Immigration to Israel from the United States is up sharply from last year, but total immigration figures are down. Deputy Immigration Minister Yuli Edelstein (Yisrael B'Aliyah) reported that he had reached a "historic agreement" with Prime Minister Sharon yesterday that would grant "immigration basket" benefits not only to new olim (immigrants) from the former Soviet Union and South America, but also to those who arrive from elsewhere, including the U.S. and Western Europe.
"For some reason," Edelstein told Arutz-7 today, "there is a feeling here that immigrants from western countries are all rich and don't need any help. The fact is, however, that when a private organization [Nefesh B'Nefesh] took the initiative this year to raise money for young couples and families from the United States to pay back some loans, it was able to bring in a full planeload of over 400 new immigrants. Our decision is a step in the same direction." He said that the basket of benefits for new immigrants reaches a total of 35,000-50,000 shekels (approx. $7,400-10,500), depending on the size of the family. "We know that the former Soviet Union is not a bottomless pit for new immigrants," he said, "and that if Prime Minister Sharon's goal of a million new olim over the next few years is to become a reality, we have to look elsewhere - and North America and Europe are the likely places."
Arutz-7 will host representatives of Aloh Naaleh, a new organization dedicated to building aliyah motivation among North American Jewry, this coming Thursday. Mr. David Hollander, a founder of the group, said that among the group's projects are visits by English-speaking olim - both rabbis and laypeople - to North American Jewish communities to give first-hand accounts of their experiences and the importance of aliyah. Also planned or already underway are aliyah groups in different communities, courses in Hebrew, and short weekly articles on "Torah and Israel" disseminated in synagogue newsletters. For more information, send e-mail to "aloh-naaleh@aaci.org.il".
"For some reason," Edelstein told Arutz-7 today, "there is a feeling here that immigrants from western countries are all rich and don't need any help. The fact is, however, that when a private organization [Nefesh B'Nefesh] took the initiative this year to raise money for young couples and families from the United States to pay back some loans, it was able to bring in a full planeload of over 400 new immigrants. Our decision is a step in the same direction." He said that the basket of benefits for new immigrants reaches a total of 35,000-50,000 shekels (approx. $7,400-10,500), depending on the size of the family. "We know that the former Soviet Union is not a bottomless pit for new immigrants," he said, "and that if Prime Minister Sharon's goal of a million new olim over the next few years is to become a reality, we have to look elsewhere - and North America and Europe are the likely places."
Arutz-7 will host representatives of Aloh Naaleh, a new organization dedicated to building aliyah motivation among North American Jewry, this coming Thursday. Mr. David Hollander, a founder of the group, said that among the group's projects are visits by English-speaking olim - both rabbis and laypeople - to North American Jewish communities to give first-hand accounts of their experiences and the importance of aliyah. Also planned or already underway are aliyah groups in different communities, courses in Hebrew, and short weekly articles on "Torah and Israel" disseminated in synagogue newsletters. For more information, send e-mail to "aloh-naaleh@aaci.org.il".