Immigration group: Financial crisis will boost aliyah from Western nations

Israel can expect a "dramatic increase" in immigrants from Western countries this year as a result of the world financial crisis, the immigration assistance group Nefesh B'Nefesh announced Wednesday.

of the crisis, the interest in immigration has doubled, Nefesh B'Nefesh Chairman Tony Gelbart said at a Jerusalem Conference panel about the current state of aliyah.

The projection is based on the increasing number of queries Nefesh B'Nefesh has received.

While in 2007, 1,398 people contacted the Nefesh B'Nefesh call center in the period between September 1 and December 31, last year the number was 2,947 - an increase of 101 percent.