Last update - 00:00 30/09/2007
Jewish Agency, Nefesh B'Nefesh vie for Latin American immigrants
By Anshel Pfeffer, Haaretz Correspondent
The immigrant assistance organization Nefesh B'Nefesh has offered Latin American Jewish communities assistance in helping members immigrate to Israel, Zionist leaders there said. This comes after the cabinet decided immigrant advocacy groups other than the Jewish Agency may receive government funding last week.
Nefesh B'Nefesh is reportedly especially interested in Argentina, with its 185,000-strong Jewish community. Jewish Agency sources said the communities have rejected Nefesh B'Nefesh's offers, since the Zionist groups in South America prefer to work with the Jewish Agency.
Nefesh B'Nefesh responded that Jewish community leaders in various South American countries had approached it for help in increasing immigration to Israel.
"These requests are being examined, but it should be noted that the organization's main work is in North America and the U.K.," Nefesh B'Nefesh said.
Jewish Agency Chairman Ze'ev Bielski had lobbied unsuccessfully for the cabinet to give it a part in determining budgeting criteria. Bielski will sit on a new advisory committee on immigration, but it will be headed by Absorption Minister Jacob Edery.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sent Bielski a letter last week stating he had instructed officials to work more with the Jewish Agency in determining criteria to support organizations, and recognized the Jewish Agency's "unique" role in determining immigration eligibility.
The cabinet decision was perceived as a blow to the Jewish Agency, which until now had been considered the exclusive body responsible for encouraging immigration to Israel. Over the past three years, tensions have developed with Nefesh B'Nefesh. The Jewish Agency claims Nefesh B'Nefesh inflates the number of immigrants it brings, and Nefesh B'Nefesh counters that the Jewish Agency is obstructing its efforts to bring immigrants.
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