Moving to Israel

As this blog is always trying to promote Aliyah and moving to Israel, we also like to keep tabs on Olim to get their feel for the pulse of immigrants throughout the country. On that note, it was interesting to see the news that a group of immigrant academics has written to Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, urging him to take a clear stand in opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state in Israel.

The group, consisting of many of the Russian-speaking community in Israel, said such a state would be ”foreign to and hostile to the Jewish people… inside [Israel’s] historical borders and adjacent to its largest cities.”

While the ceation of a PA state has been the subject of debate for what seems like an eternity here in Israel, it is important to point out the feeling from this group of immigrants who, like many of us who have made Aliyah in the past, make up a large, core group of the citizens of the country and it is therefore always crucial to let our voices and opinions be heard. Vital decisions for the welfare of the country could depend on it.

Ari

Nefesh B’Nefesh has brought in its first batch of new Olim of the summer. As reported by Pinchas Sanderson of Arutz Sheva:

Nefesh B’Nefesh welcomed its first summer aliyah flight at Ben Gurion International Airport on Thursday. The flight brought 220 new immigrants from North America to Israel. It was the first of thirteen flights expected to bring more than 2,000 new immigrants over the course of the summer. Tracey Levy, formerly of Houston, Texas, who arrived on the flight, is the organization’s 15,000th new immigrant.

As a blogger who writes about the significance of Aliyah and moving to Israel, I have to say that Nefesh B’Nefesh continues to amaze me. To think that there is an organization that has built itself up in these few years on the premise of helping and enabling people to drop everything and come to Israel is truly awe inspiring. Although my own personal Aliyah was a bit before Nefesh B’Nefesh came into being, I have many friends who I can without doubt say would not be living (and thriving) here without it. I also take pride in knowing co-founder Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, who I grew up with. Although we haven’t had much contact since we were kids, it’s still great to see a fellow native of the Highland Park/Edison, NJ area have such a phenominal infulence on helping people with the life altering move. I know for the two of us, life was very nice in the NY/NJ area and, as I’ve written in the past, there are a myriad of reasons that people are able to uproot and leave these pleasant lives behind. While they’re too numerous to mention here, it goes without saying that financial issues are often one of the top concerns potential Olim have. This obstacle, along with many others (including information, advice, etc.), is one that Nefesh B’Nefesh has done an absolutely extraordinary job of tackling and easing the burden on people.

I would encourage everyone to check out Nefesh B’Nefeshs’ web site and, particularly if you’re thinking of making Aliyah, give them a shout.

Ari