Olmert: Nefesh B'Nefesh Israel Aliya Stronger Than IDF

(photo) Prime Minister Olmert greets and provides identity cards to Nefesh B'Nefesh immigrants from the US and Canada at Ben Gurion Airport.

Jerusalem ----September 5, 2007...... It all started with a terror attack. On the sun drenched morning of March 28, 2001, just before seven o'clock, seven Jewish teenagers were waiting for a school bus at a gas station near the Neveh Yemin Junction, not far from Kfar Saba, Israel. They were going to the Bnei Hayil Yeshiva High School in Kedumim. A Palestinian suicide bomber walked up to them and yelled: "allah akbar" (god is great) and then detonated his lethal explosives. Among the murdered was Naftali Ben Zion Lanzkron, age 13.

The once tan, brick sidewalk became a river flowing with blood. The dozens of Magen David Adom ambulances, the policemen, firemen and security personnel could do nothing more than place white sheets over the terror victims and carefully pick up and put body parts into black plastic bags.

Upon hearing the news of the terror attack, US Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, who had directed the Helen Julius Reiter Institute of Judaic Studies and coordinated trips to the Holocaust March of the Living memorials in Poland, was shocked. Naftali, his young cousin, was dead.

Fass, who had been awarded a Rabbinic Leadership award at the United Jewish Communities - General Assembly, Chicago, was not about to mourn silently. Fass would not allow Naftali's death to go unanswered. Fass was determined to find an effective, productive and long lasting solution to Islamic terrorism in Israel.

Attack after bloody barbaric terror attack took place in Israel. Restaurants, buses, discos, pizza parlors and hotel dining rooms were turned into fiery infernos with gray smoke, twisted metal and broken glass. But the Israeli response to the blood and tears, to the too many funerals which separated families and friends for an eternity for which the Islamic terrorists were seeking never materialized.

Israelis, the Jews of Israel never fled their land. Rather, they just increased security by hiring security guards for buses, schools and shopping malls. IDF Operation Defensive Shield was implemented after the Passover Massacre in Netanya, with IDF forces marching into every West Bank town and city and clearing them of Fatah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas terrorists.

"Your coming to Israel is more powerful than anything we have in the Israel Defense Forces. Your being here today overshadows the powerful might of our air force, navy and ground forces. Your professional, personal and cultural contributions to Israel transcend anything we might have and insure our future as a Jewish and democratic state for generations to come."

But more potent than any Israel Defense Forces operation would be a massive civilian operation whose mission would be to bring more Jews to Israel.

Turning sorrow into productive anger Rabbi Fass decided to embark on an even greater challenge for Israel and the Jewish people, co-founding and directing a newly founded organization: Nefesh B'Nefesh.

Nefesh B'Nefesh is a foundation whose sole mission is to revitalize Aliyah by eliminating the obstacles that prevent and hinder those who dream and will to move to Israel. Rabbi Fass hoped that his efforts to mobilize and enable hundreds of families to make Aliyah, would serve not only as a significant and tangible expression of solidarity between North American and Israel Jews, but become contagious and ultimately serve as a conscious raising initiative to address and rehabilitate Aliyah.

Fass contacted Tony Gelbart, a businessman and philanthropist, who became Chairman and Co-Founder of Nefesh B'Nefesh. In addition to NBN, Tony is President and CEO of Old City Partners LLC, an investment company based in Boca Raton, Florida with holdings in both the U.S. and Israel.

Tony is also actively involved with several charitable organizations. These include Council Member, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; Vice Chairman, Republican Jewish Coalition; Board Member, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies; Board Member, Jewish National Fund; Member, American Friends of Israel Democracy Institute.

Israel Ambassador Danny Ayalon recently joined the Nefesh B'Nefesh team. Prior to his position as NBN Co-Chairman, Danny served as Israel’s Ambassador to the United States from July 2002 to November 2006, during which time, relations between the two countries reached an all time high. Strategic, political, and economic ties were deepened and expanded across the board. Ambassador Ayalon played a leading role in securing the agreement for $10 billion in U.S. grants and loan guarantees to Israel; the Roadmap to Peace; the historic Exchange of Letters between President Bush and PM Ariel Sharon, and the bilateral trade that reached $20 billion and another $10 billion in investment.

