Brazilian Immigration to Israel Triples in 2016

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – Before the end of 2016, about 700 Brazilian Jews will have immigrated to Israel, tripling the annual average since the 1970s, when similar levels were recorded.

Some 650 Jews from Brazil have immigrated so far this year, with another 50 expected by year's end.

"The Brazilian Jewish community is a warm, Zionist community with strong ties to Israel," Jewish Agency Chairman of the Executive Natan Sharansky said in a press release.

According to Sharansky, who just returned from a visit to Brazil, increasing numbers of young Brazilians participating in the The Jewish Agency's experience Israel programs are deciding they'd like to make Israel their permanent home.

Sharansky said Brazil's Jewish community is "at its core strongly connected to Israel and Zionist at heart, so that when local socioeconomic and political circumstances bring people to look for alternatives, Israel is their natural choice."

Since the rebirth of Israel as a modern nation-state in 1948, about 15,000 Brazilian Jews have made Aliyah (immigrated to Israel under the Law of return).