A ranking official of the Jewish Agency for Israel accused the government Monday of having no plan for the absorption of thousands of immigrants from the former Soviet Union.
Attempts to regulate absorption along the lines of supply and demand have proven futile, declared Uri Gordon, head of the agency’s Immigration and Absorption Department. It is high time the government got involved, he said.
“Unfortunately, at this stage, the government has no national program to absorb aliyah, and as a direct result, Jews from the former Soviet Union hesitate to come to Israel and the number of immigrants is low,” Gordon said.
He estimated a monthly immigration rate of not more than 8,000 over the next few months.
Gordon said the government should direct olim to three major areas — Galilee, Jerusalem and the Negev.
The Jewish Agency official addressed the International Conference on Jewish Media, attended by 175 Jewish journalists from 35 countries.
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