Israelis Vote with their Feet: Record Number Return to Israel
The Absorption Ministry campaign to return emigrants to Israel ahead of the country’s 60th anniversary has been a great success so far. Since the campaign’s onset, 2,500 people have returned to Israel, the highest number to date. Another 4,500 people are in the process of returning.
In November of 2007, the ministry launched a campaign in an attempt to bring Israelis back to the country. The initiative was launched in correlation with the country’s 60th anniversary celebrations, and those who return will be granted various perquisites.
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Amongst the benefits are discounts on flights and on the shipment of belongings, a reduction on income tax in the countries from which they came, health insurance, Hebrew lessons, assistance in job placements, business loans, scholarships for researchers and scientists and facilitating in the scheduling of matriculation exams for teenagers.
The Ministry of Absorption presumed that many families that left Israel are just waiting for an opportunity to return and assumed that if they are offered assistance and paved the way for them, they would come. However, they did not expect a success of this magnitude.
According to the Ministry’s data, 2,500 Israeli citizens have returned since the campaign’s onset; an increase of 50% compared to the yearly average. An additional 4,500 Israeli citizens have already signed up and are in the process of returning.