This summer I am getting married and then we are making aliyah. Many Americans no doubt think I must be crazy or a religious fanatic if I am willing to give up my comfortable life in America and move to a “war zone.” They are wrong. I am making aliyah for one reason only: Israel is home and, as Dorothy said in The Wizard of Oz, “There?s no place like home.”
The fictional Dorothy is smarter than many American Jews who shrug off or, worse, actively campaign against aliyah. We cannot think that the idea of aliyah is “unrealistic” or leave the task of aliyah to a small group of Orthodox Jews (and then, from the comfort of our homes in New York, Cleveland, Los Angeles, or Washington, complain about how the Jews who are living the Zionist reality of aliyah are “not the best Jews capable of assisting Israel.”)
A few months ago I had the opportunity to attend a board meeting of the American Zionist Movement. At this conference of supposed American Zionists, the idea of North American aliyah was nowhere on the agenda — despite the fact that Nefesh b’Nefesh, with the help of only a few generous funders, has brought planeloads of North American immigrants to Israel the past two summers. These olim have had an incredibly successful absorption process and have already contributed greatly to the building of the State of Israel.
It is only Nefesh b’Nefesh, founded by two Jews who had a dream, and a handful of small and poorly funded organizations, like Kumah, that are supporting the goal of bringing modern and well-educated North Americans to contribute to Israel as productive citizens.
Only once was the idea of aliyah brought up in a positive light. At a panel discussion on Zionism, a young New York University student, who happens to be active in Zionist affairs on campus, had the courage and conviction to bring this group, encompassing a spectrum of opinions, to task and reminding them that the primary goal of Zionism is “the ingathering of the exiles” — all exiles, even those in affluent countries like America and Canada — to our homeland.
One would think that at a conference of the leadership of the American Zionist Movement, the goal of aliyah, at least in theory, would be lauded and that those present would affirm Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon?s recent statement that “Aliyah is the central goal of the State of Israel.”
What was the response to this courageous young man’s plea to make aliyah the focal point of the Zionist agenda? Almost everyone, from every table and faction, got up and declared that he was being “unrealistic” and that the goal of North American aliyah was simply unrealistic. If that had been the attitude of early Zionist leaders, the State of Israel would not exist today. The fact that an organization such as Nefesh b’Nefesh has sent so many olim to Israel should be proof enough that North American aliyah is a realistic goal if we make it one of our priorities.
From both a practical (the demographic threat facing Israel) and an ideological perspective, aliyah should be the Zionist movement’s top priority. As one young woman who made aliyah with Nefesh b’Nefesh said, “The best place for a Jew who defines herself as a Jew is Israel. I’m going specifically now because I think the Jews of Israel really need our help and they don’t need checks necessarily, they don’t need little parades waving flags, they need people. They need bodies, they need people who are going to develop the land.”
That’s right — they need you and they need me. North American aliyah can be a realistic goal if we make it one. To that end, I propose the following plan that, if carried out, will make North American aliyah a more realistic opportunity:
1. We must change our mindset. Aliyah is a realistic goal. Who thought that the Jewish community could send thousands of kids to Israel for 10 days and that it would bring so many Jews closer to the Jewish people? Who thought that a country could be born out of the desert and now have the world’s highest concentration of scientists and engineers? It became real only because we dreamed it. North American aliyah is the next step to make Israel a friendlier, more efficient, and more prosperous country.
2. Support all olim. If you are a Reform Jew, you should support the Orthodox oleh. The Orthodox oleh should support the Reform and Conservative Jew. The Conservative Jew should support the “secular” Jew in moving to Israel. We must remember that we are all part of k’lal Yisrael, and the rabbinic adage “All Jews are responsible for one another” applies regardless of ideological outlook.
3. Support Nefesh b’Nefesh and the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel. Support Nefesh b’Nefesh in bringing olim to Israel and support AACI in its efforts at lobbying Israel for government policies that are friendlier to olim. If you can’t get on a plane and make aliyah, help finance those who do. Currently, Nefesh b’Nefesh is forced to refuse assistance to hundreds of productive North Americans who want to make aliyah but need a little extra push. Give Nefesh b’Nefesh whatever you can afford. Forgo one dinner out, one trip to the movies or a concert, one shopping trip for fancy clothing, and instead give to another Jewish soul through Nefesh b’Nefesh and AACI. Instead of endowing another monument to Jewish death, support Jewish life in Israel.
4. Support reform in the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization. Jewish leaders should be speaking out against the shanda that Jewish Agency leaders are bringing in non-Jews from the former Soviet Union instead of Jews from Africa and North America. The Jewish Agency just gave another million dollars to bring in non-Jews from Russia. Tell them that you want those million dollars to go to bringing in North American Jews, of all ideological backgrounds, and to supporting a simpler aliyah process and more knowledgeable and effective shlichim. In fact, while millions of dollars are earmarked for bringing non-Jews to Israel, the Jewish Agency has chosen to not renew the Conservative movement’s shliach/ shlicha. Call upon the leaders of all North American Jewish organizations to push the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization to support an efficient, stress-free, and productive aliyah process with an efficient placement of shlichim who are knowledgeable about the needs of American Jews and can provide the type of service we expect.
5. Visit Israel. Instead of going to Europe, go to Israel. Ski on the Golan instead of the Alps. Pray in Jerusalem instead of Johannesburg. Support your extended Jewish family. If possible, buy a vacation home and spend a summer or a sabbatical in Israel. Perhaps make a “partial” aliyah and spend six months in America or Canada and half a year in Israel. Invest your retirement savings so that you can retire in Israel.
6. Make aliyah. Israel is our home — yours, mine, and the sabra or oleh from Tel Aviv, Raanana, Efrat, Petach Tikva, or Jerusalem. Our political preference or level of religious observance is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is that we are Jews. Israel is our home, the eternal homeland of the Jewish people. The time to come home is now.
Aliyah has been the dream of the Jewish people for 3,000 years. Imagine what your great grandparents would think if they knew you were rejecting an aliyah that is only a short planeride away. We have much to gain as well as much to give if we support North American aliyah — a tradition of democratic, efficient governance, a respect for customer service (imagine what North American aliyah could do for Israel customer service!), and a desire for a comfortable living that we can make a reality in Israel.
Israel is the only home we’ve got. There may be a lot of things we don’t like about the country, but there is only one true way to fix it: by moving there and becoming citizens. If you support communities over the green line, move to Israel and vote for politicians and parties that think the same way. If you believe the demographic threat requires a territorial retreat, move to Israel, help reverse the demographic threat, and vote. If you?re non-Orthodox and wish to see more Reform and Conservative communities in Israel, make aliyah. and start your own kehillot.
Aliyah is the only way to reverse the demographic threat Israel is facing and the best way to help Israel. Perhaps most important, a life in Israel is the only way to live a life of shalem — wholeness — and shalom — peace. This summer I am making aliyah. I hope you will join me.
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