxy for where an organised hispanophone community exists.

Anglo (English-speaking: US, UK, South Africa, Australia)

Well-documented "bubbles" where English is the street language.

  • Jerusalem (Baka, Katamon, German Colony, Talbieh)

    Well documented

    The largest US-olim concentration is in south Jerusalem; the top North American destination.

    Anglos in Israel (Jewish Action)

  • Beit Shemesh (Ramat Beit Shemesh Aleph and Gimmel)

    Well documented

    A large English-speaking population, tens of thousands of NBN olim.

    NBN Beit Shemesh guide

  • Ra’anana (especially the north)

    Well documented

    A largely English-speaking population, popular with South African, British and American olim.

    NBN Ra’anana guide

  • Modiin (Buchman)

    Well documented

    A major Anglo family destination, with British olim clustering here.

    Anglos in Israel

  • Efrat and Gush Etzion, Netanya, Zichron Yaakov

    Directional

    Long-standing and smaller Anglo communities.

    As Anglo immigration grows

On the ground

Nefesh B’Nefesh maintains per-community guides (shuls, schools, contacts) that function as the Anglo infrastructure layer.

Ethiopian (Beta Israel)

Roughly 170,000 Israelis of Ethiopian descent, with clear city concentrations.

On the data: Concentrations are well documented, though exact per-city shares move over time.

Mizrahi and Sephardi (including North African)

The plurality of Israeli Jews, strongest in the periphery and the development towns. Many French olim are North African Sephardi and land here or in Ashdod.

  • Ashdod

    Directional

    Israel’s largest Moroccan community, and a French North African hub.

    As the French community grows

  • Netivot, Ofakim, Sderot, Yeruham

    Directional

    Southern development towns, heartlands of Mizrahi and Sephardi communities.

    Mizrahi Jews

  • Beit She’an, Kiryat Gat, Kiryat Malachi

    Directional

    Further development-town centres.

    Mizrahi Jews

On the ground

Ashdod holds Israel’s largest Moroccan community, and the southern development towns are heartlands of Mizrahi and Sephardi life.

On the data: A broad cultural grouping, not one origin, so it is anchored to the towns where it is most concentrated rather than a headcount.

How you live

Religious identity. Israeli categories do not map cleanly onto diaspora labels, so treat these as starting points, not verdicts.

Haredi (ultra-Orthodox)

The best-documented of the five, anchored to the CBS-based statistical report.

On the ground

Geula in Jerusalem and Rabbi Akiva Street in Bnei Brak are the dense Haredi commercial hearts.

On the data: Shares are from the IDI/CBS report (2023 data). The strongest data set here.

Dati Leumi (religious Zionist)

Modern Orthodox and national-religious. A set of documented strongholds, not a ranking.

On the data: Israeli religious categories do not map cleanly onto diaspora labels; treat these as a starting point, not a verdict.

Traditional (masorti)

The broad middle of Israeli Jewish life: keeping tradition without strict Orthodoxy. The largest single group, and the least geographically concentrated.

On the data: By its nature this is the mainstream across much of the country, so it does not map to a short list of towns the way the others do. We name the pattern rather than pin it.

Secular (chiloni)

Documented secular strongholds. A set, not a ranking.

These are starting points, not verdicts, and a community is only one factor next to work, schools and budget. Compare places or build your plan.