In the past four years, the number of Ethiopian Jews requesting welfare income supplements has dropped drastically, by a startling 39%. Welfare and Social Services Minister Haim Katz (Likud) said, "We have a national goal to successfully integrate Ethiopian immigrants into Israeli society." Though the number of Ethiopians requesting welfare supplements is still three times that of the general population, the statistics are encouraging, showing a significant drop in the number of Ethiopians requesting the government aid. Israel is currently home to 86,000 Ethiopian Jews, with 51,000 of them employable and aged between 15 and 65. Haim Katz said, "I am thankful to see positive change...we must work as much as we can in order to integrate Ethiopian immigrants into Israeli society.

Source: Ethiopian News November 28, 2016 06:50 UTC