Two new absorption centers will be opened shortly for immigrants without college training, it was announced today. The site of the first one will be either at Ofakim, east of Beersheba or in Dimona, west of that city. Both have industrial plants that could provide jobs for large numbers of immigrants.
Up to now only college-trained immigrants were allowed the privilege of remaining at absorption centers for as long as several months while looking for employment and deciding where to settle in Israel. Other immigrants are taken directly from Ben Gurion Airport to new development areas where housing is available for them. This practice has come in for a good deal of criticism and complaints from the immigrants who preferred to settle in other parts of the country. The two new centers will allow the immigrants time to decide where to live while the Absorption Ministry helps them find jobs and permanent housing and while they study the Hebrew language.
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