It was a most uncommon response to terror that Rabbi Joshua Fass took in 2001, but his decision to fight the enemy not with missiles loaded with weapons, but instead airplanes loaded with hope and desire that has built up the Jewish State over the past five years.

On a Nefesh B'Nefesh flight from New York to Tel Aviv, Fass spoke with the Israel News Agency recalling the day his relative was murdered in a terrorist bombing in Petach Tikvah. His eyes, looking down, swelling with tears, the embracing grief as fresh today as it was years ago said it all. But Fass overcame those dark moments quickly as he looked around the chartered El-AL plane, taking witness of the fruit he has produced. Having created an Aliya program that would eventually bring over 15,000 olim (new immigrants) to Israel, 220 of which arrived in a joyous blue and white laden ceremony Tuesday morning.

"My overwhelming emotion was to fight terrorism with a sense of optimism," Fass said.

And optimism and professionalism is all that one witnesses when watching the Nefesh B'Nefesh Aliyah team in action.

This Aliyah story begins with one seeing an ad in a Jewish newspaper or hearing a Rabbi, relative or friend describe a positive aliyah experience. The seeds may have been generated by a Jewish Agency initiative or having enjoyed a Taglit Birthright mission to Israel.

But once signed up onto Nefesh B'Nefesh, the participant greatest challenge is to adapt to the fact that he or she is not going on a vacation. That they are about to leave all their family, friends and the comforts of their homes and businesses in America for a new born country which is still fighting for its very survival. A Jewish nation which has hundreds of Iran and Syria missiles pointed at every city in Israel. A tiny, democratic country born of the ashes of the holocaust and today facing Islamic threats of "being wiped off the map."

The Chinese say that "the journey of a thousand miles begins with one footstep." Israelis know that the Aliyah journey begins with one telephone call to Nefesh B'Nefesh. And a few weeks or months following that call or email, they will arrive at Terminal 4 at New York's JFK airport.

At first they will be greeted by the green and tan camouflaged uniforms of US National Reserve soldiers. A somber reminder that terrorism is global. That they really are not leaving a safe place for a war torn country. The sheer physical and emotional impact September 11 or 9/11 cannot be compared to any terror attack which has fallen upon us here in Israel.

Once the Oleh has walked into the terminal, as they look to their left at the end of the terminal they see a massive Nefesh B'Nefesh sign. There they will find a table with a professional team of seven Nefesh B'Nefesh staff members greeting them with water, literature and smiles. Their anxious, bewildered looks melt into soft smiles as the Nefesh B'Nefesh team answers their every question.

"We have a professional team all geared up and waiting to greet the Olim here at JFK," said Nefesh B'Nefesh director of development Stephanie Risa Stein. Stein, a highly intelligent, attractive, sensitive and dedicated professional from New York acted as the articulate Master of Ceremonies in the New York Nefesh B'Nefesh JFK departure ceremony.

After standing in line for about 15 minutes, those making Aliya checked in their luggage and headed for a Nefesh B'Nefesh celebration just minutes away where they and their relatives and friends would hear encouraging words from Rabbi Fass, Tony Gelbart and Ambassador Asaf Shariv, the newly appointed Consul General of Israel in New York.

After the short and warm speeches, the olim fed on sweet cakes, juices and bottles of mineral water handed out by El-Al staff members. Now they headed for the international departure gate. The smiles turned into tears as they embrace their fathers, mothers and best friends. They kiss, embrace and say goodbye but are reminded by a few veterans, even by us journalists, that the real word is "laheatroid" or see you soon. One journalist, who covered 9/11, commented that covering a Nefesh B'Nefesh departure had the same emotional impact, except for that it was all positive.

"I had to look away and breath heavy from time to time just in order to keep myself composed," said one INA reporter. "This has to be one of the most challenging news and feature assignments I have ever had, as both a Jew and Israeli. You want to embrace these people. You want to sing and cry as well, but you need to keep your distance in order to report from an objective perspective. It is not easy."

