In recent months, there have been tens of percent increases in the opening of immigration files in Latin American countries. • In the last five years, 8,400 Jews have immigrated, mainly from Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.

• An increase of tens of percent in the interest in immigrating to Israel

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The wave of interest in Diaspora Jews in immigration continues:  in recent months, there has been a tens of percent increase in the opening of immigration files for Latin American Jews. In May there was a 21 percent increase, in June another and especially dramatic increase of 115% while in July the increase was 50 percent. 

Today (Monday) the Aliyah and Absorption Committee discussed the issue, and the committee's chairman, MK David Bitan (Likud), noted that last week 50 new immigrants and about 150 graduates of the Zionist youth movement arrived from Mexico as part of the Israel Government and the Jewish Agency 'Journey. According to him, the community in Mexico, which numbers about 45,000 people, is the third largest in Central America, after Argentina (200,000) and Brazil (95,000).

Bitan noted that the fear of immigrants from Latin America may develop difficulties due to lack of command of the Hebrew language, finding a livelihood, cultural gaps, fear of a decline in living standards and difficulty in finding adequate housing. There is also a great fear, especially in Mexico, of losing the sense of community. "In Corona - Israel has become a destination. Here it is possible to live a full Jewish life without fear, and Israel is known for good education for children and quality academic education for young people," the MK said.

In the last five years, 8,400 new immigrants have immigrated from Latin America, mostly from Argentina and Brazil, but according to Bitan this is a low number - relative to the potential, and called on the agency to increase immigration activity. He also sought to increase the number of emissaries for a year of service in these countries, and to invest in teacher training.

Bitan noted that most Argentine Jews are in the middle class, mostly merchants, but due to the country’s major economic crises, many of their assets have declined. In addition, the Corona crisis has created a real concern about the collapse of the community's ability to withstand the current crisis. In addition, the rate of assimilation stands at about 55% of mixed marriages (this compared to Mexico with about 10 percent).

The initiator of the discussion, Yossi Tayeb (Shas), proposed to the committee to adopt the virtual infrastructure for strengthening Jewish and Zionist identity in communities in South America. "I expect the cooperation of all parties such as the Zionist Organization, the Agency and the Ministries of Absorption and Diaspora - towards all these communities. Experience has shown that this cooperation is a key component in encouraging immigration to Israel. "

More on this topic:

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Against the background of the corona: a record number of immigration applications from the United States and Canada

Haim-Meir Cohen, the deputy mayor of Jerusalem, a native of Uruguay and in recent years a teacher in Mexico, said that due to the political situation, many Jews want to immigrate to Israel, and this should be encouraged - and reduce immigrants' fear of finding work and educating children. 

Sergio Goldstein, the agency's director of community relations in Latin America, spoke of an almost complete closure that includes schools and synagogues, which harms education and community, and a full economic closure that harms the incomes of many of the Jews who make a living as merchants. "Judaism is a community - and suddenly everyone is at home. There is a real fear in the communities of Mexico, Brazil and Argentina of the sequel." According to him, the "Journey" program is an indescribable asset for the young people of the community, but he warned against the increase in assimilation due to the lack of anti-Semitism and the high cost of Jewish education. 

Meir Lev, chairman of the Latin American Immigrants' Organization, spoke about accompanying young immigrant families, but presented the problem of the lack of activities for youth and children in the afternoon and the activities of youth movements in the UAV countries, "there is a Jewish majority detached from the Jewish people. Hagai Elitzur, Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Diaspora, noted that in Latin American countries a relatively high percentage participate in youth movement activities, certainly in relation to North America, and spoke about the preparation of curricula and curricula for schools in these countries. In the amount of NIS 5 million. 

According to Rabbi Amram Eniger, rabbi of a community in Mexico, "It is imperative to establish a virtual community, because all young people are on the computer and we transfer free Jewish and Israeli content to South American countries. We also run a children's channel, and encourage Zionism and Jewish identity, and work against assimilation It is precisely in the Corona era that we are the only Jewish media channel. " He warned against the immigration of immigrants from Israel to Israel due to their lack of acclimatization.