By Marney Blom
As Israel celebrates its 60th year, a historic milestone has been reached; the number of Jews moving to Israel since the 1948 rebirth of the nation officially passed the 3 million mark.
The summer alone brought 13 flights carrying more than 2000 American, Canadian and British Jews.
Immigration from the Former Soviet Union, traditionally the largest block in terms of numbers, has levelled off, but the rate of Jews returning from North America appears to be holding steady, if not on a slight incline.
“You’re the answer,” former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told an elated crowd of newly landed immigrants from North America, at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport on August 19 2008. “You have disciplines, you have doctors, lawyers, engineers and high tech people. You can integrate very quickly.”
“It is what Israel is about,” added Netanyahu off stage. “It is the ingathering of the exiles. Jews come here to build themselves and build a country.”
Clearly Israel welcomes immigration from the west.
Jewish Agency chairman Zeev Bielski beamed as he said that when Jewish people moved to Israel it meant a lot. “It means that people are returning to the roots, to their heritage, to their tradition to unite with us in Israel. So it gives us a very good feeling.”
When a Jewish person living outside of Israel returns to their ancient historic homeland, the Hebrew word aliyah is used to describe the move. As a direct fulfillment of 3000- year-old prophetic scriptures – words spoken by the Hebrew prophets – making aliyah is perceived by many Jews to be an important, even sacred step in their spiritual journey.
“This is a dream come true for us,” said a bearded orthodox American from Houston. “There is no other country in the world like it. Just the fact that we’re coming home says it all.”
Yishai Fleisher, program director of Israel’s popular national radio program Arutz Sheva, believes aliyah will change Israel.
“When you see the Jewish people come home you are going to see a revolution in this country,” he said. “No politics, no money is going to fix what Jewish souls and blood on this land is going to fix. When we’re together then you’re going to see a Jewish strength that you haven’t seen in a long time.”
But it is not only Jewish organizations such as The Jewish Agency and Nefesh B’Nefesh that are working hard to return their people to Israel. A segment of the evangelical Christian community believes it has a significant role to play.
Canada’s Return Ministries executive director Dean Bye points to Isaiah 49 as a scriptural mandate for Christians to help facilitate aliyah. “We’ve been given the privilege to help bring them home,” he said. “We have this calling to fulfill the word of God.”
Fleisher agreed. “All non-Jews, especially evangelical Christians in America, should tell their Jewish neighbours in a nice fashion, without anti-Semitism, “Hey Jew, you have an opportunity to go home. Your land is calling you. We’re behind you”.”
Starting a new life in Israel is not without its challenges. The sacrifices of leaving family, loved ones and jobs is often accompanied by the added security concerns associated with living in a region that could suddenly turn volatile.
“I have been dreaming about making aliyah since I was 15,” said a 33 year-old mother of three from Montreal, Canada, “(in order to) help the Jewish people build their homeland and help our family grow to be the kind of solid people that we want them to be.
“(At home) we have very good friends and we have a wonderful family but we were all willing to make the sacrifice.”
One New Yorker said that after 911, they didn’t feel safe living in New York. “I feel a lot safer living here now.”
According to many Jews, including Netanyahu, the desire to return to the Jewish homeland runs deep.
“You have a momentous opportunity because you have made a momentous decision that requires personal courage,” said the former Prime Minister at the 19 August reception for new immigrants from the west.
“You are doing it because of something in your heart that connects you to the wider story of the Jewish people that says that wherever we were dispersed, wherever we built our lives we said, “Next year in Jerusalem.’’ We are coming back.”
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