KUMMUNIQUE

Shalom! We are proud to present another issue of Kummunique - full of love of Israel and Aliyah inspiration!

In this issue you will find:

1. "Ki-Tetzei: Don't Be Afraid" by Rabbi David Samson
2. "New School Year, New Challenges For New Immigrant Students" by Daphna Berman
3. "Three Families Fulfill Dream of Making Aliya" by Debra Rubin
4. "Herzl and Rajab 27" by Elliot Jager

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1. "Ki-Tetzei: Don't Be Afraid" by Rabbi David Samson
From Israel National News

Sometimes, when Jews in the Diaspora speak about Aliyah, they say, "Certainly we are planning to live in Israel. But with all the fighting there, we can't go now. We will go when the situation becomes more peaceful."

In this week's Torah portion, we learn something different. The opening verse, "When you go forth to war against your enemies...." teaches us that war is an integral part of our Divine national mission. Seven out of the 613 mitzvot of the Torah deal with war. HaShem Himself is called "The Master of War".

The underlying commandment to wage war, milchemet mitzvah, is explained by the Ramban as the Torah mitzvah of dwelling in the Land of Israel and keeping it under Jewish sovereignty. Establishing national Jewish life (Medinat Yisrael) in Eretz Yisrael is the way that we perform this mitzvah, to be actively pursued by the Jewish People at all times. We do this with the Israel Defense Forces and with the Aliyah of every Jew to the Land of Israel. Not only with tanks and airplanes, but with every new Jewish house, stroller and washing machine.

The Torah's commandments dealing with war teach us that, even when there are enemy nations who dispute our right to the Land, we are beholden to call up our inner fortitude and courage, and to summon our readiness to sacrifice for the sake of our Land, our nation and our G-d. Entering the Land of Israel, dwelling in it, and thus establishing G-d's Kingdom on earth, are things that we must be actively engaged in, even at the price of personal hardship and war.

The precept of defending the Jewish nation in the Land of Israel and developing Jewish settlement in all of its borders is the Divine command that beckons to all of world Jewry today, just as in the time of Joshua ben Nun. As the Haftora says, "And thy seed shall possess nations, and make desolate cities to be inhabited. Don't be afraid."

The foregoing commentary was distributed by the Aloh Naaleh organization.

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2. "New School Year, New Challenges For New Immigrant Students" by Daphna Berman
From Haaretz

As children around the country gear up for the start of the new school year, more than 850 English-speaking new immigrants who arrived over the summer are preparing for their initiation into the Israeli educational system. For most, this will mean coping with instruction in a foreign language, new classmates and a completely unfamiliar system.

According to education specialists, language skills top the list of anxiety factors for new immigrant students, followed by fears about making friends.

"The number-one concern for parents and children is definitely the language issue," said Tzvi Richter, director of social services for Nefesh B'Nefesh, which works closely with the new arrivals throughout the absorption process. "Some kids come well-prepared and are either children of Israelis or have studied in a school with strong Hebrew instruction. But even so, the language problem is still the largest single barrier facing many young olim."

Having to cope with learning new material in subjects such as history, science and math, when the language of instruction is foreign, means that students are working twice as hard in any given subject.

"In an ideal world, every oleh would arrive in first grade, so that he would learn to read and write together with the Israeli students and not be behind," said Rabbi Ari Cutler, director of Lamdeni, an educational program that works with English-speaking immigrants throughout the country. "Obviously, we are not in an ideal world and though it's wonderful that olim of all ages are coming, different-age kids soak Hebrew up at different paces."

Experts say it is important to dispel the common assumption that children can learn Hebrew in a few months. "There is a myth that kids who arrive over the summer master Hebrew by Hanukkah, and that's just not true," Richter said. "That scenario is more the exception than the rule, but for some reason the myth remains. A more realistic expectation is that within a couple of months children can understand what is going on in class, even if they don't yet feel comfortable speaking."

It can be difficult for parents to watch their "star student" child suddenly struggling academically in their new environment. "Parents should have healthy expectations," Cutler advised. "If your child was an A-plus student before, you should not expect the same results right away. But on the other hand, you shouldn't let your child 'cruise,' either. Children should be learning Hebrew and making friends and working on subjects that build on one another like math, and limudei kodesh [Torah studies] for the religious. Most important, you need to make sure that your child feels accomplished."

Experts say parents must pay special attention to children who struggled with school in their previous frameworks, and those who did not want to immigrate in the first place. The latter situation can affect childrens' willingness to learn Hebrew and to make friends.

"If school was academically challenging before, the old wive's tale that if you change your place, you change your luck, isn't actually true," said Michelle Berkowitz, a U.S.-born educational consultant from Beit Shemesh and founder of the MaLaCH consulting service. "If your child was having academic challenges before, those may become exacerbated when you come on aliyah."

Differences between the Israeli school system and those abroad also take some adjustment, experts warn. Class sizes here tend to be large, with as many as 40 students per class, so teachers have less opportunity to give individual attention to each child.

Israeli schoolchildren may be more rambunctious than in schools abroad, which can be a shock to the new arrivals. Another difference is that children here usually call their teachers by their first names.

Many of the new arrivals studied in private Jewish day schools abroad, which in addition to smaller class sizes have a different organizational culture than Israeli public schools.

"The transition from a private school to a public school means that parents may have less say than they are used to," Berkowitz said. "Parents who used to pay a lot of tuition are used to having more influence, but here, parents have a smaller voice in certain issues. Also, if parents do have issues they need to discuss with a principal, for example, they need to go through channels they may not be used to."

But Berkowitz warns parents against falling into a language trap, in which they are reluctant to approach their child's teachers simply because of their less-than-fluent Hebrew. "Most probably, their child has new challenges that parents need to relate to the teacher," she said. "It's really important for parents to take someone with them who understands Hebrew."

"Children will need help immediately," she added, "and they won't be able to wait until the parent feels more comfortable speaking Hebrew."

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3. "Three Families Fulfill Dream of Making Aliya" by Debra Rubin
From the NJ Jewish News

Three Highland Park families have fulfilled a long-held dream by making aliya, leaving behind family, friends, and a comfortable life for one of uncertainty.

Jack and Riva Ben-Ezra and their three children, Patrick and Julie Zagdanski and their three children, and Bracha Leah Samet, who is college-age, have all arrived in Israel as new olim.

