Last week I read an article in the Jerusalem Post. The article was an opinion piece, and the writer was of the opinion that any attempts to promote aliyah among US Jews were futile, useless and a waste of time and money. There will be no mass aliyah from the US and Canada like there was from Ethiopia or the former Soviet Union. The writer’s tone was quite definitive in the article: Americans will not be making aliyah.
I’m not such a fan of the article. As a God-fearing, Orthodox Jew, I have been indoctrinated to believe that Jews belong in Israel. It’s our homeland. However, I also know what it’s like to leave your home, your spoken language and familiarity. Making aliyah is HARD. It’s not a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Thank God, US Jewry has never had a reason for a mass aliyah (aside from the fact that they should make aliyah; I’m talking about persecution). I still don’t think it’s futile to promote aliyah among them. Look at Nefesh b’Nefesh: they’ve brought over thousands of American immigrants to Israel. They’ve made the whole process of aliyah 200% easier: when I made aliyah, there was no such thing as receiving your teudat zehut (identification card) at 30,000 feet. You went to the Ministry of the Interior and hoped that they would call your number before the two hours they were open ended.
Life in Israel is so much easier than it was 10 years ago. There are American products like Heinz ketchup and Good Seasons salad dressing. Novels in English are easier to find in book stores and H&M is opening in March. However, life here is still a challenge. Israeli culture is different than American culture (as much as they try to emulate it). I don’t think that promoting American aliyah is futile; I think that it will be a different process than what was used for Ethiopian and Soviet Jewry. Jews should make aliyah, no ifs or buts about it; however, they need to make it when they are ready. Because if they don’t stay, then what’s the point?
