Steep decline in immigration to Israel in first half of 2003

JERUSALEM, July 30 (AFP) - The number of immigrants to Israel fell sharply in the first six months of 2003, only reaching 3,000 new arrivals, Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) revealed Wednesday.

The number of arrivals registered a 39 percent decrease compared to the same period last year and was down 55 percent compared to the first half of 2001, a CBS report said.

The majority of new immigrants -- 5,200 -- that came during the January-June 2003 period originated from the former Soviet Union as was the case in previous years.

Half of them are not considered Jewish by Israel's rabbinate but benefit from the country's Law of Return which automatically grants them Israeli citizenship provided they have first-degree Jewish relatives.

The number of immigrants coming from Argentina fell from 2,500 to 500 but that of French Jews remained stable at around 500 people compared with the same period last year.

In 2002, 34,000 people immigrated to Israel compared with 44,000 in 2001. It was then the lowest number since the 1990 immigration wave from the former Soviet Union.

A combination of several factors can explain the current decline in immigration, according to immigrations officials at the Jewish Agency.

First, the sheer number of Eastern European applicants is nearly exhausted with only 400,000 Jews remaining there, down from 1.45 million in 1989.

Some people may prefer to relocate to countries other than Israel owing to the ongoing violence and the severe economic crisis here.

Israeli media have said that 10,000 to 15,000 Israelis have left each year since the intifada, or Palestinian uprising, began in late September 2000.

Immigration officials also associate the recent decline with the Iraq war that generated regional fears of insecurity.