"There are so many reasons," said Jack Ben-Ezra in a phone conversation Aug. 8, the evening before his departure. "It's ideology, the whole concept of a Jewish homeland where we belong. Throughout the day in our prayers we pray for our return to the land of Israel. Throughout history it's been our prayer and hope. Now it's possible today. I feel that if it can be done, and I can do something, I should."

Julie Zagdanski said her family had been mulling over the move for about 10 years since they visited Israel, but never thought it was realistic. Then, she said, "our friends made aliya about two years ago, and we heard how their life was." The family realized it was possible for them, too.

The Zagdanskis and Samet left Aug. 15 aboard flights from JFK Airport in New York arranged by Nefesh B'Nefesh, a private organization allied with the Jewish Agency for Israel, which encourages North American immigration to Israel.

Yael Katzman, the organization's director of communications, said 240 olim were on the flight that carried the Ben-Ezras. The flight carrying Samet was one of three landing at Ben-Gurion Airport in Israel at the same time. Flights from Toronto, London, and New York brought an additional 600 olim.

"It was a huge day, a record-setting day for us in terms of Western aliya," said Katzman. "It started with an Aug. 9 arrival and culminated six days later with the Aug. 15 flight."

She said despite the recent war in the North and the fragile cease-fire, there were no cancellations on any flights and, in fact, aliya in general is up.

"Since Nefesh B'Nefesh started in 2002, aliya has gone up tremendously," said Katzman.

Rabbi David Bassous of Congregation Etz Ahaim in Highland Park, where all the new immigrants were congregants, said they are among nine member families who have made aliya in recent years.

"We are losing three very good member [families] — it's a big loss — but for a very good cause," he said, noting that while visiting his sister in Netivot several weeks ago, Israelis were talking about the flights bringing the hundreds of newcomers.

"They were really excited," he said. "It gave them quite a morale boost, especially now with all the troubles. It was like a vote of confidence in the country. It says Jews around the world support Israel not just financially but are willing to forgo the luxuries and amenities of America to live there."

Push and pull

Bassous said Israelis he met during his visit were unruffled despite the rockets being launched into the country.

"A Kassam [missile] landed down the road from my sister's house while I was there," Bassous recalled, and "everyone was pretty calm about it."

The Ben-Ezras are living on Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu in Beit She'an in the North, which Jack described as "being on the edge" of where the problems have been. Despite that, he said, his family had no reservations about the move. They include Isaac, seven, Renatya, four, and Chava, five months, as well as a dog and two cats.

"It's something we started thinking about two years ago, but really got serious about a year ago," he said. "We wouldn't have planned it this way, but that's the way it worked out, and we're not changing our plans."

The Zagdanskis are settling in Hashmonaim "in the middle of the country" with their children, Esther, 13, Charlie, nine, and Eliana, almost three, in the same community in which their friends live. The Zagdanski youngsters "are very excited," according to Julie Zagdanski.

"It's a Jewish country, run like a Jewish country so the Jewish holidays are the national holidays," she said.

An educator who ran her own cooperative preschool program, she said she plans to establish a preschool in Israel. Although her husband has family in Israel, including a brother who previously made aliya, she has none.

"There are a lot of people who have helped us out, giving us a little push to go," she said. "Others over there are giving you a little pull, so you're not so alone."

On the eve of her departure, Julie Zagdanski said she was not worried about the current violence in the Middle East, adding, "I wish I was there already."

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4. "Herzl and Rajab 27" by Elliot JagerFrom the Jerusalem Post

It's been a hard, tense summer and many of us share a lingering sense that our troubles are not over yet. The indecisive war with Hizbullah has revived existential worries that are never far from the surface.

It doesn't help that the renowned Middle East scholar Bernard Lewis recently raised the possibility that Shi'ite Islamists in Iran will do something nasty on the 27th day of the Muslim month of Rajab - which this year falls on August 22 - because the date is religiously propitious in the struggle against infidels.

While I'm hopeful we'll all make it to August 23, this sort of gloomy talk makes me think maybe we Jews shouldn't put all our eggs in one basket. Maybe - for lots of reasons - Theodor Herzl was wrong in advocating the negation of the Diaspora.

The longer I'm in Israel, the more appreciative I become of the Diaspora. It's not just the extraordinary outpouring of emotional and financial support we've received in the course of the war with Hizbullah; it's also a recognition that Israeli society needs the cross-pollination offered by a healthy relationship with a pluralistic Jewish world.

And it's not just the warning from Bernard Lewis that got me thinking along these lines. This week also marks the first Jewish settlement in Manhattan, in 1654, as well as Herzl's arrival in Basle to prepare for the first World Zionist Congress in 1897.

The Diaspora came to North America when Jacob Barsimson of Holland arrived on the Pear Tree precisely 352 years ago tomorrow, August 22. In September 1654 an additional 23 Jewish settlers arrived in New Netherlands, probably from the West Indies, on a ship called the Saint Catarina.

The "diversification" of Jewish civilization to the New World had begun in earnest, and a golden era of American Jewry was on the horizon. Whatever the many challenges faced by US Jews today, they do not detract from the community's unique contribution to the larger Jewish narrative.

AS FOR Theodor Herzl, he arrived in Basle on August 25 to prepare for the Congress (which opened on August 29) and brought together some 200 delegates from 20 countries, including the United States. The Congress proclaimed that "Zionism seeks to secure for the Jewish people a publicly recognized, legally secured, home in Palestine."

It is sobering that 58 years after Israeli independence what we thought was "publicly recognized" and "legally secured" apparently isn't; that assurances offered by the "international community" don't seem to have much of a shelf-life.

In his address to the Congress, Herzl forecast that once the Jewish state was established world Jewry would be transplanted to Israel, and the Diaspora would wither away: "Those who are able or who wish to be assimilated will remain behind and be absorbed."

In this way, anti-Semitism (caused, Herzl was certain, by Jewish statelessness) would gradually decrease as Jews either assimilated or immigrated to Palestine.

"Thus it is," he said, "that we understand and anticipate the solution of the Jewish problem."

Not quite.

Far from putting an end to Jew-hatred, Israel has tragically - and metaphysically - become a lightening-rod for Jew-haters.