There is very little time for duty free shopping. Instead, sharing last moments, chatting and photographing family and friends is cherished. Many wait till the last call for departure is made. The uniformed US security guards ask for their tickets and request that all carts be placed to the side, away from the entrance. El Al security is everywhere. But you don't see it. In fact, El-Al has been awarded the safest aircraft award for both on ground and in-flight security. El-Al has the distinction of being the only aircraft equipped to deter and deflect shoulder held laser missiles. El-Al has to be one of the safest places on Earth.

Everyone now stands in line waiting to be x-rayed and to have their pockets and shoes emptied. Questions are asked, people are profiled again and again. Luggage goes through many security machines. These new immigrants to Israel are now getting tired, they just want to sit down. And within minutes they are greeted by the El-Al flight crew, including the captains. They are all VIPs. They are all heroes and treated as such.

These chartered Nefesh B'Nefesh aircraft may have business and first class accommodations but they do not exist on these flights. The Nefesh B'Nefesh staff and journalists who are working through this 12 hour flight are provided with larger seats that they really do not have the time to use. They are too busy working. Nefesh B'Nefesh uses the latest technology to provide customs and immigration services in flight while the journalists roam, interview and photograph. Many of the journalists will not sleep till the Nefesh B'Nefesh team sleeps. But the Nefesh B'Nefesh team does not sleep. We all consume much coffee as we ride this emotional roller coaster to Israel.

"Don't think that you have seen anything yet," remarked one Nefesh B'Nefesh staffer. "The arrival is something else. You will not need coffee for that."

The plane is divided into three sections. The back for families with small crying babies. The center for families without babies and the forward section for Jewish singles. The back of the aircraft takes on the atmosphere of a kindergarten while the front section becomes more of a bar scene with very few alcoholic drinks. But the one thing that all three sections share is the sheer excitement. A class five hurricane with hundreds of emotional tornadoes as they board the plane and make their way across the Atlantic and Europe. A 12 hour adrenaline rush.

Nefesh B'Nefesh plans on bringing thousands of more olim to Israel in the coming years, Olim whose stories will surely echo those of the souls who realized their dream Tuesday.

People like Claire Seber, whose desire to move to Israel rose out of 60 year old experiences from the Holocaust, or Akiva Wismer, a halfway house counselor from Maine who has traveled the 48 states but found he was only homesick when he left Israel, or Ezra Friedman, a Yeshiva student who finds himself willing to jump blindly into situation, and come out with his head above water. (In the interest of full disclosure, this writer who was part of an INA news team was also an Oleh on the flight who received financial assistance from Nefesh B'Nefesh.)

These are some of those stories: Claire Sever,67, was five and a half years old and facing a 31 rifle firing squad the first time she found out she was Jewish. As a Holocaust survivor, she always vowed to settle in Israel in exchange for a promise from God, or as she calls Him, "yours and my best friend," that she would survive. 60 years later that promise is finally being kept.

"I feel much freer and much safer, I have a place to go. I didn't have that advantage with Hitler"

"I feel much freer and much safer, I have a place to go. I didn't have that advantage with Hitler," she said. Her husband David,83, shares the same enthusiasm for aliyah, though he was living safely in America during the Holocaust. His connection with Israel still runs as deep as any river though, with both sets of David's grandparents being buried in the country. "It's amazing I can't believe, it," Claire said. "It had gotten to a point that I didn't think we would ever realize our dream.

For decades the Levinthals were known to their friends around Maryland, where they have lived, as Elaine and Harry. Sitting In the plane on the Way to Israel, though, they began going by their "new" names : Yitta and Herschel Tzvi. Much like the trip to Israel was a return to their ancestral roots, so were the names, Jewish ones they had shed in America but were once again ready to be donned as they changed their whole lifestyle to fit their new home in Israel.

The Levinthals have been retired for years, but they see their Israel retirement as a new one that will be better for them, even if it means leaving the relatively posh comforts of America. This will be a healthier kind of retirement, Yitta said, of the two's plans to live in a predominantly anglo section of Ramat Bet Shemesh.

What the Levinthals and Sebers have in common is family that will be waiting for them once they reach their final destination. For many other olim, though, coming to Israel meant leaving their closest relations.

