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New olim or immigrants arriving at Ben Gurion airport, near Tel Aviv.
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JERUSALEM (EJP)---The number of Jews from France immigrating to Israel has fallen by more than 40 % during the last three months of this year compared to the number that arrived during the same period of 2007, the Israeli daily newspaper Maariv reported.
Only 245 immigrants arrived in Israel compared to 420 in 2007, a fall of 42 %, according to data from the Ministry of Absorption.
If this trend continues the number of immigrants from France, which had increased until 2006, is likely to fall under the 2,000 in 2008.
The number of immigrants from France reached 2,659 in 2007, already a fall of 6,5 % in comparison with 2006, while Israel expected an increase of the ‘aliyah’, or immigration, from this country.
The Jewish Agency, the semi-governmental body dealing with immigration, explains this fall by the popularity of French president Nicolas Sarkozy within the Jewish community which has a greater feeling of security since his election last year.
In general, the number of Jewish immigrants from various countries coming to establish themselves in Israel has been constantly declining since several years.
In 2007 19,700 new immigrants arrived in Israel, the lowest level since 20 years, the ministry said.
The Jewish Agency last week denied reports that its immigration department is to close for budgetary reasons.
The Agency said that its main goals in the coming years include "increasing he number of new olim or immigrants from Western countries and increasing the number of students from the Diaspora who come to Israel."
But it acknowledged that due to budget considerations linked to the drop of the dollar, the agency has launched a process to examine structural changes "in order to increase efficiency and impact."
