An upsurge of aliyah from the Soviet Union was largely responsible for the 39 percent increase in immigration to Israel during the first six months of 1989, according to Uri Gordon, head of the Jewish Agency’s Immigration and Absorption Department.
He said new arrivals totalled 8,275 from January through June.
Emigration from the Soviet Union was up 177 percent from the same six-month period last year, Gordon said.
Nevertheless, the number of Soviet Jewish emigrants opting to settle in Israel remained at a constant 10 percent, Gordon said.
Gordon reported 1,000 immigrants have arrived this year from Argentina, an 18 percent increase over the first six months of last year.
That country’s severe economic distress and recent change of political leadership seem responsible for the rise.
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