Thread:Comments:US White House correspondent Helen Thomas retires/Comments from feedback form - "Note: Aliyah is t..."

Note: Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael). It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology, and an important component of Judaism. While the return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile, Jewish immigration to Palestine and later Israel has been continuous since 1882.

The number of new immigrants in 2007 was 18,127, the lowest since 1988. Only 36% of these new immigrants came from the former Soviet Union (close to 90% in the 90's) while the number of immigrants from countries like France and USA is stable.