South American olim accompanying Peres

Some 25 new immigrants from five South American countries accompanied President Shimon Peres on his return to Israel.

The olim from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Uruguay left Sao Paulo, Brazil, with Peres on Tuesday following his weeklong visit to Argentina and Brazil. They were scheduled to arrive Wednesday at Ben Gurion Airport.

In 2009, about 1,200 new immigrants from Latin America will make aliyah to Israel under the auspices of the Jewish Agency for Israel, the agency said.