Dx_
22-11-03, 19:44
760,000 Israelis have left the Promised Land
By Gideon Alon
Colette Avital, chair of the Knesset Immigration
Absorption Committee, called a meeting yesterday
to protest the Finance Ministry's intent to cancel
financial benefits to Israelis returning from
abroad after a stay of two years or longer.
But the statistics about
Israelis abroad presented by
Nadia Prigat, in charge of
returning Israelis at the
Immigrant Absorption
Ministry, "stole the show."
Prigat told the committee
that, based on estimates by
the Central Bureau of
Statistics, 760,000 Israelis
are living abroad - 600,000 adults and 160,000
children. According to Prigat, some 60 percent
of them live in North America, 25 percent in
Europe, and 15 percent elsewhere. Prigat had no
statistics as to the number of Israelis who had
left during the three years of the intifada,
but she noted that an estimated 550,000
Israelis (400,000 adults and 150,000 children)
were living abroad in 2000.
With regard to the numbers of Israelis who have
returned to Israel over the past 13 years, the
numbers are clearer. Fifty percent of the
Israelis who returned during that period did so
after a stay abroad of between two and five
years. "These people came back because they
were unable to sink roots abroad and missed
home," Prigat explained. Most of those who
leave Israel, and the 50 per cent who returned,
are between 25 and 44 years old. A large number
of them are academics.
The first generation of those who leave Israel
maintain a strong Jewish identity, says Prigat,
"however, the second and third generation
disengages itself from Israeli and Jewish
identity."
Statistics show the return rate of Israelis is
influenced by the economic and security
situation in Israel. From 1993 to 1999, a
relatively high number of Israelis returned
each year (between 4,700 and 6,500). But in
2000, apparently as a result of the intifada
and the economic downswing, the number of
returning Israelis declined. In 2000, 3,956
Israelis returned; in 2001, 3,546 Israelis
returned; and, until October of this year, the
number of returning Israelis stood at 2,771,
Prigat reported.
The Immigrant Absorption Ministry's department
for returning residents works hard to bring
Israelis back. It maintains contact with 60
Israeli consulates, and finances activities in
13 of them. The department runs various
programs to encourage Israelis to return home,
such as job, information, and housing fairs.
The department invests special efforts in the
return of the children of Israelis living
abroad, bringing them to Israel for summer
programs. The government's economic plan, still
awaiting final Knesset ratification, would cut
NIS 50 million annually from benefits for
returning Israelis, as well as requiring them
to pay National Insurance for the period of
their stay abroad.
Boaz Sofer, deputy director of government
income, told the committee that the treasury
decided to cut back the benefits because it
estimates that 75 percent of the funds are used
by returning emissaries and students, which is
not their real purpose.
Prigat said the benefits amount to approximately
$2,000 per family. "I am afraid that the
cancellation of benefits will discourage
Israelis from returning," Prigat told the
committee.
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By Gideon Alon
Colette Avital, chair of the Knesset Immigration
Absorption Committee, called a meeting yesterday
to protest the Finance Ministry's intent to cancel
financial benefits to Israelis returning from
abroad after a stay of two years or longer.
But the statistics about
Israelis abroad presented by
Nadia Prigat, in charge of
returning Israelis at the
Immigrant Absorption
Ministry, "stole the show."
Prigat told the committee
that, based on estimates by
the Central Bureau of
Statistics, 760,000 Israelis
are living abroad - 600,000 adults and 160,000
children. According to Prigat, some 60 percent
of them live in North America, 25 percent in
Europe, and 15 percent elsewhere. Prigat had no
statistics as to the number of Israelis who had
left during the three years of the intifada,
but she noted that an estimated 550,000
Israelis (400,000 adults and 150,000 children)
were living abroad in 2000.
With regard to the numbers of Israelis who have
returned to Israel over the past 13 years, the
numbers are clearer. Fifty percent of the
Israelis who returned during that period did so
after a stay abroad of between two and five
years. "These people came back because they
were unable to sink roots abroad and missed
home," Prigat explained. Most of those who
leave Israel, and the 50 per cent who returned,
are between 25 and 44 years old. A large number
of them are academics.
The first generation of those who leave Israel
maintain a strong Jewish identity, says Prigat,
"however, the second and third generation
disengages itself from Israeli and Jewish
identity."
Statistics show the return rate of Israelis is
influenced by the economic and security
situation in Israel. From 1993 to 1999, a
relatively high number of Israelis returned
each year (between 4,700 and 6,500). But in
2000, apparently as a result of the intifada
and the economic downswing, the number of
returning Israelis declined. In 2000, 3,956
Israelis returned; in 2001, 3,546 Israelis
returned; and, until October of this year, the
number of returning Israelis stood at 2,771,
Prigat reported.
The Immigrant Absorption Ministry's department
for returning residents works hard to bring
Israelis back. It maintains contact with 60
Israeli consulates, and finances activities in
13 of them. The department runs various
programs to encourage Israelis to return home,
such as job, information, and housing fairs.
The department invests special efforts in the
return of the children of Israelis living
abroad, bringing them to Israel for summer
programs. The government's economic plan, still
awaiting final Knesset ratification, would cut
NIS 50 million annually from benefits for
returning Israelis, as well as requiring them
to pay National Insurance for the period of
their stay abroad.
Boaz Sofer, deputy director of government
income, told the committee that the treasury
decided to cut back the benefits because it
estimates that 75 percent of the funds are used
by returning emissaries and students, which is
not their real purpose.
Prigat said the benefits amount to approximately
$2,000 per family. "I am afraid that the
cancellation of benefits will discourage
Israelis from returning," Prigat told the
committee.
Top Articles
Elie Wiesel criticizes pope's comments on Israel
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate took issue with Pope John Paul II's criticism of a security barrier under construction by Israel, saying that the pontiff's remarks politicize terrorism.
By The Associated Press
Green activist warns of looming crisis
There are 1,100 air-pollution related deaths a year in the Tel Aviv area alone, environmentalist Eilon Schwartz told a crowd full of GA delegates.
By Daphna Berman