Over the years we've had no luck in fighting - or talking - our way out of the existential conundrum we find ourselves in. And all the while, an amalgamation of well-meaning friends, deceitful allies and intransigent enemies urge us to withdraw to vulnerable armistice lines that are even more dangerous today than they were when established in 1949.

ALL THIS makes it hard to be sanguine about Israel's future. Herzl, for all his genius, misjudged the nature of the Jewish problem as well as the utility of the Diaspora.

It turns out that one of his critics, Asher Zvi Ginsberg - better known as Ahad Ha'am - was in some respects a better prognosticator than Herzl.

Ahad Ha'am, the father of "cultural Zionism," envisioned the Zionist state as the spiritual home of Jewish civilization. But he accepted that there would always be a Diaspora, which was fine by him so long as it maintained firm Jewish values.

Ahad Ha'am was no wimp. He favored Jewish self-defense and actively opposed efforts to establish the Jewish homeland in any place but Zion. Yet he was by nature a pragmatic pessimist with little faith in the political promises of the international community.

Moreover, where Herzl was oblivious, Ahad Ha'am anticipated that the aspirations of the Palestinian Arabs would have to be addressed.

In a sense, the man was also an elitist. He didn't want just anybody making aliya. He wanted immigrants to be adequately prepared intellectually for the sacrifices life in the Jewish state would demand. He himself came here in 1922.

For him, creating a Jewish state was not an end in itself. He expected it would help Judaism in its encounter with modernity. As opposed to the Jewishly illiterate Herzl, Ahad Ha'am was identified with Jewish tradition, though also ambivalent about it.

I'M STILL sentimentally attached to Herzl. But especially after the summer we've been through, and the likely troubles ahead, don't we Jews need to reduce our risk and diversify - demographically, culturally and politically? After all, ideological purity isn't much use to a country at risk of annihilation.

Looking beyond Rajab 27, the pragmatic pessimism championed by Ahad Ha'am may well serve strategic Jewish interests better than the messianic optimism of Herzl.

Shalom - We are proud to present another issue of Kummunique - full of love of Israel and Aliyah inspiration!

In this issue you will find:

1. "Elul In Israel" by Malkah Fleisher
2. "Danger Doesn't Deter Jews From Moving To Israel" by Matthai Chakko Kuruvila
3. "It's Easy To Be Jewish' In Israel, Olah Finds" By David Lazarus
4. "UK Jews Say Anti-Semitism Is Major Factor In Aliya" by Hilary Leila Krieger

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1. "Elul In Israel" by Malkah Fleisher

What a wild ride we've been through this year – wow. As a dewy-eyed-Zionist type, I sometimes have a hard time even reflecting on what we've been through, as a significant chunk of it is so exceedingly depressing. How many of you have heard your mind scream "I didn't sign up for this!" sometime during the course of the last year?

I won't bother to mention the problems – I'm sure all of you who live in Israel (and probably those of you who don't, as well) can come up with a whole list, public and private, of things that destroyed your day (your week, your month) at some point or another in the Land of Israel.

Many of you may be near your breaking point, wondering how many more iniquities you can be brought to bear. In that case, I would happily introduce you and the rest of the Jewish people to your new best friend – the month of Elul.

Frequently over the last long while, I have encountered the following commentary from people I know and respect: "That's it! It's over. Israel is going right down the toilet. How can it get any worse than this? They're planning to do _______, yesterday they reported that _______, and then yesterday, someone had the nerve to do _________. I don't see any hope for the State of Israel. Argh!!!"

The month of Elul exists as a time of introspection for us. We analyze ourselves and (if we're lucky) slowly begin to cringe in self-revulsion as we privately unveil the disgusting mess whose skin you see in the mirror everyday. And this after years of arduous and concentrated work on yourself! To top it all off, after a month and a half of grueling labor and (if you're lucky) forgiveness, you and I both know that you're going to have to go through the same struggle next year. And the year after. And the year after that (not that you won't conquer many of your demons, which you most distinctly will).

Perhaps G-d could look down on each of us and say "this person is never going to shape up – for example, look at this crazy balagan named Malkah– oy! Why do I bother?" But He doesn't do that. In the month of Elul, he views us with compassion. He views us with hope, with positive expectations. He makes just as much effort to forgive us as we do to get forgiven!

Just as we are redeemable, so too is the State of Israel. Given a lot of hard work, a lot of upheaval and a lot of radical expenditures of time, money, labor and love, the State of Israel can become something to be truly proud of. Before you say that's impossible, remember that this month, someone up there might be able to say the same thing about you. As long as there are dewy-eyed-Zionist types who believe in a better Israel, as long as a loving G-d sees a flicker of goodness in you, there's still hope.

Malkah's Elul Onions (think lots of bitter layers with a terrific heart)

4 red onions

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 cup feta cheese

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Pinch parsley, chopped.

Peel each onion and slice off the end (the bottom end with the roots) so as to make it capable of standing on its own. Place the onions in a small pot of water, boil for 10 minutes. Remove the onions from the water, allow to cool for a minute. Scoop or cut out the center of each onion (you want to leave 2 or 3 layers on the outside), and chop. Mix the onion with the breadcrumbs, feta, and pine nuts, mashing it all together. Fill each onion "shell" with the mixture, and place in a baking dish. Any remaining mixture can be placed around the onions in the dish. Bake for 30 minutes on medium to high heat. Serve sprinkled with parsley.

Note: you can substitute raw ground beef or turkey mixed with an egg or two for the cheese, and serve with a meat meal!

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2. "Danger Doesn't Deter Jews From Moving To Israel" by Matthai Chakko Kuruvila
From the San Francisco Gate

The recent bloodletting in the Middle East threw Evan Goldstein into a fog of questions about his safety should he immigrate to Israel. But then his reasons became clear.

Israelis "need to see that there are people who believe in Israel's right to exist and still believe in a future there," said Goldstein, 27, of Walnut Creek, who landed in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. "I realized now is the time to go."

Nili Molvin went to Haifa in northern Israel two weeks ago, just days after a rain of Hezbollah rockets ripped into that city.

"It really gives courage to the Jews that live in the diaspora that people like them are still willing to go," said Molvin, 22, a San Mateo resident until this journey. "It helps the state to gain support."

