Immigration to Israel slumps as French influx tapers off

Immigration to Israel dropped by some 4,000 people in 2016, according to preliminary statistics provided by the Jewish Agency and the Immigrant Absorption Ministry on Thursday.

While Russian and Brazilian Jews increasingly moved to the country, the influx of French and Ukrainian immigrants that drove 2015’s surge of 31,000 newcomers tapered off.

Data provided by the organization that oversees immigration showed that 27,000 Jewish immigrants received citizenship in 2016.

Immigration from Brazil, which has been wracked by political turmoil in the past year, rose from 497 in 2015 to 760 in 2016. American Jews saw a small slump, from 3,070 last year to around 2,900 this year; France also posted lower numbers: 5,000 compared to 7,900 the year prior.

French immigration fell short of projections made earlier this year by the Jewish Agency, which anticipated an additional increase after 2015’s surge in anti-Semitic attacks.

Just this week, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman was criticized by a French Jewish umbrella group for reiterating a call for French Jews to immigrate to Israel en masse.

Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are the top two destinations for the new immigrants, with 11% and 10% opting to make those cities their new homes, the Jewish Agency said.

“The high numbers of immigrants over the past two years were due, in part, to a series of external factors that have changed or disappeared, at least for the moment,” Jewish Agency chair Natan Sharansky said in a statement. “At the same time, despite the downward shift this year, we see that the long-term trends continue and the number of immigrants to Israel, particularly from Western countries, remains high compared to the averages of the past fifteen years.”

Sharansky said the state must invest more funds in immigrant absorption and integration “with an emphasis on employment, particularly recognition of professional and academic certifications.”