Ashkelon joined the section 11 income tax credit list for 2026 at 7%, with an income ceiling of NIS 146,640, worth up to NIS 10,265 a year per earner. It has a 46-minute direct train to Tel Aviv HaShalom with 16 departures within half an hour of the fastest. Family rent is 26.1% below the national average (CBS) and 2024 bagrut eligibility is 89.9%, 13 points above national. It qualifies for the larger olim rent aid.
Its share of all olim fell from 2.96% in 2015 to 2019 to 1.87% in 2023 to 2025, from about 918 a year (4,592 in five years) to about 637 a year (1,910 in three).
With Nahariya it is the only town on the cheap-rent, tax-credit and schools shortlist where Anglo and French arrivals meet the community test as well as Russian speakers (98 Anglo and 98 French olim in 2023 to 2025).
What this does not show
Ashkelon was added to the tax list because it borders the region hit on 7 October 2023. Security is the obvious reason families hesitate, and this atlas does not measure it. Arrivals in 2026 should check how the credit interacts with the 2026 olim tax exemption before counting on it.
What to do
If Ashkelon is on your list, weigh security for yourself. Before you count on the tax credit, check how it interacts with the 2026 olim tax exemption.
Method
Olim per year are period totals from the Ministry record-level file divided by the years in each period (agg.py). Tax credit from chapter H of the 2026 booklet; screens from screens.py.
Sources
- [1]Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, new immigrants by year: record-level open file (data.gov.il). One row per oleh, first absorbing locality and country of origin; years 2015 to 2025; 2025 file modified 23 February 2026. Machine-readable record: https://data.gov.il/api/3/action/package_show?id=new-olim-by-yearsAccessed 15 October 2026
- [2]Israel Tax Authority, salary withholding booklet from January 2026 (updated April 2026), chapter H. Section 11 localities with rate and income ceiling. Read from a copy posted by a tax firm: the gov.il path for the 2026 file returned 404Accessed 15 October 2026
- [3]Ministry of Transport, national public transport GTFS feed (Israel Railways). Feed published 2026-10-14; fastest journey departing 06:00 to 09:00 on Tue 20 Oct 2026Accessed 15 October 2026
- [4]Central Bureau of Statistics, Table 4.9: average monthly rent by city and rooms. Q2 2026; 3.5 to 4 rooms; national average NIS 5,453.8Accessed 15 October 2026
- [5]Ministry of Education, Shkifut: Ashkelon, education picture 2024. Bagrut eligibility, school year 2024; national 76.6%Accessed 15 October 2026
- [6]Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, official district list for the larger rent aid (1,115 localities)Accessed 15 October 2026