Israelis give a lot more remittances to other countries (including Iran) than you think

From Investopedia:

Remittances are funds transferred from migrants to their home country. They are the private savings of workers and families that are spent in the home country for food, clothing and other expenditures, and which drive the home economy. For many developing nations, remittances from citizens working abroad provide an import source of much-needed funds.

The World Bank keeps track of these figures  but some are only estimates. They provide a financial picture of how Israel funds, and is funded, by citizens of other countries in ways that are rarely seen. 

Not surprisingly, Israelis send far more to other countries than they receive. In 2017, Israelis sent nearly $3 billion to other countries and received almost $1 billion.

The list of countries that Israelis send remittances to includes many Arab and Muslim countries. By far the biggest recipient is Morocco, with almost $400 million in remittances from Israel. But other countries on the list are even more surprising.

Egypt received $119 million - even though there are only a handful of Jews left in Egypt. Other surprises are Yemen with $68 million, Tunisia with $66 million and Algeria with $54 million. The standard concept of remittances doesn't explain these numbers at all, and perhaps they hint to an underground black market economy between Israel and Arab nations. Further evidence for this is the $166 million sent from the Palestinian territories to Israel, this might be to get around taxes or PA restrictions on businesses.

Most surprising is the $43 million sent from Israel to Iran. Not because there aren't a lot of Israelis from Iran who want to help their relatives, but how these funds are transferred in a way that the World Bank can see them but Israeli and Iranian banking regulations seem not to. 

Oddly, no money was recorded between Iran and the Palestinian territories. But in 2017 some $340 million was somehow transferred from the US to Iran! 

Altogether, this shows that Israel is far more economically integrated into the Middle East than most people realize. 

Remittances from Israel to other countries, 2017

Country	$
France	$545,000,000
Morocco	$399,000,000
Ukraine	$207,000,000
United States	$168,000,000
Romania	$151,000,000
Egypt	$119,000,000
Belgium	$118,000,000
Poland	$104,000,000
Hungary	$103,000,000
India	$98,000,000
Germany	$97,000,000
Russia	$89,000,000
Ethiopia	$86,000,000
Yemen	$68,000,000
Tunisia	$66,000,000
Algeria	$54,000,000
Iran	$43,000,000
Iraq	$32,000,000
Argentina	$28,000,000
Austria	$28,000,000
Bulgaria	$27,000,000
Georgia	$25,000,000
Moldova	$23,000,000
United Kingdom	$19,000,000
Belarus	$18,000,000
Italy	$16,000,000
Spain	$16,000,000
Switzerland	$15,000,000
Brazil	$14,000,000
Australia	$13,000,000
Latvia	$13,000,000
South Africa	$13,000,000
Azerbaijan	$12,000,000
Denmark	$10,000,000
Kyrgyzstan	$10,000,000
Lithuania	$9,000,000
Turkey	$9,000,000
Canada	$8,000,000
Tajikistan	$8,000,000
Netherlands	$7,000,000
Colombia	$6,000,000
Mexico	$6,000,000
Sweden	$6,000,000
Peru	$5,000,000
China	$4,000,000
Syria	$4,000,000
Uruguay	$2,000,000
Kazakhstan	$1,000,000

Remittances to Israel from other countries, 2017:

Country
United States	$408,000,000
Palestinian territories	$166,000,000
Germany	$74,000,000
Canada	$71,000,000
United Kingdom	$55,000,000
Australia	$31,000,000
France	$25,000,000
Netherlands	$14,000,000
Italy	$12,000,000
Turkey	$11,000,000
Switzerland	$10,000,000
Russia	$9,000,000
South Africa	$9,000,000
Belgium	$8,000,000
Austria	$7,000,000
Spain	$7,000,000
Sweden	$7,000,000
Argentina	$5,000,000
Brazil	$5,000,000
Denmark	$5,000,000
Hungary	$5,000,000
Czech Republic	$4,000,000
Jordan	$4,000,000
Mexico	$4,000,000
Panama	$3,000,000
Chile	$2,000,000
China	$2,000,000
Ecuador	$2,000,000
Finland	$2,000,000
Norway	$2,000,000
Peru	$2,000,000
Philippines	$2,000,000
Romania	$2,000,000

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