In a special meeting held yesterday at the Israeli Consulate General, Pinhas Sapir, chairman of the Jewish Agency Executive, announced that immigration from the U.S. to Israel will be further encouraged by the Immigration and Absorption Department of the Jewish Agency in the near future.
Addressing a group of more than 20 leaders of national Jewish organizations representing aliya desks In their various groups, Sapir clarified that all efforts will be made so that newcomers from the U.S. would no longer be subjected to excessive bureaucracy, filling out very few forms and having representatives of the different ministries and bureaus answer his queries and attending their needs available at one central location. He also voiced his opinion that aliya promotion be handled in the U.S. by local Jewish organizations, with Israeli schlichim (emissaries), serving as advisors.
In addition, Sapir said that special consideration will be given to aliya groups who will come to settle, as did the Hasidic groups, on special locations and grouped professionally or ideologically; and that special attention will be given to the social absorption by Israelis, forming voluntary groups which would adopt and help newcomers to become integrated into the Israeli society.
Ambassador David Rivlin, Consul General of Israel in New York chaired the meeting and Avraham Offer, Minister of Housing in Israel, also participated in the debate that ensued. The participants expressed their hope that the plans outlined by Sapir would encourage an increase in Jewish aliya from the U.S. to Israel.
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