Seventeen new Iraqi immigrants, which are members of two families, landed at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport Wednesday night.
Israel's Absorption Minister Tzipi Livni greeted them at the airport. They did not fly directly to Israel, but had stops on the way.
Unlike the six elderly new immigrants brought in a clandestine mission from Iraq at the end of July, Wednesday's group included children and was made up of complete families, the Jerusalem Post reported
Thursday.
The recent arrivals have relatives in Israel.
According to The Jewish Agency, the 17 new arrivals are not part of the core Jewish community in Baghdad, but are from the periphery. Three of the immigrants are not Jewish, but were permitted to immigrate in the framework of Israel's "Law of Return" policy, which allows relatives of Jews to enter Israel.
Iraq once had a community of 130,000 Jews, however about 120,000 left for Israel between 1949 and 1952, with smaller numbers leaving the country in subsequent years. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
