"I will maintain My covenant between Me and you, and your offspring to come, as an everlasting covenant throughout the ages, to be God to you and to your offspring to come. I assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting holding. I will be their God."
- Genesis 17:7- 8

"I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul." - Jeremiah 32:41

 Life in the Land of Israel - Testimonies
 

THE ALIYAH REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN

Leading religious leaders from the three major denominations of American Jewry have issued statements calling for mass Aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel) from the United States.

One recent joint statement was issued to hundreds of North American Olim (immigrants to Israel) who will be arriving this summer in the framework of the Nefesh b'Nefesh organization. Nefesh B'Nefesh lends potential Olim the thousands of dollars they sometimes need to be able to make the move - and the loans become grants if their recipients remain in Israel.  The joint statement reads: "There are many ways for the Jewish community to connect with Israel and to contribute to the well-being of the Jewish State. Of all these expressions though, fulfilling the mitzvah [biblical commandment] of Aliyah is the highest manifestation of Zionism. This decision, during these challenging times in Israel, is especially admirable. May G-d give you strength to succeed in this most important commitment. We pray that you and your family will enjoy living in the Jewish home in peace and success. Together we congratulate you for your admirable decision."

The statement was signed by Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, head of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America; Rabbi Jerome Epstein, head of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism; and Rabbi Eric Yoffie, head of the Reformed Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

- Arutz 7 Report - June 2003
 

RABBI TO AMERICAN JEWS: TIME TO COME HOME! 

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Chief Rabbi of the Galilee city of Tsfat, made these remarks on Arutz-7 two days after the catastrophic attacks in the United States that took place on 9-11-2001: 

"We know that Eretz Yisrael is the place towards which, as the Torah says, G-d's eyes are directed 'from the beginning of the year until the end of the year.' (Deuteronomy 11:12)  It is simply the place of Divine Providence, and we have personally experienced so many miracles here over the past year. The Jews in America have helped us greatly over the years, and now it is our turn to help them. We have absorbed so many new immigrants over the past years, and we can do so again with American Jewry. It is time for us to tell our brothers in America, 'You have nothing to do there - come home!'"

- Arutz 7 Report 

Life in the Land of Israel is challenging yet very fulfilling....

NORTH AMERICAN IMMIGRANTS SAY THEY'RE SATISFIED HERE

A survey of recent immigrants from North America has found that they are overwhelmingly satisfied with their absorption and would recommend aliya to family and friends, according to the Jewish Agency.

The study, released yesterday during the agency's annual Board of Governors meeting, found that 74% of the interviewees define their absorption in Israel as successful - 25% said very successful and 49% said successful - while 10% feel their absorption was not so successful and 2% believe it was not at all successful. Another 14% reported they could not yet determine its success.

While 25% of the participants said they would not advise their friends on this issue one way or the other, 61% of the remaining 75% said they would recommend aliya to friends and relatives still living in the US or Canada. Eight percent stated that they would recommend delaying aliya, and 5% would recommend remaining in the USA/Canada.

Those surveyed were immigrants who had been in Israel between half a year and two years, having arrived between September 1, 1999 and March 31, 2000. A total of 441 people over age 18 were interviewed, via telephone calls to the participants' homes by English-speaking interviewers. They were selected at random from lists obtained from the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption. No margin of error was given for the survey.

Most of the participants -87% - lived in the USA prior to their aliya, with 56% from the East Coast, 13% from the West Coast, 7% form the Southeast and 11% lived in the Midwest. The other 13% were from Canada.

Young adults represented the majority of the sample: 29% of those surveyed were 18-24 years old, 30% were 25-34, 25% were 35-54, 7% were 55-64 and 9% were 65+. In addition, 57% of the participants were women and 43% were men.

Commenting on the number  who would recommend aliya, Akiva Werber, head of the North America section of the agency's Aliya Department, said: "That tells me more than anything else how successful their aliya really was. I would expect such a high number from Ethiopians, where conditions are so bad. But not form Americans. They're saying, 'Habibi, now that we're here two years - come on aliya!' "

When asked why they came on aliya, 61% indicated that it was their connection to Israel and Judaism that greatly affected their decision, and 52% stated that prior visits to Israel had greatly influenced them. Most of the interviewees - 93% - had visited Israel at least once during their lifetime, with 91% having visited in the five years prior to making aliya, and 44% having done so four times or more during the five years prior to their aliya. Three-fourths had come as tourists on a personal visit.

"The frequency of visits prior to aliya shows us that the more we bring people to Israel on longer numbers of visits, the better the chance for the people to make aliya," Werber said. "I learn from this that people who are going to a make aliya are people who have networks and a familiarity with Israel, and aren't afraid of the unknown because of the many contacts and connections and whatnot. So the more we do that, the better the chance of aliya."

Most of those surveyed describe themselves as belonging to some religious stream of Judaism: 53% defined themselves as Orthodox, 18% as Conservative, 6% as Reform, 14% consider themselves to be secular and 1% said they had converted to Judaism. Eight percent said they saw themselves belonging to none of the aforementioned categories and suggested personal definitions for their type of Judaism - like "Jewish," "Kippa sruga [crocheted kippa]," "undecided," and others/

The main policy question one wants to ask with a study like this is, how can we increase aliya from North America?" said Prof. Steven Cohen, of the Melton Centre for Jewish Education at the Hebrew University and a leading sociologist of American Jewry.

"This well-conducted demographic study gives us half the answer - it  gives us great detail about Jews who made aliya. Now we need to know about the Jews who almost make aliya, the people who registered with the aliya centers but haven't made aliya. Why did one group come and why are the others still there?"

The immigrants tend to live among other Anglo-Saxons, with 69% reporting that other Anglo-Saxons live  near their place of residence, and 55% saying that it is important to them to live in such an area, with 30% feeling it was very important and 25% stating it was important. Not surprisingly, the older an  immigrant the more likely and the more important it is for them to live in an Anglo-Saxon area.

Only a few of those questioned indicated that the economic situation or anti-Semitism in their country of origin had influenced their decision to make aliya: 4% for the former, and 3% for the latter.

- Elli Wohlgelernter - Jerusalem Post, February 2001