http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satell...p=1078027574097

quote:

2 in 3 FSU Jews choose Germany over Israel -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JPost.com Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST Dec. 3, 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twice as many Jews and eligible relatives from the former Soviet Union are now choosing to immigrate to Germany rather than Israel, The Jerusalem Post has been told. Overall immigration to Israel has fallen to its lowest levels since the late 1980s, Jewish Agency officials have told the Post, and the growing "loss" to Germany of Jews from the FSU is at the heart of the decline. Preliminary figures for 2004, the officials say, show aliya from around the world at 22,000, down from 25,000 in 2003. Aliya from the FSU is down to 10,000, from 12,500 in 2003. By comparison, immigration to Germany of Jews and their eligible relatives from the former Soviet Union has risen to 20,000 people. Germany offers absorption packages to eligible immigrants that are considerably more lucrative than those provided by Israel, and the German Jewish community is the fastest growing in the world, the officials say. Agency officials draw some comfort from a 20 percent rise in immigration from the US – to 2,800 from 2,400 in 2003. In a bid both to boost that trend further and to deepen the sense of Jewish identity among young American Jews, the Agency is introducing a program called Journey, designed for 18- to 25-year-olds primarily from North America, to come to Israel on yearlong programs. The government has allocated $10 million for the program in the 2005 budget. The Agency is matching that and the participants will add their own $10 million. By 2008, officials hope that each of these parties will be putting in $50 million, and that 20,000 youngsters will be coming on the program. At present about 4,000 young Jews come to Israel on yearlong programs. Meanwhile, short programs like birthright israel and the Israel Experience will have brought a record 30,000 youngsters to Israel by the end of this year. The 2005 target is 50,000. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satell...p=1078027574097 [ Back to the Article ] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 1995-2004 The Jerusalem Post - http://www.jpost.com/

___________________