A large group of Jews from North America arrived in Israel
recently to settle. The first arrivals received a welcome by
the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister that was widely
covered in the media.
The group was organized by Nefesh Benefesh, which tries to
work out the details of immigrant absorption before arrival.
They arrange housing and job offers suited to the demands of
potential immigrants and provide the immigrants with support
by professional social workers to solve the problems
associated with absorption and adjusting to life in Eretz
Yisroel, particularly by accelerating bureaucratic
procedures.
Of the 1,520 immigrants who arrived in Israel in previous
Nefesh Benefesh operations in 2002-03, 99 percent remain in
Israel and 93 percent of those wanting to work are
employed.
The immigrants, whose average age is 33, hail from 33 US
states and four Canadian provinces. Ninety-eight percent of
them hold college degrees and a substantial percentage of
them are religious or traditional.
