A 33-year high in immigration from North America is expected in 2007, with some 3,500 Americans and Canadians expected to move to Israel this year, according to a report released by Nefesh B'Nefesh yesterday.

The organization, which helps new arrivals to make their new home in Israel via monetary aid and other assistance, said that there has been an 80 percent rise in immigration from the U.S. and Canada since 2001, when Nefesh B'Nefesh began operating. This year's forecast represents a 10 percent jump from the 3,200 North Americans who immigrated last year.

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Nefesh B'Nefesh said that it has assisted approximately 90 percent of the North American immigrants who have arrived since 2001. It also said that only one percent of those who received assistance from it have left the country so far, and that 94 percent had found work in Israel.

The greatest number of North Americans ever to come to Israel arrived between the 1967 Six Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War - approximately 6,000 per year. However, about one-third of these immigrants returned to their countries of origin due to difficulties encountered in Israel.

Nefesh B'Nefesh is funded by Jewish philanthropists in the U.S. and works in cooperation with the Jewish Agency. Since 2006, it has received Israeli government grants of $1,000 per immigrant, under a cabinet decision pushed through by then prime minister Ariel Sharon. The organization's annual budget is estimated at approximately $9 million.

In recent years, Nefesh B'Nefesh has expanded its activities to other English-speaking countries, despite opposition from the Jewish Agency. The latter argues that the success of Nefesh B'Nefesh stems from its selectiveness and its tendency mainly to assist young Orthodox immigrants, whose chances of making a go of life in Israel are very good. According to Jewish Agency figures, some 70 percent of North American immigrants arriving this year are under the age of 35, while nearly 40 percent are under 18.

The summer's first group flight for new immigrants, sponsored by Nefesh B'Nefesh, is scheduled to arrive July 10.

Immigration from South Africa and Australia is also expected to increase this year, to 180 and 140 people, respectively, compared to 157 and 108 last year. But immigration from the United Kingdom, which last year marked a 20-year high with 740 new arrivals, is down again, with only about 600 projected this year.