Haaretz.com (Israel), January 17, 2007, Wednesday

HAARETZ.com
January 17, 2007

More olim will come when pay is higher, Fischer tells AACI
By Daphna Berman
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=812657&contrassID=2&subContrassID=16

(Fischer, who was the event's keynote speaker, was joined by American-born Judge Stephen Adler, president of the Israel Labor Court. They are currently the two highest-ranking Americans in the Israeli government.

Adler, who immigrated in 1968, said that Americans and Canadians in Israel have made "important contributions" to Israeli society, including "our education, experience, understanding of democracy and the idea of civil behavior."

"AACI had some difficult years, but we've been able to revitalize in a lot of different ways," says executive director David London. "There were some years when we were trying to stay alive, but now we are really flourishing.")


Israel will be a stronger country when immigrants no longer have to take a pay cut upon moving here, Bank of Israel governor Stanley Fisher said this week.

Speaking at the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel's (AACI) biennial convention in Jerusalem on Tuesday, Fischer said: "The strength of the economy is more important than anyone thinks. It will be even better when people come and don't have to take a pay cut."

With a healthier economy, he said, "more people will come from abroad and fewer people will leave to go abroad" in search of financial opportunity.

A former president of the AACI Jerusalem branch, Adler also lauded Fischer's quick adjustment to the Israeli establishment. "It is very difficult for someone, even a big expert, to come to Israel and take over an important job. It's a real feather in the cap of the American experience, the American education and to Stanley Fischer that he can do it and that he can do it well."

The AACI convention, which drew some 350 people, also included greetings by Canadian Ambassador Jon Allen, whose sister made aliyah from Winnipeg 40 years ago and now lives in Kibbutz Kfar Blum.

"If [the AACI] weren't here to help Canadians, they'd probably be on my doorstep," he noted.

U.S. Ambassador Richard H. Jones said that bilateral relations between the United States and Israel remained "steadfast" and he reiterated his country's commitment to Israeli security in light of the Iranian threat.

At the convention, Debby Millgram was elected president of the AACI, replacing long-time activist Evelyn Grossberg.