KUMMUNIQUE

Kummunique - Kumah's Shabbat and Holiday Bulletin
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Shalom! We are proud to present another issue of Kummunique.
This issue is filled with Aliyah and Eretz Yisrael inspiration - so enjoy!

In this issue you will find:

1. "Israel In The Exile" by Malkah Fleisher
2. "Three Crises" by Yishai Fleisher
3. "Israel Immigration Marks First Jump Since Uprising" by Steven Scheer
4. "After Katrina Doors Open For New Oleh" by Jason Silberman

Watch our new Flash Film: www.aliyahrevolution.com

See a great Aliyah photo essay: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=95710
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1. "Israel In The Exile" by Malkah Fleisher

Well here we are in the Exile. In the midst of our Goodwill Family Tour, we have already had the luxury of doing many wonderful things, courtesy of the excellent and incredible hospitality of our family. We had terrific seats at The Nutcracker ballet (my first ballet!), we saw an impressive display of Russian artistic ability and expression at the latest Guggenheim museum exhibit, my mother-in-law treated me to a manicure and pedicure (am I lucky or what?), and we partied it up at Babushka Anna's spectacular 80th birthday extravaganza, complete with one man band and piping hot spoonfuls of my favorite Chinese dish, General Tso's chicken (mmmmmm...). With all of this vacationary delight, we keep reminding ourselves "Exile is a punishment, exile is a punishment..."

Of course, you see it now and again, in a true sense. I know several traditionally-raised Jews with loving parents and warm communities who are dating non-Jews. You have a hard time being enthusiastic over the pronouncement of an American Jew that a terrific new food has been manufactured - and it's kosher! The American commercial culture is so incredibly powerful, with its emphasis on sex appeal, style and fiscal accomplishment, that many affiliated, smart young Jews are being confused and misled away from themselves and their rich legacy. This has created an epidemic of identity crisis among even the very committed Jewish youth. Did I mention that the 80's are back in style?!

Of all the things our Israeli friends asked us to bring them from the Goldene Medine, they ALL said "bring back Jews." Therefore, Yishai and I felt lucky last night to host a small gathering of Israel lovers at our traditional spot for Kumah partying - J2 pizza in Manhattan. A dozen people showed up. Some knew us from Kumah, others knew us from Israel National Radio, but they all came to talk about Israel, to converse about their thoughts and feelings regarding what's going on there, and what their role is in it.

What a beautiful event. Over pizza and sodas, we spent most of our time sharing our unique reasons for wanting to live in Israel, and the concerns of those who still aren't sure. One cool couple said that since their final decision to move to Israel just 2 weeks ago, their families have offered to buy them a house and a car if they agree to stay. Another woman with a job on Wall Street came with her friends from Flatbush and sat next to another friend, a construction manager for the Port Authority. A Physics and Chemistry tutor discussed his passion to teach at the university in Ariel, and a woman who will receive a Masters in Cinema shared her concern for learning Hebrew, and a few computer folks voiced their plans as well..

The list goes on, and the night was long. What came out was something intangible but immeasurably successful - an energy, a community, a moment of inspiration and comeraderie - eat your hearts out, naysayers. The Jewish desire to reunite and to chart one's own course back to the story of our people is bubbling up. You never know whose face you'll be seeing next year in Jerusalem.

Of course, the war for Jewish hearts and minds doesn't always take place at some "event", some organized program of discussion over pizza. The most powerful influence in one's life is one's friends and family. So the next time you feel the deep issues of our times floating up to the surface, make room on the couch for your friend, and inspire each other. Just like Kumah hosted its guests, you should host yours, providing an environment of giving and abundance. Here's a recipe to schmooze by:

Malkah's Malawach pizza

1 Tablespoon oil per person
1 Malawach per person
2 Tablespoons tomato paste per person
1 fist full of grated cheese per person
Garlic powder or crushed garlic
Dried basil, oregano, thyme, rosemaryn (optional)
sliced mushrooms, corn, onions (optional)

Fry one malawach in oil on one side. When golden brown, flip over, and cover the cooked side with tomato paste, and sprinkle on your seasonings. Then cover with cheese, followed by any toppings. Cover until the cheese is melted, and serve piping hot!

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2. "Three Crises" by Yishai Fleisher

I have been in America for only one week, and I have already faced three crises all having to do with Israel:

The first crisis had to do with my dog, Pilpel. I left her in the care of my neighbors for the course of the trip. I figured it would be easier for the dog if she didn't have to cope with "abandonment" and a new environment at the same time. Anyway, when I called Israel to see how she was, my neighbors sadly reported that she had disappeared. I made frantic calls to Israel and set my friend, neighbor, and new Oleh, Elan White on the case. Well, he found out that she got loose, was bothering kids at the school, was taken by a dog catcher and let go outside our community. Subsequently, she ended up at the gas station about ten miles away, and was then captured again and sent to a pound in Modin. Elan sleuthed out this information, took my car and got the dog. She was gone for four days. When she returned, all the neighbors came out to greet her. They all said it was a Hanukkah Miracle.

The second crises had to do with our Flash film "Free Your Mind" playing at www.aliyahrevolution.com which we just released after a year of work. After two days of playing, I got an email from Pinchas telling me that the website server was slowing down due to high traffic. In other words, people clicked on the movie, and it simply wouldn't play. Well this was a crisis: we didn't make this movie not to play, and we were losing viewers every minute. Ben Sandler suggested I call the campany that does web-streaming for Arutz Sheva. So here I am calling Israel again frantically. I got through to a great guy at Cast-Up who said they can help us. He asked me what the movie was about and when he heard that we were promoting an Aliyah Revolution, he gave me half off the price to host our movie. Problem fixed - a Hanukkah Miracle..

The third crisis was the hardest. Desecration of our Temple on Hanukkah! I got an email telling me that my synagogue in Israel was ransacked by Arabs. They came in, ripped up some books, spilled some kind of liquid on the shelves, cut holes in the Mechitza, and then left in a hurry. I called Israel frantically yet again. I tried to console my neighbors and told them that while I was here, I would start collecting money for a permenant building to replace the double wide caravan which currently houses our Shul. Thank G-d the Torahs were safe behind locked steel doors. Thank G-d they didn't hurt anybody. This too was a Hanukkah Miracle.

When you love Israel, you are always connected to it. May G-d grant us the power of Hanukkah - to cleanse, to purify, to sanctify, to make light. "May You shine a new light on Zion, and may we all speedily merit its light." Next year may your "Nes Gadol Haya Sham", turn to "Nes Gadol Haya Po"!

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3. "Israel Immigration Marks First Jump Since Uprising" by Steven Scheer http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L28779485.htm

TEL AVIV, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Immigration to Israel rose in 2005 for the first time since the start of a five-year-old Palestinian uprising, the Jewish Agency that encourages new immigrants said on Wednesday.

Immigration, "aliyah" in Hebrew, has long been a policy priority for Israeli governments that want to keep a big Jewish majority in a country where Arabs make up a fifth of the population and have a higher birth rate.

The numbers of Jews wanting to move to Israel plunged after the start of the Palestinian uprising brought bloodshed to the streets and helped drive the economy into recession.

But attacks in Israel had begun to decline even before a truce was agreed in February, while economic reforms had helped return the economy to strong growth.

"We believe that the improvement in the security and economic situation will increase the feeling of security and ... aliyah will be on the rise in 2006 as well," said Zeev Bielski, chairman of the quasi-governmental Jewish Agency.

The agency welcomed a planeload of more than 200 North Americans arriving at Tel Aviv's airport on Wednesday.

About 23,000 people immigrated in 2005, up from a 15-year low of 21,000 in 2004 and compared to 61,000 in 2000. No figures for emigration were immediately available.

FEWER JEWS FLEE PERSECUTION

It is not only the situation in the Middle East that has made it harder to encourage immigration. Fewer Jews than before are fleeing persecution, war and poverty abroad.

Groups trying to encourage immigration have turned to North America. The United States alone has more Jews than in Israel. Canada also has a large Jewish population.

"Most aliyah until now was people running away from something -- Russians from Communism, Ethiopians from hunger," said Tony Gelbart of the Nefesh B'Nefesh (Soul to Soul) group.

"Aliyah from North America is by choice," he said.

A total of 3,052 North Americans immigrated in 2005 -- the highest number since 1983. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stated goal is to bring 1 million North American immigrants over the next decade.

But it has been difficult to convince U.S. and Canadian Jews to leave high-paying jobs for Israel, which has far lower wages, higher taxes and an unemployment rate of close to 9 percent, despite some financial incentives.

"It might be easier financially to live in America but it's more difficult to live there as a fulfilled Jew," said Josh Coder, 31, an accountant from Indianapolis who arrived in Israel on Wednesday with his wife, Jackie, and three children.

He decided to emigrate after losing his job.

In addition to North Americans, the Jewish Agency said immigration from France hit a 34-year record in 2005 with about 3,000 people. But immigration from the former Soviet states fell this year to about 9,000 from 10,000 in 2004.

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4. "After Katrina Doors Open For New Oleh" by Jason Silberman
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1135696355326&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


Reflecting over his feelings in the last few days, Danny Rebuck, 36, originally from London, said he had felt "a bit of apprehension, then a bit of euphoria, a real mixture of emotions. Yet now I feel very relaxed."

For Rebuck, who made aliya Wednesday with 250 others on the last flight this year organized by the North American aliya assistance group Nefesh B'Nefesh, the moment of arrival at Ben-Gurion Airport ushered in a sense of relief and optimism not felt in months.

Rebuck outran Hurricane Katrina by riding his bike 40 kilometers to catch the last flight out of New Orleans. After the hurricane destroyed the city, including his home and most of his possessions, Rebuck stayed in a Miami hotel for nine days with just one change of clothes. He returned to what used to be his home for a two-week period without electricity or running water, and decided to make aliya barely a month and a half before the flight. It is understandable that he now feels relaxed.

After losing his possessions and his business coaching and managing a soccer club of 100 children, Rebuck, who said he thought of coming here before, said the decision was now easy for him. "I started to look at things a bit differently," he said. "I wanted to come to Israel for a long time, but this truly felt like the door was opening for me."

"It's very heartwarming that so many people are welcoming us like this," Rebuck said of the hundreds who sang and danced to welcome the new olim at the airport.

The atmosphere of celebration has become tradition at the arrival of Nefesh B'Nefesh flights over the last few years. The group has brought over 7,000 North American immigrants since its inception in 2001 and continues to aid olim after their arrival. Assistance is provided through financial assistance, help in finding employment and social networking.

According to the group, over 3,100 North American Jews arrived here in 2005 through Nefesh B'Nefesh, which works in close cooperation with the Jewish Agency. This is the highest number of new immigrants from North America since 1983, and the first year since 1999 that aliya as a whole has increased, said Josh Schwarcz, Secretary-General of the Jewish Agency.

Included among the other immigrants were Yosef and Hadassah Bitzur whose three children made aliya a year and a half ago, and who had not seen them during that time. "We feel safe now," Yoseph Bitzur said. "After a month of living with friends after our lease ran out, now we are finally home, together with our children and whole family."

Welcoming the new immigrants at the ceremony was Deputy Minister of the Interior, Ruhama Avraham, former Chairman of the Committee for Immigration, Absorption, and the Diaspora, Zvi Hendel, Schwarcz, and cofounders of Nefesh B'Nefesh, Rabbi Yehoshua Fass and Tony Gelbart.