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NEWS
Growing Interest in Aliya
by Yated Ne'eman Staff
Israeli consulates around the world have seen a dramatic rise in recent months in the number of Israelis applying to return to Israel. To boost the trend the Absorption Ministry and the Jewish Agency have decided to institute an innovative tax reform. According to Tax Authority Director-General Yehuda Nasradishi, the new tax program is specially suited to their needs and to the socioeconomic structure of new immigrants and returning residents.
The year 2008 brought a marked increase in the number of returners as compared to previous years, with a total of 9,500, in addition to the 16,000 new immigrants who arrived from countries around the world. The Absorption Ministry predicts that number will rise to 12,000 in 2009. The Finance Ministry also plans to earmark NIS 50-million for health care refunds, comprehensive employment assistance and programs to integrate returning researchers and scientists.
The world economic program is creating a window of opportunity the State does not want to miss and as part of efforts to counter the brain drain, the Absorption Ministry is setting up an inter-ministerial committee headed by Erez Chalfon, the ministry's director-general.
According to reports published this week, during the current academic year the country's seven research universities took in 104 Israeli researchers and lecturers from academic institutes around the world, compared to the 30 scientists who returned to Israel last year. Several months ago the Finance Ministry and the Committee for Planning and Budgeting decided to allocate NIS 96 million to take in returning scientists.
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