December 24, 2001

By Etgar Lefkovits

JERUSALEM (December 24) - Bracing for a wave of immigration from economically stricken Argentina, Jewish Agency officials are pressuring the government to adopt a plan that would provide special incentives and economic benefits for Argentine Jews.

The agency is projecting that about 3,000 Argentine Jews will immigrate next year, double this year's figures, said Mike Rosenberg, director-general of its immigration and absorption department.

He cautioned, however, that the number could go up or down depending on the situation on the ground, which is still fluid.

"There has been some improvement in the situation over the last 48 hours, but we do not expect the situation in Argentina to be calm," Rosenberg said, noting that while new elections have been called for March, the country is facing tremendous economic difficulty.

Agency spokesman Yehuda Weinraub said that its offices in Argentina have seen a "threefold increase" in the number of inquiries about immigration to Israel since the government declared a state of emergency last week.

At an emergency Jewish Agency meeting in Jerusalem yesterday, Chairman Sallai Meridor called on the government to immediately approve an agency program earmarking special assistance for immigrants from Argentina.

The program would increase allocations to Argentine Jews, including higher mortgages and increased incentives.

Rosenberg said that the program is necessity as some Argentine Jews are very poor and would be coming with "nothing at all."

"This is a window of opportunity for us to act, and it is forbidden for us to miss it," he said, dismissing questions of unfair preferential treatment by pointing out that the incentives would be for a limited amount of time.

Despite Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's support, it is not clear where the budget for the incentives will come from.

According to agency statistics, about 1,500 Argentine Jews made aliya this year, a 30 percent increase over last year. Sixty-one of them are due to arrive tomorrow. Some 6,000 more have voiced interest in immigrating and are in various stages of processing and preparation.

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