Israel absorbed 8 percent fewer immigrants in 1997 than in 1996, according to an Immigration Ministry spokesman. The 66,000 immigrants, who are mainly from Russia and Ukraine, included 1,800 Ethiopian Jews. The Jewish Agency for Israel had predicted that 50,000 immigrants would move to Israel this year.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.