| Group: | Czechs in Israel |
| Population: | Czech-born residents 50,220 (2001 Census) 90,000 (2009 ONS estimate) |
| Popplace: | Jerusalem, Gush Dan and either places from Israel, especially Kfar Masaryk |
| Langs: | Yiddish, Czech, Hebrew, Czenglish |
| Rels: | Judaism |
The Czechs in Israel are people who have immigrated from the Czech lands, mostly from the former Czechoslovakia, as well as their descendants. Czechs in Israel are predominantly Ashkenazi Jews who made aliyah during the 20th century.
In 1968, Israel relaxed immigration for refugees from Soviet-occupied Czechoslovakia, both Jewish and non-Jewish. Interfaith families and couples were granted the same rights and responsibilities as other immigrants.[1]
The Czech-Israeli journalist Ruth Bondy has written a book exploring the lives of Czech-born Jews in Israel. Bondy has written that Czech Jews in Israel have developed a reputation for being "square" and law-abiding.[2]
In the 1940s and 1950s, Jewish immigrants from Czechoslovakia, many of them survivors of The Holocaust, took part in founding twenty communities in Israel.
In addition, a considerable number of people of Czech and Slovak origin settled in existing Israeli towns and cities. Israeli people of Czech descent include:
The "Little Prague" restaurant chain in Israel serves traditional Czech cuisine.[3]