Goldstein and Molvin are among the thousands of Jews from around the world who immigrate annually to Israel, the world's only Jewish state. The most recent crisis has made their decision a more serious matter. Over the past two weeks, more than 400 Americans, including at least nine Bay Area residents, have moved to Israel, according to Nefesh B'Nefesh, a nonprofit organization that provides placement assistance to Jews seeking to move to Israel, including Goldstein and Molvin. The organization charters planes for these immigrants.

The Jewish immigration to Israel -- referred to as aliyah -- also helps underscore the complex and varied relationships that Jews have with Israel, particularly in the Bay Area, where there are a multiplicity of views.

Goldstein and Molvin have different religious and cultural reasons for "making aliyah," but at its core, for both, settling in Israel fulfills deeply held dreams of living out what they see as a truer Jewish identity. It's a necessary journey for them. But that feeling is far from universal.

Many Jews see no need to live in Israel to be more Jewish. And other Jews see aliyah in a darker light.

Rebecca Vilkomerson, a decade-long San Francisco resident, moved to Israel in June because she and her Israeli husband thought it would be a good thing for their children to spend a few years near their grandparents.

But because quick citizenship is only given to Jewish immigrants, and not to Palestinians who once lived in the land, Vilkomerson sees aliyah as an unethical and unfair practice used to justify Israeli government policies. She refused Israeli citizenship and the host of government benefits and assistance that come with a formal aliyah, such as tax breaks. Instead of help, she now faces an array of bureaucratic barriers. Still, she's glad she took a stand.

"I made a conscious decision not to put my own personal stamp of approval to participate in this discriminatory system," said Vilkomerson, 34, who was active in Jewish Voice for Peace when she lived in the Bay Area.

Since 2000, 13,179 Americans have immigrated to Israel, according to the Israeli Ministry of Immigrant Absorption. They represent less than 6 percent of the total 224,641 immigrants who've come from all over the world during that time.

Jews were making aliyah to the land that is now Israel even before the political state was created in 1948. The land and even the air had a sanctified status within religious texts. But the Israeli government has long made the practice into a political issue, arguing that it is central to the protection of the Jewish state.

"Aliyah is not only the supreme historic objective of our state but a security need of the highest order," Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, said in 1955, voicing the fear that the nation would always be outnumbered by its Arab neighbors.

It's a sentiment that motivates Molvin, the former San Mateo resident, who argues that higher Arab birth rates inside Israel also pose a threat.

"Aliyah gives Israel a chance to keep up with their rate of procreation, which would otherwise, in a matter of time, really hurt Israel's chances of being able to defend herself," she said from Israel.

Molvin represents the third generation of her family to try to make aliyah. While her grandparents and mother eventually returned to the United States, Molvin believes that her move might be permanent.

But she wouldn't describe herself as particularly religious. Her attendance at synagogue is sporadic, and she's not as strict in her observance of Judaic laws as she once was.

Her Jewishness, Molvin said, "is more of a cultural thing." She loves eating Israeli food. She watches Israeli movies with her family.

"Israel has always been a very important part of our lives," she said.

She's fatalistic about her safety in Israel.

"Everyone is telling me, 'If it's meant to happen, it will,' " she said of dying.

And she's looking forward to not having to defend Israel or her Jewish identity the way she's had to do in the United States, even with close friends.

"It's so much easier to be Jewish in Israel," she said. "You don't have all those people questioning why you're doing something. You don't have to go looking for Jewish people."
Goldstein, the Walnut Creek resident, believes going to Israel will allow him to more closely adhere to his Orthodox Jewish faith, which requires strict observance to a number of Judaic laws.

Living in Walnut Creek, there are no kosher restaurants. At a work lunch, all he would order was a Pepsi. And as a young man, he's itching to get married.

"On the dating scene, there are not a lot of Orthodox single girls here," he said.

Goldstein's desire to live in Israel was fueled by a stay there beginning in 2000, when he felt welcomed by many. People went out of their way to help him. A passer-by once gave him a Passover blessing at a traffic light.

"When I'm there, everybody thinks like me," he said. "In America, I've got my Jewish life and I've got my outside life. ... In Israel, you're living one life."

But the religious significance for Goldstein is larger than that.

"Judaism tells us that the future of the Jewish people is in the land of Israel," said Goldstein, who keeps a blog about this journey at planetisrael.blogspot.com . "Here, life feels a little temporary. ... It just feels like I'm contributing toward building up the Jewish people if I'm there."

Goldstein's mother, Bliss, said that she and her husband, Dan, worried about their son's safety because of the latest war. But she believes he has to go as part of his journey to find his own identity.

"He's internally driven because of his religious beliefs," said Bliss Goldstein, 49, who lives in Bellingham, Wash. "Even though it's something his dad and I don't have to do, it's something he has to do. For him to have the identity he has, he has to live in Israel. We have no right to interfere with that."

Judaism places great value on living in the land that is now Israel, said Rabbi Benjamin Blech, a professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University in New York, an Orthodox Jewish institution.

"It is true that Judaism is a religion that can be practiced universally," said Blech. "But a higher form of religiosity is when we are in the land that is holy and when we are in a country surrounded by people who allow us to live in accord with our religious needs."

More than being just an aspiration, Blech said, "Living in Israel fulfills a religious commandment."

Despite the obligation to live in the holy land, Jews have long come to terms with living elsewhere, and some of Judaism's most respected scholars have chosen to do so, said Deena Aranoff, a professor of Jewish studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.

The decision about whether to move to the region or not "is a tension that's there," she said. "But it has existed that way for 2,000 years."

But some Jews dispute whether living in Israel draws them closer to the faith. Politics is so intertwined with religion in Israel that Orthodox Jews and more secular Jews frequently battle over how Jewish the nation should be.

"A lot of the non-Orthodox Jews feel like the Orthodox Jews are making them be more Jewish than they want to," said Orit Weksler, an East Bay psychotherapist who was born and raised in Israel and moved to the Bay Area in 2002. But non-Orthodox Israelis tended to be cynical about faith, so Weksler felt she had to be circumspect about how she expressed her Judaism.

Weksler said coming to America liberated her from those polarizing views. She now performs rituals she'd shy away from in Israel.

"I feel more Jewish" living in the United States, she said, adding that she believes American Jews "romanticize Israel."

"I have more possibilities to explore my Judaism here than in Israel."

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3. 'It's Easy To Be Jewish' In Israel, Olah Finds" By David Lazarus
From Canadian Jewish News

MONTREAL - The difference between visiting Israel and making aliyah can be vast, and that partly explains why some people who plan to immigrate end up returning to their former homes, for a multitude of reasons.

