34,872 Jews immigrated to the Jewish State in 2019, a 20% increase over the 29,800 that came in 2018.
By World Israel News Staff and AP
President Donald Trump’s national security adviser said on Wednesday that Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria will continue to expand because rising anti-Semitism around the world means more Jews will immigrate to Israel.
“The Israeli birth rate is strong and is growing because sadly anti-Semitism in Europe and other places around the world is encouraging more Jews to return to Israel,” Robert O’Brien said at the Meridian International Center in Washington.
“This could be the last opportunity for a two-state solution,” O’Brien said, arguing that the increased immigration will lead to a growing Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria which will make the two-state solution impractical.
According to data released by Ofek Israeli, an aliyah encouragement program, 34,872 Jews immigrated to the Jewish State in 2019, a 20% increase over the 29,800 that came in 2018.
A global survey conducted last November by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) found that one in four Europeans polled harbor pernicious and pervasive attitudes toward Jews.
O’Brien defended Trump’s Mideast peace plan. He said the plan is not “perfect,” but urged the Palestinians to negotiate terms of the proposed deal. The deal offers economic benefits that would allow Palestine to become the “Singapore of the Middle East,” he said.
The Palestinian Authority has rejected the deal which offers them a Palestinian State and billions of dollars in financial aid.
Protesters have burned U.S. and Israeli flags as well as posters of Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who stood with Trump at the White House when he rolled out the plan last week.