Resilience and return: Aliyah amid conflict

Even in the midst of its ongoing war in Gaza, many diaspora Jews are looking to the State of Israel as a viable option for Aliyah. Jerusalem Post Diaspora Correspondent Michael Starr was joined by Nefesh B’Nefesh Co-Founder and Executive Director, Rabbi Yehoshua Fass and Director General of Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, Avichai Kahana, to examine the shift in approaching immigration to Israel in a post-October 7 world at the Jerusalem Post Annual Conference New York 2024.

While both organizations have worked in collaboration for many years, both Rabbi Fass and Kahana admit that in light of the dramatic increase of interest in immigration to Israel from around the world, the government ministry and the non-governmental organization must look towards each other to build an even stronger synergy and best practices.

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“We have a new opportunity with aliyah, and we have numbers that we have not seen in decades- from France, South Africa, England and North America,” explained Kahana, adding his astonishment in the number of new cases for interest in immigration to Israel, “We see a lot of olim that are coming to Israel, even now. 19,000 olim have come to Israel since October 7.  This is a miracle. There is no other country in the world where so many people would come in the middle of a war.” 

Kahana’s emphasis on opportunity also brings with it a new approach toward the stewardship of immigration before the process of Aliyah even begins. Under Kahana’s leadership, the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration has placed a significant emphasis on supporting new immigrants after arriving in Israel, which Kahana had believed to be the key to the increase of Aliyah. Kahana light-heartedly joked that while his department has succeeded tremendously in integrating new immigrants after deciding to make aliyah, adding that their view had previously been that “they will come and then they will discover.” This highlights a significant shift in the approach of a comprehensive immigration strategy that begins even before arriving to Israel.

Nefesh B’Nefesh, with the full support of the Israeli Ministry of Aliyah and Integration and Jewish Agency for Israel, helps facilitate and celebrate Aliyah, while advocating for the new olim in order to ensure successful integration for immigrants from North America, in addition to dedicated programs and tracks for physicians and lone soldiers from around the world.  

“The public and private synergetic relationship has never been experienced to a level like this,” Fass proudly stated, “There is a sense of humility, compromise and care that each organization has to interact with the other to ensure that the oleh is the focus and the oleh is serviced.” 

Greatly expanding the level of service provided to the individual oleh to countries worldwide, the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration understands the Israeli government’s critical role in supporting the Jewish right of self-determination, as Kahana announces the ministry’s newest initiative, “Milavei Olim” (Accompanying Immigrants).  

The holistic approach sends case-workers to diaspora communities throughout the world, one week each month, where they meet intimately with community members, understanding their personal needs, and creating a comprehensive strategy unique to both the community and individual.  At the governmental level, the State of Israel has never worked directly with immigrants before making Aliyah. This game-changing approach not only offers official support and stewardship throughout the entire immigration process but also ensures continuity after arriving in Israel, working with the same immigration caseworkers and establishing a direct point of contact for navigating Israeli bureaucracy and society.  

For both organizations, the personal touch and retention of new and veteran Israeli immigrants is a key focus, visibly evident in the aftermath October 7, when that holistic support was needed the most.

Through its comprehensive database and ongoing coordination of the 80,000 olim Nefesh B’Nefesh has helped move to Israel in the past two decades, Fass explains the crucial pivot that his organization had to make after October 7, by mapping the needs of the hundreds of families and thousands of lone soldiers directly affected by the events of that fateful morning.  

“We had to mobilize quickly providing therapy, financial grants, and even housing for some,” Fass shared, adding that his organization has also been inspired by the incredible demonstration of solidarity and 90% increase of interest in Aliyah from North America, “We have been trying to maintain the proficiency and efficiency of our organization to make sure we can help this volume, but also care for all the olim we brought who are now in a sense of trauma.”

Similarly, Kahana shared how the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration took immediate action to care for the thousands of new immigrants who have arrived in recent years, especially those who just fled from war zones in Ukraine and Russia.  

The cooperation and collaboration between the two organizations identify the challenges faced by Israeli society today and utilize the global Jewish community, which is interested in being a part of the Israeli Zionist spirit by working towards the betterment of the state. Fass highlighted, as such, the success of the eight-year-old Nefesh B’Nefesh MedEx program, which helps to streamline the process for medical and healthcare professionals immigrating to Israel.  By working together, Nefesh B’Nefesh, the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration and Ministry of Health, expanded this program throughout the world, in order to help alleviate the impending physician shortage in Israel, with the goal of bringing 2,000 physician olim to Israel in the next five years.

The successful launch of this new International Medical Aliyah Program (IMAP) highlighted the importance of collaborative professional Aliyah programs, offering new opportunities for olim to provide solutions to Israel's current and future challenges. By helping vibrant Zionistic Jews from across the global Jewish community, the impact of Aliyah will pave the way for the future of the Jewish state.

Nefesh B’Nefesh and the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration sponsored a portion of the Jerusalem Post Annual Conference 2024. 

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