ALIYAH COMMITTEE
AMTON Newsletter
Spring 2004
Aliyah: A Realistic Option
Avram Hein
This summer, I am getting married and then my wife
and I will make aliyah to Israel. Many Americans
have thought that 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.
A few months ago, I had the opportunity to attend a
board meeting of a major American Zionist organization.
At this conference, the idea of North American aliyah
was only parenthetically on the agenda — despite
the fact that Nefesh b'Nefesh, with the help of only
a few generous funders, brought planeloads of North
American immigrants to Israel the past two summers,
and is bringing three full flights of olim this
summer, myself included, by providing financial assistance
to help new immigrants with the costs of relocating.
These olim have had an incredibly successful
absorption process and have already contributed greatly
to the building of the State of Israel.
The fact that Nefesh b'Nefesh sent plane-loads of olim
to Israel over the past two years should show that North
American aliyah is a realistic goal if we make
it one of our priorities. North American aliyah
is up, as is Conservative North American aliyah.
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 necessarily need checks or little parades
waving flags, but...they need people who are going to
develop the land."
They need us! North American aliyah can be a
realistic goal if we make it one. First let's change
our mindset to incorporate aliyah as a realistic
goal. We need to talk it up, to make it a regular item
on the agenda at all Jewish/Zionist organizations we
belong to. Israel, built on dreams, went from a desert
to a country with the world's highest concentration
of scientists and engineers because we dreamed it. North
American aliyah is the next step to make Israel
a friendlier, more efficient, and more prosperous country...We
have much to gain as well as much to give if we support
North American aliyah — a tradition of freedom;
democratic, respectful, and efficient governance; pluralism;
a desire for a comfortable living and a respect for
customer service in the public and private sectors,
that we can help make a reality in Israel.
You don't like certain things about Israel? There's
only one way to fix it — by moving there and becoming
citizens of the State of Israel, where we can vote for
the politicians and parties that represent our views.
Want to see more Reform and Conservative communities
in Israel? Move to Israel and start Progressive and
Masorti (Conservative) congregations. Let the only arm-chairs
that we commiserate in, be the arm-chairs in our comfortable
and modern apartments in Jerusalem or Beersheva or Ashkelon.
Aliyah is the best way to help Israel. This summer
I am making aliyah. I hope you will join me.
Avi Hein is a native of Potomac, Maryland and a
recent graduate of University of Maryland where he majored
in Government and Politics and was co-head of KOACH.
He is also an alumnus of the Conservative Yeshiva in
Jerusalem. He is currently a research assistant at the
American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE) in Chevy
Chase, MD. Avi served as a delegate to the World Zionist
Congress in Jerusalem and is a Member of the Board of
MERCAZ USA.
The preceding were excerpts from a recent article
by Avi in Israel Insider. He can be reached at ahein@email.com.
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