Just saw this article on Arutz 7:
The 6,493 households which made aliyah through NbN between 2002 and 2008 have yielded a whopping 989 million shekels, with the cost of absorbing them standing at only NIS 528 million, leaving the immigrants’ contribution at NIS 461 million so far.Visiting friends and family of NbN olim have also given their boost to the economy by supporting the national tourism industry to the tune of NIS 347 million. Adding this to the tally, NbN olim are accountable for a total GNP contribution of NIS 808 million (over $212 million). Considering the passage of another year and the continued employment and success of North American olim, that number could be higher than NIS 1 billion (almost $262.5 million)
Wow. Go us. I had always suspected that olim (especially from North America, but also including the growing numbers from Britain and other countries) were making significant financial contributions to Israel – it is nice to see it quantified like this. And I don’t know if this survey took into account people like myself, who earn salaries from US companies and spend 100% of it in Israel (so we end up pumping tens of thousands of dollars directly into the Israeli economy every year). Expect these numbers to only go up as a proportion of Israel’s GNP as the years go by and God willing the numbers of olim grow higher and higher.
