More than 30,000 immigrants (olim) came to Israel in 2015, the highest immigration (aliyah) figure since 2003, and 10% more than 2014, the Jewish Agency for Israel and Ministry of Immigrant Absorption report.
7,900 immigrants arrived from France in 2015, a record figure from that country, and up 10% from last year. The ongoing terror attacks in that country have made it the largest contributor to immigration for the second successive year.
The fighting between Ukraine and Russia also boosted immigration. 7,000 immigrants reached Israel from Ukraine in 2015, up 15% from 2014 and 6,600 immigrants arrived from Russia, up 40% from 2014.
Immigration from North America fell slightly to 3,768 in 2015 from 3,871 in 2014.
Half of new immigrants were under the age of 30 in 2015. Tel Aviv attracted 3,620 immigrants in 2015, the largest number followed by Netanya (3,500), Jerusalem (3,030), and Haifa (2,250).
Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky said, "The high number of immigrants, except from Western countries, demonstrates the drawing power of the Zionist idea. The fact that immigrant choose to come to Israel is because Israel gives their lives a meaning unobtainable elsewhere. This choice imposes on us the responsibility to make every effort to make possible their integration into work and studies to put down roots in Israel so that they may enrich the diversity of Israeli society, like those before them."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 29, 2015
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