Absorption Minister Sopha Landwer and Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky kicked off a new 32-million-shekel program on Sunday to encourage immigration from the former Soviet Union during this time of international financial crisis. Half of the program is being funded by the state; the other half by the agency.
The program consists of housing and other grants, as well as employment assistance for 850 families and 200 individuals between the ages of 18 and 55 who come in the next few months to communities that have expressed an interest in receiving new immigrants.
Landwer said that if the participants in the pilot program succeed, they will encourage others to come on Aliyah (immigration to Israel) and the project will be the basis for future absorption programs if it's successful. Sharansky said that the assistance will give the new olim (immigrants) mental and fiscal peace of mind during their first year to concentrate on learning Hebrew and on employment, which are the central factors in their success during this initial period.