Moving to Israel

There is a very touching story in the Jerusalem Post today that I know will interest all of our readers of the moving to Israel blog about the widow of Golani Brigade Maj. Eliraz Peretz who, while talking to Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin in her living room on Thursday, asked not that her home be saved from imminent demolition in the unauthorized Givat Hayovel outpost on the outskirts of the Eli settlement, but that Jonathan Pollard, a dual American-Israeli citizen who is serving his 25th year of an unlimited life sentence in an American prison for passing classified American documents to Israel, be finally freed and allowed to come home.

Shlomit Peretz is still grieving her husband, 31, who was killed in action in the southern Gaza Strip on March 26, along with St.-Sgt. Ilan Sviatkovsky, 21. On Thursday, politicians made their way to her two-story stone home to speak with her and her four young children. Of her husband, Shlomit told Rivlin, “He was willing to pay the price and what happened, happened.”

This is an incredible display of faith and courage that during Shlomit’s time of the ultimate mourning, she still has people like Jonathan first and foremost in her mind. “The state has left someone in the field for 25 years. If we could return him home, it would be a form of comfort for us,” she said.

Pollard is still, all these years later, a very powerful motivation for Jews around the world to pick up and come home to Israel and it is our hope that Shlomit and her family will overcome this tragedy and be credited with the rewards from Hashem for those that make the courageous move.

May Hashem bring home Jonathan Pollard as soon as possible and may the Peretz family know only happiness from here on out.

Ari

Even after making Aliyah and moving to Israel, for an American, the deep roots of the United States never really leaves you. This becomes especially true when the worlds of Israel and America collide as it did this week with the death of former US secretary of state Alexander Haig.

Haig’s spokesman during his 1988 campaign for the Republican nomination for the presidency, Daniel Mariaschin, talked after his death about how he “always had a special feeling for Israel. I always had the impression that he considered himself a friend of Israel and understood its geo-security predicament as we moved through the years,” said Mariaschin, now executive vice president of B’nai B’rith International.

While in 1981, Haig, serving as secretary of state under president Ronald Reagan, proposed temporarily suspending the strategic cooperation agreement between the United Staes and Israel, he later on evolved into a firm believer in Israel as a powerful deterrent to terrorism. In 2001, he told the Jerusalem Post that it might not be a bad thing for Israel to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power. “If the Israelis do launch a preemptive strike [on Iran], it may be saving the world a lot of trouble,” he said.

Powerful people in such positions are not commonly known for their dedication to both Israel and America, two of  the leaders of the world in the championing of democracy and freedom. We can only hope that more people with such integrity rise to such lofty positions and are able to make such a difference in the fight against evil.

Ari

I wanted to point out a fantastic interview from the Jerusalem Post with newly appointed Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya’alon. The sit down was done by veteran writer Yaakov Katz and is one of the finest pieces of journalism I’ve seen in some time.

Katz asks some very pointed questions and Ya’alon, former commander of the IDF who four years ago completed an illustrious 37-year military career, is extremely candid and forthcoming on some of the important security issues facing Israel and the world today.

This is highly recommended reading for everyone and you are all encouraged to pass this along to everyone you know. Enjoy.

 Ari

Easily the article of the week (and maybe the month) for this blog appeared in the Jerusalem Post the other day. It was written by Herb Keinon and does a fantastic job of discussing the conflict we often have as American-Israelis particularly when it comes to election season. Give it a read as it definitely may apply to you (I know it did to me). Good job Herb.

Ari

There’s a great and pressing article from Thursdays jpost.com by Ruth Eglash about Alexander Mulugeta, 26, a young Ethiopian student, who has spent the past year at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya and is set to be deported within the next two weeks. The article goes on to touch upon the more-delicate-than-ever issue of the Law of Return and an idividual and family’s eligibility.

Mulugeta, who is studying Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at IDC’s International School, said that since family members moved to Israel more than 10 years ago they should be allowed to immigrate under the Law of Return, which allows any person with at least one Jewish grandparent to move here.

The challenges faced by Mulugeta described by Eglash in the article, along with some of the comments by her readers, makes it clear that the bureaucratic squabble and finger pointing regarding moving to Israel and Aliyah are, unfortunately, as alive as ever. With the life and death situations that present itself to Israel daily this is truly the last thing the public wants to hear about. Let everyone who is legally eligible for the Right of Return come to the country with the fewest obstacles possible and let’s get back to defending our lives from the true enemies.

 Ari