The Absorption Ministry released figures Monday indicating that 19 percent of Israelis in the 18-29 age group are likely to emigrate. The tendency toward yerida dropped to nine percent in the 30-49 age group, but overall the propensity of Israelis to leave the country is alarming.
Yossi Kochik, who heads the Ministry’s department for the prevention of yerida, said he is initiating a new project to encourage yordim — Israelis living permanently abroad — to return home in time for Israel’s 40th anniversary celebrations in 1988, He said the project would focus on finding them appropriate jobs.
A recent survey indicated that 92 percent of the public believes yerida is harmful. About 34 percent thinks the main reason for it is employment problems; 16 percent said the cause was unsatisfactory living standards; 14 percent blamed the security situation; and 11 percent attributed yerida to the waning of the Jewish-Zionist identity of Israel.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
