Immigration to Israel rises - comparatively

It is doubtful if the number of immigrants exceeds the number of emigrants, which is generally in the neighborhood of about 17,000. The higher numbers were due in part to world recession but also to rising anti-Semitism in some countries, and the to efforts of Nefesh Be-Nefesh and the Jewish agency, as well as the relatively calm security situation. However, the immigration is nowhere near the 100,000 a year that Israel was getting from the former USSR in the 90s.

 

Israel is really not a bad place to live, but a lot of Jews prefer to live in places where they can complain about anti-Semitism.

 

Ami Isseroff

 

Last update - 02:50 28/12/2009       
Immigration to Israel hits 16,244, highest jump in 10 years
By Raphael Ahren
 

 

For the first time in 10 years the number of immigrants to Israel has risen this year, according to Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky and Immigration and Absorption Minister Sofa Landver.

 

In 2009, 16,244 people immigrated - a 17 percent jump over last year's 13,859.

 

The number of immigrants from English-speaking countries has also increased by 17 percent this year, from 4,511 to 5,294, said Eli Cohen, the director-general of the agency's aliyah department.
 
"After 10 years during which we saw less and less immigrants, now we see an increase," said Sharansky yesterday at a press conference at the Jewish Agency's Jerusalem headquarters. "This year there were more immigrants from the former Soviet Union, more immigrants from the United States, from Britain and from South Africa - there's an increase from almost everywhere."

 

The largest number of new immigrants still comes from the former Soviet Union, where the numbers increased by 21 percent from 5,867 to 7,120.

 

Sharansky and Landver attributed the climb to what the Jewish Agency calls its "Red Carpet" program, which includes so-called aliyah fairs for new arrivals during which they are assisted with their initial absorption, such as opening bank accounts, choosing health care providers, etc.

 

The numbers presented at yesterday's press conference include four planeloads of immigrants who are scheduled to arrive in Israel this week, but exclude Ethiopians who moved to Israel this year, as they did not immigrate according to the Law of Return but based on a special law, called the Law of Entrance.