American Jews Make Historic Aliyah to Israel Amid Conflict
Two years of war with Hamas has not dampened the enthusiasm of American Jews who are immigrating to Israel.
“We’re fulfilling the dream of dreams,” a retired Philadelphia pediatrician told CBN News.
“We are trying to come and rebuild the land, and we’re (here) to just actually make history.”
The Jews’ return to Israel is called “Aliyah,” a Hebrew word that means to go up or ascend. in Bible times, the Jewish people went up to Jerusalem for the feasts, and for people arriving today, it’s just as important. “Aliyah is when a Jew from around the world, from the diaspora, returns home and becomes a citizen of the state of Israel,” Rabbi Yehoshua Fass said.
Israel’s i24 News reports an August flight marked not only the first charter flight since the Iron Swords War began, but also contributed to a historic peak in Aliyah.
Two women from St. Louis and Los Angeles moved to Israel this summer and planned to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces. Given the danger, they asked not to use their names, but at just 18 and 20 years old, they say they are ready for the difficult task of defeating Hamas.
“It feels right,” one of the women told CBN. “You know, home is home, and I think it feels the most right for me personally to come give back, and that is where I feel closest to my family and to myself.”
The organization Nefesh B’Nefesh (“Soul to Soul”) partners with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Immigration to bring immigrants to the Holy Land. “This is our 65th flight, and it’s over 90,000 people who have moved to Israel from around the world, but mostly from the United States,” the group’s Tony Gelbart said.
The U.S. flight was the first charter flight since the terror attack of Oct. 7, 2023. August saw more than 1,000 new immigrants, the highest total in more than 20 years. The flight included 125 children and people ranging in age from 72 down to six months. They came from Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ontario, Canada.
“When you talk to your non-Jewish friends back in Detroit and they’re going, ‘There’s a war going on, what are you doing, David?’” new immigrant David Fane said. “You only get one chance to live your dream. And this is the dream, and this is the place for the Jewish people, and you only get one chance to live your life. And so I have to live it/ This is the homeland of the Jewish people. This is what we pray toward Jerusalem, wherever we are in the world. And even if it’s a time of war, this is where our people are meant to be.”
–Dwight Widaman