Ezra Friedman, 20 of Montreal, thinks he has members of his family only disappointed at him after three years of studying in Israel. That he sees as a step up from the anger that was originally directed at him for moving to Israel. Friedman originally came to his Israeli Yeshiva in Mercaz Shapira, knowing only some Hebrew, but now speaks like a native, and though he lacks much family around the country, he has quickly built a network of friends for himself. While many new olim his age enter the army with trepidation Friedman is tackling his March draft with the same deftness he showed three years ago. "I'm very and happy and proud," he said. "This is the first time in 1900 years we have had our own army."

Louis Roskind, 28, is moving to Israel now before his two kids aged 3 and 1, are too old to absorb fully into the culture. Yonat Roskind, Louis' wife, is returning home, but for Louis, who knows less Hebrew than his children have absorbed from Yonat the move is a risky one. When asked what his plans are for when they arrive, Roskind shakes his head and laughs at his lack of job or even a place to live beyond crashing at relatives. Moving his family to Israel, though, is a reward unto itself. "I fell in love with the country," he said.

The town of Wayne, ME is a tiny burg of barely 1,000 people. The hamlet, hometown to Akiva Wisner, 21, lies on an isthmus between Androscoggin Lake and Pocasset Lake and is known for it's various swimming holes, which are prime real estate in the short, but warm, summer. Though Wismer has traveled all over the United States, he never became homesick for the quaint town. having lived in Israel for three years though, and returning to America, Wismer found himself immediately wishing he was back in his surrogate home.

"I've never been homesick until I left Israel," he said. On Tuesday it became his official home, and though he won't receive absorption help from the government, Wismer couldn't be happier with his decision to make aliyah. "I've been procrastinating way too long," he said. "I can't put it off anymore, I need to be able to make Aliyah."

Even though El-Al turns off the cabin lights, many of the olim from New York and Chicago to Los Anglese and Houston roamed the aisles. They would congregate in small groups asking which Mercaz Klita (absorption center) are you heading to? Did you find work? Who is your rabbi?

A few who work as journalists and media consultants approached the journalists seeking employment. They wasted no time in using their networking skills. And Nefesh B'Nefesh encourages these American olim to waste no time.

Nefesh B'Nefesh PR and Communications Coordinator Benzi Kluwgant put a newly appointed INA Oleh reporter to work in seconds after they were both introduced in flight. Kluwgant, an Australian who projected a warm and friendly smile up through the entire trek, pointed out several Jewish olim on the airplane who had interesting and colorful backgrounds. While Yael Katsman, Nefesh B'Nefesh Director of Communications in Jerusalem was available to dozens of journalists day and night as we worked from New York to Tel Aviv to file this report.

To have a successful Aliya one needs two out of three things. Work, a place to sleep and a boyfriend or girlfriend. But finding employment remains a high priority with Nefesh B'Nefesh as close to 90 percent of American olim leave Israel within 5 years. Not so much because they could not integrate culturally, but due to not being able to pay their electric and telephone bills.

Michele Kaplan-Green, a media professional from the States now living in Ra'anana, Israel works as a Nefesh B'Nefesh social worker with the title of regional social services. Kaplan-Green was attentive to all on the aircraft and suggested to many to use the Nefesh B'Nefesh Website.

The site has potent and practical advice: "Create a network of professional contacts before you arrive," it reads. "It’s difficult to apply for jobs before you make Aliyah, as employers are not interested in applicants before they’ve made the big move. But you can help yourself jumpstart the process by creating a network of professional contacts and speaking with them by email ahead of time. Do you know anyone in your field who lives in Israel, or do you have any friends in Israel who might have contacts of their own? Do you have any connections through your Jewish community in the U.S. or Canada? When you plan your pilot trip, be sure to set up informational interviews with each of the professionals on your personal contact list. If you feel that you don’t have professional contacts, the Nefesh B’Nefesh Employment Office is happy to help you find people to speak with in your field."

The September 4th chartered flight, which brought 96 singles and 29 families to Israel, marked the end of Nefesh B'Nefesh's summer influx of Jewish immigrants to Israel. Over the summer of 2007, Nefesh B'Nefesh helped over 2,200 people make aliyah - including almost 400 singles, 265 families with approximately 600 children, and 115 people who joined the Israel Defense Forces.

