New immigrants arrive at Ben-Gurion Airport
Photo: AP
Many Israeli emigrants coming home
Absorption Ministry woos Israelis living abroad, number of citizens returning to country steadily rising. ‘These people definitely contribute upon their return; they come back with professional experience in high-tech, science and other fields,’ ministry official says
Due to the less than encouraging numbers of new immigrants (8,556 since the beginning of the year), the Absorption Ministry has been wooing Israelis living abroad, and it seems that the efforts are starting to bear fruit.
Since 2003 the number of Israeli immigrants returning to the country has steadily risen: In 2003 2,696 Israelis came home, 3,554 returned in 2004 and 4,205 moved back in 2005.
According to Absorption Ministry statistics, some 1,400 Israelis returned to the country since the beginning of 2006, and about 1,200 of them were assisted by the ministry’s services in seeking employment and incentives.
Most of the “new Israeli immigrants” return from the United States, which is home to the largest community of former Israelis (roughly 400,000).
The rest of the returning Israelis are moving back from the UK (2nd place) and France (3rd place), and from almost every other country in the world; this includes Arab-Israelis who studied in Jordan and backpackers who remained for years in countries such as Kenya, Taiwan and Ecuador and suddenly got homesick.
Most settle in major cities
“We are trying to provide them with a smooth landing in the framework of our policy to encourage Israelis to return home,” Absorption Ministry official Nadya Prigat said.
“We define a returning resident as an Israeli citizen who lived abroad for a period of two years and up; some 50 percent return after two years. The longer Israelis stay abroad, the likelihood they will return decreases, so this is the optimal time to encourage them to come home. Scientists and entrepreneurs are given the same incentives and aid even if they return after three years.”
Prigat said Israel must invest in the emigrants (yordim) as this population is mostly young, or between the ages of 24 and 44, and about one-third are university graduates.
“These people definitely contribute upon their return; they come back with professional experience in high-tech, science and other fields,” she said.
Statistics show that most returning Israelis prefer to settle in the three major cities: Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa.
