This year’s New York Mega Aliyah fair marks the 10th anniversary of the organization’s flagship Aliyah Fair and will take place on March 11 at John Jay College, 524 W 59th St, in New York City.
The event, which has grown to accommodate nearly 2,000 people, follows the recent announcement by Nefesh B’Nefesh that in 2017 it assisted just under 4,000 North American Olim fulfill their Aliyah dreams. With three additional large Aliyah Fairs planned for March 2018 in Los Angeles, Montreal and Toronto, the organization hopes to inspire and empower even more North American Jews to make Aliyah.
The North American Aliyah fairs were created by Nefesh B’Nefesh to enable prospective Olim to personally interface with Nefesh B’Nefesh employees and relevant vendors in order to better understand the Aliyah process, and prepare themselves as best as possible before immigrating to Israel. These events are co-hosted by Nefesh B’Nefesh, Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, The Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael and JNF-USA.
Whether prospective immigrants are retirees, young professionals, families, married, or single, the Aliyah fairs provide guidance about a wide-range of topics, including financial planning and budgeting, choosing a community, how to build a strategic job search plan, navigating the Israeli health care system, the ins and outs of buying or renting a home in Israel, and much more. The event is open to those intending to make Aliyah in the near future as well as those in the initial planning stages.
“Nefesh B’Nefesh is committed to assisting its Olim throughout their entire Aliyah process and constantly strives to help them professionally, logistically and socially,” said Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Nefesh B’Nefesh. “Our Mega Aliyah Event, and the additional North American fairs, have proven to be an indispensable element of the Aliyah process no matter where you are in your journey.”
The Mega Event includes a full-day Medical Professionals Seminar that provides the opportunity to meet with top representatives from the Israeli Ministry of Health Licensing Division, the Israeli Medical Association, and Israeli health funds, while representatives from nearly every hospital in Israel will also be in attendance. Professionals in various medical fields will be able to start the process of transferring their professional license to Israel on the spot.
Other aspects of the mega event will include a full day of workshops and seminars, designed to provide professional answers to any Aliyah questions; networking with hundreds of other Aliyah-minded people; children’s programming; the presence of Israeli vendors and service providers who can give prospective immigrants a head-start on Aliyah preparations; and an Israeli-style shuk (market) and cafe that will offer food and refreshments throughout the day. The event’s “Go Beyond Pavilion,” organized by Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael and Nefesh B’Nefesh, will help attendees tap into the opportunities available to those who make Aliyah to areas beyond Israel’s center.