A growing number of Israelis who have resided in the United States and Canada for a number of years are returning to Israel, despite the precarious economic situation there. According to Israel’s Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, 1,700 Israelis returned home in 1985.
Consul Amos Haddad, head of the Ministry of Labor’s delegation here, said in a summary report on 1985 to Moshe Katzav, Israel’s Labor Minister, that among the Israeli’s returning to Israel are individuals who left excellent high-paying jobs in the U.S. or Canada “for more satisfying jobs in Israel, although the pay is considerably lower.” According to Haddad, the yordim, Israelis who left Israel, who are returning home resided in North America between two and 11 years.
Haddad’s report, which was released here last week, stated that some of the returning Israelis said they decided to go back because they preferred to give their children an Israeli education, although the relocation meant lowering their standard of living.
The report disclosed that the number of yordim that have registered with the Ministry of Labor’s delegation in New York, indicating their wish to return to Israel, reached, by the end of 1985, 13,400 heads of families, or approximately 40,200 individuals. In 1984, the report said, 10,850 heads of families had registered.
Haddad noted in his report that approximately 700 families registered to return to Israel during employment fairs in October-November 1985 which the Ministry of Labor’s delegation organized in cooperation with high technology industries in Israel. The fairs were held in New York, Los Angeles, San Jose and Toronto.
In addition, Haddad said, more than 100 Israelis signed work contracts with employers in Israel at those employment fairs. “Some of them have already returned to Israel and some of them are in the process of doing so,” Haddad said.
“In the Ministry of Labor’s delegation in New York there are presently more than 2,500 files of returning Israelis who are expected to go back to Israel during 1986-1987, once they find employment,” Haddad said. He added: “Today, there are many Israelis who are ready to go home immediately, but only if they were offered a suitable job.”
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