As the plane entered Israeli air space and the tan Mediterranean homes and brown fields became visible, a tidal wave of applause was heard throughout the plane. The new immigrants, who now had Teudat Zeuout Israel identification numbers began to sing and dance. The flight crew repeatedly asked everyone to take their seats, but even they wanted to sing.

Again, as the plane touched ground, applause roared. Not for the El-Al captains for having made a very smooth landing, but for the mere fact that they were now home. Many would step off the plane and kiss the ground while others began to dance. While others would just stare in amazement at the massive greeting awaiting them. Hundreds of soldiers, family, friends, fellow Nefesh B'Nefesh olim and strangers all waving the blue and white Israel flags.

As the Olim stepped off the buses that took them from the plane to the old terminal building at Ben Gurion Airport, they walked through a man-made corridor of balloons, flags, music, handshakes and smiles.

"From small children, to the 100 singles and new IDF soldiers, as well as retirees and Holocaust survivors, today's flight symbolizes the intergenerational contribution of Aliyah to the State of Israel," said co-founder of Nefesh B'Nefesh, Tony Gelbart.

"I'm proud to be able to say, that all of this is just the beginning, and we are prepared to bring thousands more North American and British Jews to Israel in the coming years."

Israel Prime Minister Olmert told the American and Canadian immigrants: "Your desire to come here is the best proof of your solidarity and support, and the great commitment you have made to the Jewish People and the State of Israel. You came here willingly, from countries with high standards of living, but I must tell you that it is not always easy to live here. We are proud of you and are happy that you have decided to live with us and I am certain that you will feel uplifted living in the place that you chose. Welcome and may you all have a good year in your new home."

In addition to Israel Prime Minister Olmert, the NBN flight was met by public figures including Israel Absorption Minister Yaakov Edri, the former Chief Rabbi of Israel, and current Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, Knesset Member Tzachi Hanegbi (Kadima), the mayor of the city of Modi'in, the Chairman of El-Al Airlines and others. Wearing yellow guest tags were hundreds of family, friends, well-wishers, Aliyah activists and veterans of previous NBN flights greeted the newcomers.

In his speech addressing the new olim, Rabbi Lau said, "You made it. And for the first time you can look in the mirror and say, 'A year ago, on the night of Passover and the end of Yom Kippur, I said the same words, "Next year [in Jerusalem"], but this is the first time that I mean it, that I fulfilled it, that I made it real."

The rabbi, a Holocaust survivor, went on to contrast his arrival in Israel and that of Minister Edri, who was born in Morocco, with the immigration of the participants in the NBN flight: "We arrived here as clouds, pushed by the wind, strong winds of all kinds of exile. You have arrived this morning as doves flying back to their nest, to their home."

Nefesh B'Nefesh has been responsible for bringing over 12,000 American, Canadian and British Jews home to Israel, since 2002. The support and comprehensive social services provided by the organization, from the planning stages to arrival in Israel and beyond, have ensured that 99 percent of its immigrants have remained in Israel, and 94 percent of the families have one or both spouses employed.

"Your coming to Israel is more powerful than anything we have in the Israel Defense Forces," said Olmert. "Your being here today overshadows the powerful might of our air force, navy and ground forces. Your professional, personal and cultural contributions to Israel transcend anything we might have and insure our future as a Jewish and democratic state for generations to come."

Israel News Agency reporter and new Oleh Josh Davidovich contributed to the above story.
The Israel News Agency welcomes the new Olim and lists several support groups which will assist in their adjustment to their new home:

NewRaanana
Israel Anglo Singles
Israel Anglo Homes
Israel Children
Israel Consumer Rights

“Your coming to Israel is more powerful than anything we have in the Israel Defense Forces,” said Olmert.

yes but that’s not really saying much considering that Olmert pretty much destroyed the deterrent power of the IDF

2 posted on 09/05/2007 7:50:01 PM PDT by ari-freedom (I am for traditional moral values, a strong national defense, and free markets.)

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.