Deputy Premier Yigal Allon has appealed to Israelis to extend a warm welcome and a helping hand to new immigrants. Mr. Allon, who is Minister of Immigrant Absorption, said at a meeting of the Journalists Club that only cultural and social absorption would make it possible for the newcomers to strike roots, even with the material help they receive from the Government and from Diaspora communities.
Mr. Allon announced that “Absorption Week” was being observed in Israel this week. He said 10,562 immigrants arrived during the first four months of 1969 compared to 7,765 in the corresponding period last year. He said Absorption Week would feature meetings between veteran Israelis and newcomers and entertainment programs in 12 immigrant absorption centers. A public opinion poll taken last month showed that some Israelis were resentful of new immigrants and believed that those from Western countries in particular do not need or deserve Government assistance.
Mr. Allon explained exactly what the newcomer received from the Government and where the rest of society must lend a hand to help him become an integrated citizen. He invited journalists aboard the Israeli motorship Moledet, at Haifa port, a vessel built in 1961 to transport immigrants and low budget tourists. He told them that the immigrant’s transportation to Israel is paid for and the Government sees to it that he has a place to live and a job after he arrives. But it is up to his fellow citizens to see to it that he feels like “an equal among equals and a Jew among Jews,” Mr. Allon said. “Aliya requires money, but it also requires good will,” he added.
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