Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer announced this week a new academic program designed to boost aliyah from France that has already drawn the interest of hundreds of potential immigrants, Israel Hayom has learned. 

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The announcement comes against the backdrop of the Aliyah and Integration Ministry switching its focus from encouraging aliyah from Eastern Europe to France and other Western nations. 

The program includes, among other things, medicine, and engineering studies at the Ariel University in Samaria, as part of which students will be able to learn in their native language for the first academic year without prior admission tests. Students will also be assigned mentors to aid them through the process. 

Masters degree students, in turn, will receive a free education along with accommodation for the first year of their studies as well as Hebrew lessons and mentorship. 

"Ever since I took office, I have stressed the importance of aliyah from France," Sofer said. The current plans are major news "for young immigrants from France. I view the immigration of youngsters to Israel as vital for the economy, academics, and the strengthening of the Zionist vision. The young academics who come to Israel strengthen the economy, enter the job market, and integrate into Israeli society."

Data shows that 25,264 immigrant students have moved to Israel in the past decade, with most studying at one of the four leading Israeli institutions – the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Reichman University in Herzliya, Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, and Tel Aviv University. 

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After nearly a year without a US ambassador in Israel, newly confirmed envoy Thomas Nides landed at Ben Gurion Airport on Monday morning to take up the post left vacant after the departure of David Friedman.

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The Biden appointee was confirmed by the Senate on November 3 and will replace senior diplomat Michael Ratney, who has served as charge d'affaires at the US Embassy in Jerusalem since June.

Nides posted on Twitter that landing in the Jewish state to be the ambassador was an unforgettable moment and that he was following the quarantine rules imposed by Israel to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant. "I'm eagerly awaiting a negative test result so I can begin to meet many of you soon!" he tweeted.

After my first trip to Israel, I wrote in my local newspaper that "the moment I put my feet on the ground, I had a feeling which I will never forget." Landing today in Israel to be U.S. Ambassador is another moment I'll never forget. pic.twitter.com/3md0AooCfg

— Ambassador Tom Nides (@USAmbIsrael) November 29, 2021

The new American ambassador will be residing in Jerusalem but not at the 19th-century building owned by the US on Agron Street like his predecessor Friedman in his final months in the position. Instead, Nides will be staying at a rental home in Israel's capital.

Nides was the managing director and vice-chairman of Morgan Stanley and previously served as deputy secretary of state for management and resources from 2010 to 2013 in the Obama administration.

"There's no greater privilege than what I have been asked to do to represent the United States of America to the State of Israel," the envoy said in a video message posted to his Twitter account.

I'll spend my first couple days in quarantine, following the latest COVID guidelines. My thanks to the dedicated medical staff at Ben Gurion working to keep us all safe. I'm eagerly awaiting a negative test result so I can begin to meet many of you soon! pic.twitter.com/OILgInLiQV

— Ambassador Tom Nides (@USAmbIsrael) November 29, 2021

"I will be making my home in Jerusalem," Nides added, "and I'll soon be traveling all over this country, to connect with Israelis' rich history and culture. As President Biden has said many, many times, America's strength is, and has always been, rooted in our diversity. I aspire to represent the full diversity of Americans, whose backgrounds and beliefs may differ but are united in the core US values of freedom, democracy, and opportunity.

"The same rings true for Israel. That's why the bonds between our two countries, as President Biden has said, are unbreakable. There's no greater privilege than what I have been asked to do, to represent the United States of America to the State of Israel."

He added: "I look forward to traveling all over this beautiful country, and meeting many, many of you in the weeks and months ahead. Toda raba [Hebrew for "thank you very much"].

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