A new government program seeks to attract successful Jews with in-demand skills to immigrate to Israel, by offering a new set of incentives and benefits.

The Immigration and Absorption Ministry hopes the plan will help Israeli companies fill critical job vacancies with significant impact on the economy.

For example, a doctor who immigrates to Israel and agrees to live and work in the southern or northern regions, which are being rehabilitated after the devastation of Israel’s wars with Hamas and Hezbollah, could receive a grant of as much as NIS 400,000 ($116,000), Immigration and Absorption Ministry Director General Avichai Kahana told The Times of Israel.

“This is not just for people working in highly-skilled professions. It’s for fields where Israel currently lacks employees,” Kahana said. Experts in security, AI, and aeronautic technologies are among those needed in the economy, along with leaders in certain financial fields, he said.

In the coming month, the ministry will meet with industry and government leaders to clarify which skills are needed, Kahana said.

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Benefits will include tax incentives, special help with integration beyond the standard assistance for new immigrants, and in some cases, financial grants.

Specialists in certain scientific fields can receive grants of more than NIS 1 million ($290,000) to move to Israel and open a lab under the Beresheet program launched earlier this year, Kahana noted.

The three-year plan, approved Monday, is designed to make it more attractive for talented workers in the Jewish Diaspora to move to Israel and contribute to the local economy, the ministry said, as part of Israel’s overarching goal of encouraging more Jewish immigration.

Israel will thus join a number of other countries that have launched programs in recent years to attract highly skilled workers in high-demand sectors. Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, and several Scandinavian countries offer incentives such as visa streamlining, financial support, and tax perks.

New immigrants pose with Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer, ministry director-general Adv. Avichai Kahana, Jewish Agency for Israel deputy director-general Shay Felber, Nefesh B’Nefesh co-founder and chairman Tony Gelbart and Nefesh B’Nefesh co-founder and executive director of Rabbi Yehoshua Fass upon their arrival to Israel, Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv, August 22, 2024. (Nefesh B’Nefesh/Chen Galili)

Immigration to Israel has been on the decline since Hamas launched its war against Israel on October 7, 2023. The number of people moving to Israel declined by 30 percent in 2024 to 32,161, even as antisemitism spiked worldwide.

The Immigration and Absorption Ministry said it hopes the measures will contribute billions of shekels to the economy, reduce dependence on foreign labor, encourage foreign investments and strengthen Israel’s position globally.

The decision follows a reform approved earlier this year designed to speed up the licensing process for new immigrants to work in their professional fields. Immigrants had long complained that lengthy licensing processes for professions like medicine, engineering, social work, education, and finance prevent them from finding jobs in their fields, and in some cases, discourage them from moving to Israel.

“The issue of employment is a central challenge [to immigration], and, in the past year, we have been leading a real revolution — from the profession reform to new steps that will strengthen Israel’s economy and integrate immigrants quickly and with dignity,” Immigration and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer said. “Aliyah is not only the fulfillment of the Zionist dream, but also a key to Israel’s economic, social, and moral future.”

Representatives from immigrant organizations had mixed feedback about the program.

Nefesh B’Nefesh vice president of communications Yael Katsman said the initiative is “a wonderful opportunity to further support olim (immigrants to Israel) from all backgrounds and talents in making aliyah, and in turn, contributing to Israel’s ever-growing economy and vibrant cultural landscape.”

The Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel (AACI) was somewhat less enthusiastic.

“The ministry already has special units and assistance for different professions, and it remains to be seen how this plan will be different,” the organization’s immigration adviser said. “Encouraging the immigration of graduates from abroad in needed fields through scholarships and grants is to be applauded, but at the same time, Israel must support its young people who compete for places in Israeli academic institutions and for employment placement after graduation. One should not be at the expense of the other.”

Such programs can make immigrating to Israel easier, noted Dorron Kline, CEO of Telfed, an organization representing South Africans in Israel. “But first and foremost, they assist the State of Israel,” he said.

Aliyah and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer and director general of the ministry Avichai Kahana greet immigrants from France in 2024. (Sivan Shahar/GPO)

European outreach

Last week, representatives from Israel’s Finance Ministry and Tax Authority visited an aliyah fair in London, where they met with wealthy British Jews who are considering immigrating.

“There are some interesting tax issues in England they came to address,” Kahana noted.

A number of British Jews have expressed interest in moving their businesses to Israel with them when they immigrate, Kahana explained.

Currently, new immigrants are entitled to a tax exemption from income earned overseas during their first 10 years in Israel. However, that exemption does not apply for businesses based in Israel, posing a challenge to these owners.

“We may need to change this in order to make Israel more competitive,” Kahana said. “This wouldn’t take anything away from our regular absorption benefits, but it recognizes that certain individuals have additional needs.”

Kahana added that interest in immigration is rising from within countries with high levels of antisemitism, and said the ministry is working to make the process easier. Some 30 ministry officials are now spending a week every month visiting countries in Europe, providing personal assistance to potential olim, he said.