Israeli Minister: 60 percent of Immigrants from Former Soviet Union not Jewish

Published December 5th, 2000 - 02:00 GMT
Al Bawaba
Al Bawaba

Sixty percent of immigrants from the former Soviet Union presently arriving in Israel are not Jewish, an Israeli minister was quoted by Haaretz newspaper as saying Monday.  

Diaspora Affairs Minister, Michael Melchior, told the Knesset Monday that the number will soon rise to two-thirds.  

The new statistics have spurred members of the Knesset from the religious parties to insist that the 'Law of Return', which allows anyone with a Jewish grandparent to immigrate to Israel and receive the full basket of immigrant rights, be altered, Haaretz said.  

The religion committee at the Knesset was told that in the early years of mass immigration, only 10 percent of newcomers were not Jewish, and that the figure had risen to around 30 percent by the mid-90s, Haaretz said -- Albawaba.com  

 

© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

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