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The agency played down suggestions that the war with Hezbollah, a
Lebanese Shia movement, during the summer had a negative impact on
immigration - which had grown recently after a sharp
drop following the start of a Palestinian uprising in 2000.
Israel has
always relied on Jewish immigration to secure its long-term survival
[AP]
Immigration to Israel fell to its lowest in 18 years in
2006, new figures show.
Israeli officials attributed this to a drop in the number
of Jews arriving from former Soviet states, although immigration from
North America also edged higher, Israeli officials said on Wednesday.
Some 21,000 Jews made "aliya", the Hebrew word for
immigrating to Israel, according to the Jewish Agency, which promotes
immigration to Israel.
The 2006 figure was the lowest since 13,000 in 1988. A
total of 22,657 people moved to Israel in 2005.
Falling ex-Soviet immigration
The agency blamed the falling number on the falling number
of Jewish immigrants from countries that made up the former Soviet
Union.
More than one million people moved to Israel from the
former USSR in the 1990s. The number for 2006 was 7,300 - about 23
percent down on 2005.
"These people are no longer running away from something,"
said Michael Jankelowitz, a spokesman for the Jewish Agency.
The agency played down suggestions that the war with
Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shia movement, during the summer had a negative
impact on immigration - which had grown recently after a sharp drop
following the start of a Palestinian uprising in 2000.
The government places great significance on immigration
amid concerns in Israel that without an influx of foreign Jews the
country's Arab minority, which has a higher birth rate, could eventually
outnumber the Jewish population.
Jews constitute 76 per cent of Israel's population of just
over 7 million people, while Arabs make up nearly a fifth.
Forecasts down
Forecasts earlier this year were for immigration to grow to
24,000, but Jankelowitz said expectations were not met because the
government had not brought as many Jews from Ethiopia as originally
planned.
With the decline in numbers of immigrants from elsewhere,
the Jewish Agency has made particular efforts to bring immigrants from
Europe and North America.
That means trying to persuade people to move on
ideological grounds rather than as a way to flee economic hardship or
repression.
Aliya from North America rose to 3,200 in 2006 from 2,900
in 2005 and just 1,700 four years ago.
Immigration from Britain rose to 720 this year from 481
last year. About 2,900 came from France, slightly down on 2005.
"We would love bigger numbers but we have to live in
reality," Jankelowitz said.
On Wednesday, about 220 North Americans landed in Israel,
Another group landed from London. No figures were
immediately available for the number of people emigrating from Israel in
2006.
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