But others persevere and stay, their Zionist spirit ultimately strengthened and reaffirmed by the challenges of integrating into Israeli life and society.

Tania Korin comes across as one of the stayers.

The 24-year-old Montrealer made aliyah last fall and has faced the usual litany of fulfilments and frustrations that face young, single olim, such as becoming fully fluent in Hebrew, cutting through bureaucratic red tape, and missing family back home.

But all that has been more than compensated for, she said, by the simple experience of being immersed in a Jewish society.

"The thing is, despite all the problems, I still feel fulfilled, complete," Korin said, speaking before the outbreak of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. "Some olim have unrealistic expectations. But you can't lose sight of the reason you made aliyah in the first place."

Korin's story is like that of many young Jewish adults who finally make the big decision.

Growing up, she did a lot of the usual Jewish stuff, such as Camp B'nai Brith, BBYO and Herzliah High School, which included a school trip to Israel in Grade 9.

Later, while studying for a social work degree at McGill University, she was "appalled," she said, about the attitudes she witnessed on campus toward Jews and Israel. She became a vice-president at Hillel, because,"I felt that if I could not be in Israel, I had to be working for Israel."

In December 2004, Korin, who was already considering emigrating, went on a trip run by the aliyah office of the Canadian Zionist Federation.

"I knew that aliyah was for me, but I just didn't know how."

Finally, after completing her undergraduate degree at McGill, Korin took the big step and moved to Israel for good last year as part of the Garin Magshimim program, which provides a full year of counselling and help to Montreal olim who settle in Be'er Sheva, a city twinned with Montreal through Partnership 2000.

Korin said she found Be'er Sheva, where she lived with her friends Carmen and Jack, "beautiful, but dull," so she moved to the more cosmopolitan Tel Aviv while continuing to work on a master's degree in education from McGill using the facilities of Tel Aviv University.

She said that living as an Israeli has come with its set of revelations. In Israel, a monthly salary of $2,000 is considered "incredibly high," and Israeli banks, she said, don't tell you about how much you have left in your account, so much as they keep tabs of what your "meenoos" (overdraft) balance is – as in, "Your balance is now 'meenoos' 500," she jokes.

Everyone in Israel pays for things in instalments, Korin marvelled, even if it's for something as prosaic as a hair dryer. Also, the beach is always easily accessible, and bus drivers "decide they can change their bus routes to suit them."

Other eyeopeners: you can talk to people at a bus stop as if you have known them for years, and in the fall, you can buy Coke bottles that say "Shanah Tovah" on them.

In terms of living as a Jew in Israel, Korin said she has been told what many others have heard before her.

One relative said to her: "You're in a Jewish country. You don't need to be Jewish [religiously]!"

Jewish secular Israelis, "don't need to show their Judaism,"she was told.

But Korin sees it more simply: she can be as observant as she chooses, because she can go to a restaurant on Passover or shop at a store after Shabbat.

"The point is, it's easy to be Jewish here."

There are other challenges. Things aren't handed to you on a silver platter, she said, nor do people expect them to be.

At the time she spoke to The CJN, Korin was living partly on savings and using an Israeli website to find herself a job.

She said that making aliyah has been "the most difficult yet exhilarating experience" of her life, and that she's faced daily struggles related to "difference of mentality and culture."

Still, she wouldn't have it any other way.

"If your goal is to make a better future for yourself and for future generations," she said, "this is the place to be."

Since the start of the current crisis in Lebanon, Korin sent word to The CJN about its impact on her and those around her.

"I have been here for several months… It has been amazing, calm and fun, that is until now… This whole situation seems unreal. I, along with the entire country, am wondering how long will this go on. When will there finally be peace?" she wrote.

"I am sitting in my Tel Aviv apartment with the news blaring, the reporter interviewing victims of the missile attack on the train station in Haifa this morning, a train that I myself was about to take today to go visit my cousin in Haifa but am not taking any more.

"My boyfriend just informed me that his cousin was… one of the eight people working in the Haifa train station who was murdered while at work because his work happened to be in a city that is close enough for Hezbollah to attack."

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4. "UK Jews Say Anti-Semitism Is Major Factor In Aliya" by Hilary Leila Krieger
From Jerusalem Post

Anti-Semitic attitudes in the UK are a leading factor in encouraging aliya for British Jews, according to many of those who arrived here Wednesday.

Some 140 Britons, 140 Canadians and 240 Americans touched down together at Ben-Gurion Airport on flights sponsored by Nefesh B'Nefesh in partnership with the Jewish Agency.

The trip from Stansted was the first from the UK, and came amid a backdrop of heightened security following arrests of British Muslims accused of plotting a massive terror attack.

Several Jews coming from the UK said the terror threat hadn't dissuaded them from traveling and that other recent developments, notably the response in Britain to Israel's actions against Hizbullah, had increased their desire to leave.

"I believe there is no future for Jews outside Israel," said Yossi Vardakis, 19, while en route from London to Israel, where he plans to study rather than face hostility at a British university. "You don't feel really welcomed being Jewish [in England]. You're attacked for supporting Israel... You see this hatred coming out."

Since hostilities erupted between Israel and Hizbullah, British Jews have experienced a doubling in the rate of anti-Semitic incidents - most in the form of vandalism and threats - according to the Community Security Trust. Many members of the Jewish community have also accused the British media of incendiary coverage of the conflict.

Leila Segal, a writer and editor, described herself as living in a "mental ghetto" in London, where she felt she was "always censoring" herself when it came to her Jewish identity.

"I'm not running away from that, because we have to confront it," she said. "But I really think that coming to Israel and living in Israel, that's a very strong act we can take to affirm our existence."

Shachar Navon of the Jewish Agency's London branch said the influx of immigrants would contribute to an expected 550 British olim in 2006, the highest number in the last decade and a continuation of a trend which has seen about a 50 percent rise in British newcomers in the last few years.

She attributed that increase largely to antagonism felt by British Jews: "They say they are not fully secure here in the UK and that there are anti-Semitic acts all the time. They say they want to live in a place that welcomes them instead of looking at them as strangers."

