Israel to Encourage Aliyah

16 May 2010 The Cabinet approved a plan to encourage the return of expatriate Israelis and set a goal of bringing approximately 15,000 Israelis back to the country per annum.

At the weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday, 16 May 2010: 1. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the following remarks: "Today, the Government will approve a special plan to encourage the return of Israelis who reside abroad. There are approximately 750,000 Israelis living abroad and our goal is to bring at least 15,000 of them back home per annum. To this end, the aforesaid plan will include - inter alia - tax breaks, education benefits, medical assistance and national insurance benefits. The plan will be operated by the Immigrant Absorption Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office. I thank everyone who has been involved. This is very important because these people are, first of all, our flesh and blood. Their absorption and economic integration, upon their return, is usually very quick. Naturally, they have the same national background and they know the language and the culture. They also are familiar with other cultures, the creativity and work standards of which we are sometimes interested in adopting here.  A certain turning point is currently taking place. Many of them left Israel due to the absence of possibilities, and now some would like to come back, thanks to the existence of possibilities, since the Israeli economy seems to be faring better than some others, including those of developed countries. Therefore, we welcome them and will now adopt a plan that will - for a limited time - offer the aforesaid benefits. For all those who have relatives abroad (I daresay that is almost all of us), contact your relatives about today's decision and tell them that it is not only right, but worthwhile, to return to the country, and bring them back.

Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua