The ongoing global pandemic is likely to lead to a wave of Jewish immigrants to Israel that would amount to hundreds of thousands of new olim, the Jewish Agency for Israel Chairman Isaac Herzog said on Monday.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
Speaking at Knesset hearing, Herzog said that over that past seven decades, the agency has helped bring some four million Jews from over 45 countries and that in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, "we expect a particularly large wave that would amount to some 250,000 olim over the course of the next three to five years."
Herzog said that most of the olim will likely be younger than in previous waves. "This is a historic challenge and we must harness this opportunity," he said. "The government must rise to the occasion and prepare a national program to integrate the olim in this wave," he continued.
According to Herzog, Jewish Agency officials have been flooded with calls of prospective olim, with a rise of some 50% in queries from English-speaking countries and 50% from French-speaking countries.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