Standing amid a sea of friends, family and IDF soldiers waving Israeli flags to welcome the new immigrants to Ben-Gurion, Jewish Agency Chairman Ze'ev Bielski said the pull is so strong that the recent violence has not deterred them from coming. In fact, some 4,000 immigrants have arrived since the beginning of the war.

"People came to the conclusion that never mind Hizbullah, never mind [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad, we are coming here because this is the only Jewish state we have," he said. "It's the only country in the world where the prime minister waits at the airport to welcome new immigrants."

Soon afterward, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert addressed the crowd, which gave him a muted welcome. He noted the difficult experience the country has recently been through, but said, "One thing that really strengthens this country is aliya."

He told the audience of teary immigrants, boisterous children and squealing pets, "When more than 500 Jews on this day come to the State of Israel, what they say to the world is, 'We are afraid of no one, because we trust the State of Israel, we believe in the future of Israel and we will build the State of Israel with all the Jewish people.'"

Debra Kalms, 44, who came from London to join her daughter here, said the current events only strengthened her resolve to come.

"It's a very historic time in our people's history," said the former executive director of Hadassah in the UK, sitting in Stansted airport with her 13-year-old son before their departure.

"To come at this time and help be a part of the country and [contribute] to our people and our faith, I feel very privileged to be in that position."

Daniel Robinson, 19, making aliya on his own from London, said the reports of Katyusha and army casualties had made him "rethink how hard it would be" to live in Israel, but "hasn't for a second made me question my plans to make aliya."

In fact, he said that when he heard Nefesh B'Nefesh was launching its first UK flight, it pushed him to come ahead of schedule.

Shalom! We are proud to present another issue of Kummunique.

I'm sorry that there has not been a Kummunique in the past two weeks - but due to the hostilities in the north, I was drafted into emegency reserve duty in the IDF. The day after I was released, the landing of three NBN planes took place and I got up early to be there as well! This issue is dedicated to the brave soldiers who fought to protect Israel, and those new Olim who took advantage of their sacrifice to make Israel their home.

In this issue you will find:

1. "Three Planes of Jewish Immigrants From Canada, US & UK Arrive" by Ezra HaLevi
2. "Why Leave The UK For This?" by Dominic Casciani
3. "Soldier Fights For Family's Aliya" by Hilary Leila Kreeger
4. "Aliyah to Carmiel!" by Tony Woodward

Three immigrant flights arrive simultaneously in Israel! Israel National Radio was there to cover it LIVE!!!

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1. "Three Planes of Jewish Immigrants From Canada, US & UK Arrive" by Ezra HaLevi
From Israel National News

Three airplanes filled with Jewish immigrants – from the United States, Canada and England – touched down in Israel Wednesday. The day marked a new record in Aliyah from the West.

The three flights were organized by the Nefesh b'Nefesh Aliyah assistance organization, in conjunction with the Jewish Agency.

The plane from the United Kingdom was the first, and marks an expansion of Nefesh b'Nefesh's operations beyond North America – from where the groups's first 18 flights took off. In his speech to the newcomers, NBN co-founder Rabbi Yehoshua Fass said that the organization would soon be launching its Aliyah assistance programs in Mexico as well.

"You shall inherit the land and you shall settle it," Rabbi Fass told the crowd of new arrivals. "The moment you step off the plane you inherit the product of many years of sacrifice, blood and tears. Now you must settle the land, loving and embracing it."

The Re-Engagement war and the days-old ceasefire were on many arrivals' minds, and the decision to come despite the difficult situation was a prominent theme in the welcome speeches by dignitaries. The president of El Al said that some of the pilots who flew the new immigrants to their new home were flying fighter jets in Lebanon just days ago.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also attended the ceremony, saying Aliyah is the greatest expression of confidence in Israel's future.

A photo essay of the arrival by Arutz-7 photojournalist Josh Shamsi can be viewed here.

Photos of the historic event taken by Jacob Richman can be viewed by clicking here.

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2. "Why Leave The UK For This?" by Dominic Casciani
From the BBC

Emigration is a life-changing experience - but for British Jews who move to Israel it can also fulfil a religious and cultural dream. So how do they feel about moving to what the rest of the world regards as a war zone?

Sharon Saltoun hugs her parents, Shoshi and Ischeskel, and smiles. Shoshi holds back tears - those happy tears tinged with sadness that parents shed as children fly the nest.

"We'll take good care of her," says the rep from Nefesh B'Nefesh, the organisation taking a coach load of British Jews to Heathrow Airport to embark on a new life in Israel.

She is one of 145 Britons to charter an El Al plane to collectively complete a personal journey to "make Aliyah", or emigrate, to Israel.

Their landing at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv on Wednesday will be co-ordinated with two similar flights from Canada and the United States. The 800 passengers make up one of the largest single days of emigration from the West that Israel has experienced in recent years.

Aliyah, which literally means "going up", is not new; Israel has famously brought in a million Russian and 22,000 Ethiopian Jews, with varying degrees of success in terms of their ability to integrate.

But it is only thanks to the lowering of costs - particularly in air travel and resettlement - that a viable market in "returning" to Israel has grown.

And it's the dream of being an Oleh hadach - new immigrant - that Londoner Sharon Saltoun, 25, is following.

"I'm going home," says British-born Sharon. "It's a place that I have wanted to go for many years. My mother is Israeli and our family have survived there for many years in difficult times. But I am also going for the good times."

Homeward bound

So what makes someone want to do it? In Sharon's case, she wants to be part of the Jewish nation, something personally important to her - although she adds that she'll probably miss Britain's diversity.

[We call upon the Jewish people throughout the diaspora to unite with us in our homeland by making aliyah, by building the land, and by taking part in the momentous undertaking of the redemption of the Jewish people, which has been the dream of generations - David Ben Gurion, First Israeli Prime Minister, 1948]

She's been making increasingly longer trips to the country and doing voluntary work in the emergency services. She now feels it's the right time to make the leap, and hopes to work in IT.

Nefesh B'Nefesh (NBN) is the Israeli organisation behind this wave of emigrations from the UK. The five-year-old body's name loosely translates as "soul by soul" and it encourages Jews from North America and now the UK to emigrate.

By the end of 2006 it will have helped to create 10,000 new Israeli citizens, something that happens the moment they step onto the soil.

The organisation works closely with the government, and during flights the business class cabin usually turns into a flying bureaucracy as Absorption Ministry officials and others rubber-stamp passengers' papers.

"This is a historic yearning," says Charley Levine, spokesman for NBN and a former Texan.

"These people are already down the road idealistically and we are there to help them.

"Many of them are religiously-natured but others have a different motivation. To say you are a Jew because of your religion is not the whole story. You are part of a people with a shared history and culture. It's the story of a Jewish civilisation to want to return to Israel."

Disputed land

That historic yearning also has a political purpose. Israel needs emigres from the West to strategically strengthen its links with the countries that most support it. Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon once said he wanted most of the world's Jews in Israel by 2020.

[This is our country we are going to and that gives us protection - I could get on the Tube here in London and the risks are the same - Rebecca Aminoff]

In contrast, critics of Israel note that the campaign for a "right to return" for Palestinian families who lived inside Israel's borders prior to 1948 is one of the conflict's running sores, and the arrival of emigres has often been associated with the building of controversial settlements in areas claimed by the Palestinians.

Mr Levine says that all emigrants harbour doubts about that conflict - not least in the current crisis. But most regard their movement as a "triumph of history over headlines".

It's a view shared by Londoners Albert and Rebecca Aminoff, whose children Talia, two, and Aaron, three months, comprise the youngest departing family.

"We have always wanted to go," says Rebecca. "We even talked about it on our first date.

"I know we have our Jewish community here but Israel, its environment is much larger. I don't want people to think that I am some kind of religious zealot, because I'm not, but Israel has kedushah - a holiness of the soil - that makes me feel closer to God."

Does she not worry about being caught up in any future conflicts?

"I'm a mother, I worry about my children all the time but we are not stupid, we are not going to live in one of the trouble spots.

"We took a long time to work out that we would be going and talked about it a lot. We believe that this is our country we are going to and that gives us protection. I could get on the Tube tomorrow here in London and the risks are the same."

Is Albert concerned that his baby boy will probably one day be required to pull on an army uniform? "No, I haven't thought about it in those terms," he says. "It's years away and things can change."

Warm welcome

Aaron Bernstein, his wife Nechama and their seven-month-old Yitzchok, have already made the psychological leap past security concerns.

"We've made some long trips and have generally been more there than here so the time is right," says Aaron, who hopes to be a rabbi.

"Nowhere is safe when you think about it. God brings us into this world and will take us from it when he sees the time is right."

As the group's bus readies to depart from a sleepy cul-de-sac in Hendon, the atmosphere palpably lifts to one of overwhelming excitement.

Walter Bingham, who is covering the journey for Israeli National Radio and is a recent emigrant himself, having left the UK two years earlier, says nothing compares to the reception on arrival.

"People are wonderful to you," he says. "You're not a 'bloody immigrant' - none of that talk you get here in England. You're someone coming home who hears: 'Baruch haba! Welcome here!"

Comments:

-Good luck to these brave young people. We live in a free world that allows us to go where we feel comfortable and where we feel there will be a good life for our children. I hope they have happy and peaceful lives.
Carol Collier, London, UK

-They are born in UK and have benefited from everything the UK offers yet they see a foreign country as their home. Perhaps they can repay the British taxpayer with any education costs and social security benefits they have garnered. Hopefully they have a one-way ticket as their loyalty to their country of birth should render any British passports they hold invalid.
Ian Newberry, Winchester UK

-Israel is the one place for the Jewish people by the Jewish people, for thousands of years since the Roman invasion Jews have lived throughout the world at the hand of others' "mood". This is the ancestral and of course the modern home of the Jewish people and I for one which them all the best.
Neil Green, Queens, NY US

-It is unfortunate that their emigration will most likely result in the displacement of local Arabs. Israel is like a cup of water put too many rocks in and the water will spill over.
John, London

-This is just emigration, albeit with an idealistic element not usually the case for other emigrants. I have lived in New Zealand and the USA and would have happily stayed on in both if circumstances had been different. For those criticising these people just remember this - the weather is so much better in Israel, (and in NZ and the US) than it is here.
Grahame Reynolds, Wrexham, UK

-Isn't this some kind of ethnic distilling? All around the world we are encouraged to diversify and have multicultural values and yet here is a country that is actively encouraging cultural isolation. How is that any different to countries that wish to become Muslim states that we all seem to fear so much?
Rob, Stafford

-I find it incomprehensible that Palestinians are still waiting in refugee camps for a chance to return to the land they once owned. How is this possible?
Anna, Hastings, England

-I am confused. I thought Judaism was a religion, now it seems it is a nationality? Do these people refuse to integrate in their national community and feel that they are British Jews? Should all Roman Catholics have to go and live in Italy? I think this mentality creates most of the friction in the modern world.
Stephen Nately, London

-Stephen, Mordechai Kaplan called it a "religious civilization". Alternatively, its a religion in which the peoplehood of the Jews is a key religious concept. If you really want to learn more, there are many good books Judaism you could read.
Ken, Alexandria, Virginia

-Very touching. Makes you want to be a part of it.
R K Jaggi, Houston, Texas, USA

-As British born and bred, how can anyone call another country 'my country'. Fundamentalism is prevalent on both sides of this issue and political emigrants such as these can only make things worse.
John Wyer, Bangor, North Wales UK

-This is an example of why there is so much political unrest in the Middle East. Just because you are of Jewish decent does not give you the right to go back home to the 'Motherland'. Do these people seriously think they have more right to move back to a country they may have never been to without considering the rights of native Israelis or Palestinians - to not consider this is both ignorant and selfish.
Paul, Manchester UK

-Although I am not Jewish, it saddens me somewhat to see so many young families departing the UK, but as a mother I can understand their reasons, obviously to the country of their choice. I have always found that the majority of Jewish people have never imposed their religion, their views, or demanded any preferential treatment (whether British born or not), and they have and do suffer a great deal by bigots in Britain. I wish them all the luck in the world and every success in their exciting new life
R Laurie-Kelly, Wandsworth, London

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3. "Soldier Fights For Family's Aliya" by Hilary Leila Kreeger
From Jerusalem Post

During a clash with Hizbullah gunmen in Lebanon, St.-Sgt. Avi Hangshing heard a large explosion and hit the dirt for cover. As the two sides traded heavy fire, he gradually lost his hearing and his balance.

Released from the army for medical treatment last week, Hangshing said he still walked "like a drunk person."

The Lebanon skirmish might have been the most debilitating battle Hangshing has fought, but it was hardly his first. Before Hangshing could even join the IDF, he had to battle to be allowed into the country.

"I had to fight to come to Israel. Now I have to fight for the country," said the 22-year-old paratrooper, who was born in India.

Hangshing is one of a dozen or so combat soldiers of Bnei Menashe heritage who are currently serving in Lebanon and Gaza. They all have relatives - some have immediate family members - who are still in India and can't come to Israel because the government isn't giving them visas.

Some 7,000 Bnei Menashe live in India and claim they are a "Lost Tribe" with Jewish roots. In recent years they have returned to Judaism and are studying for conversion. Some 1,000 have already converted and been allowed to come here, but the government put a stay on converting the others until it has reviewed its policy toward the group.
Hangshing has four uncles, plus cousins, who have been waiting to make aliya ever since his immediate family did in 2000. Despite the fact that his relatives observe Halacha, Hangshing said, "As long as they are there, they're still lost."

Hangshing described himself as "angry" at their situation and questioned why the government would keep them out of the country despite the contributions being made by his community.

Those opposed to their coming claim that they are only coming for economic reasons, at the urging of right-wing advocacy groups who want to populate the territories.

Hangshing, like most of the Bnei Menashe in Israel, lives over the Green Line, but the groups' supporters strenuously reject those criticisms.
"People are only looking skin-deep," countered Tzvi Kaute, who charged that the government's policy stems from the fact that he and his fellow Bnei Menashe look like Filipinos. "They are judging us on our appearance."

Kaute, who works for Shavei Israel, a group pushing for the Bnei Menashe to be allowed to come here, said, "We're part of the people of Israel, part of the ingathering. We don't want to be in exile."

And being part of the Jewish people means joining the IDF, he said. "It is our duty as full citizens to serve the country... it's part of the Jewish nation, part of the Jewish family."

Hangshing, who hopes to make a career in the army, said that he had considered signing up for the Indian army as a child, because he was attracted to the military experience.
"Here I don't experience," he said. "Here it's for my country, for something I care about."

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4. "Aliyah to Carmiel!" by Tony Woodward
From the Jewish Agency

Interestingly enough, the aliyah to Israel continues, even in times such as these. The following was written by the Woodward family who has recently moved to Karmiel from their home in South Africa. The following is a recounting of their most recent experiences in their new home.

"We flew out from South Africa on 8 July 2006 on an overnight flight to Israel. We landed at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv at about 5AM SA time which is six in the morning Israeli time. We were taken through to the immigration department where they loaded all the relevant information they needed from us straight into the computer. Much to our surprise, we were issued a joint temporary ID document and our first lot of money straight away. From there they took us to collect our luggage and through customs. Once that was all complete they organized us a taxi and we left on our first trip in Israel. All this took only about 2 hours as we were on our way just before 08h00 Israeli time.

The taxi trip was both exciting and a bit of a nightmare, as we were seeing a new country for the first time as well as experiencing a new style of driving, i.e. driving on the right side of the road and drivers that are a lot worse than you find in the good old SA. The traffic in Tel Aviv is just as you might find in Johannesburg, and we were stuck in it. When we did eventually get to leaving Tel Aviv (we had to pick up a young lady in the centre and drop her off at a kibbutz just outside Tel Aviv), we would settle down to a lot of traffic, but with a changing scenery as we traveled.

Even though Karmiel is only about 160 km's from Tel Aviv we only arrived at around 11h30.We were shown to our new home (1 bedroom flatlet ) and with the help of a couple of youngsters that were outside we got all our luggage up to our flat on the 2nd floor. When Brenda took one look at all this, she just sat down and cried. This was due to a combination of the size of the flat, tiredness as we had not been able to sleep on the plane, and the heat we endured from Tel Aviv to Karmiel. It is a lot cooler in Karmiel.

After she had had a short nap we went down to meet Ziona who is the director of the absorption centre in Karmiel. From the time we landed in Israel, we have come across people who care. It does not matter where you go; the Jewish people stick together and always care about each other.

We had only 3 days to discover our city, which we have not fully discovered. We walked everywhere and we were truly amazed at the little shops and all the things that you can buy here.

We could not wait; we had our first Falafel with the wonderful tasty radishes that are served here. We are totally hooked on the radishes. The hummus is fantastic, and we cannot go a day without eating it with something.

Well our first experience was on Wednesday, 12 July, when after 2 days of paperwork and government departments we decided we were now able to catch the bus to the shopping centre ourselves. We had hardly arrived at the shopping centre when the first Katyushas hit. Coming from South Africa, we are really green, and had no idea what happened. Everyone was running and shouting, and when you are in new country you don't speak the language, worse you had no idea the danger you were in. Well finally, someone told us to evacuate. We then heard that a bomb had fallen in the shopping centre 1 minute away. That was really nerve wrecking. Well we got a bus to stop and pick us up to go, which felt like the longest bus trip of my life for about 1 km only.

Since the 12 July, all we have basically known is the Mercaz Klita, and the bomb shelter. We spend a lot of time in the latter. On the 22 July, we experienced something horrific. At about 16h30, we were sitting and watching TV like normal in our flatlet, and Brenda heard a Katyusha land, she immediately commented we must move and before we all had the chance the second one landed. I just shouted at them to lie down and pushed them into the bedroom. The third Katyusha landed 10m from our bedroom window, the emotional anxiety, stress and fear cannot be described. The blast was extremely loud, and landed in the road, hurting people in two cars and destroying the cars. Our building on the side of the road did not have a window that was not broken. The security guard's car was parked on the side of the building lost it's back window. We only thank G-d that no one in our building was hurt.

The next day friends of ours phoned from Ra'anana and asked us to come and spend time there. We went for a week. Ra'anana is incredibly hot and if you don't enjoy the heat then you will be very uncomfortable there, and will find yourself in an air-conditioned building or room most of the time.

We got back to Karmiel on 28 July, and we were hardly back 30 minutes and we were back in the bomb shelters periodically. Our experience here can truly be described as a baptism of fire.

We are looking forward to this war ending so that our life can start and our daughter Kaeleigh who is 14 can start school. She has been very bored and the centre that we are at and does not have anyone who speaks English, so she has been very lonely. She is dying to start school and make new friends.

Although this has been quite an unstable start for us, we are still determined to stay in Israel and make it our home."