cp.org
19:00 on July 11, 2005, EST.

VANCOUVER (CP) - A gun, Israeli women and cash.

Those are among the incentives for Ryan Paddock who quit his job at a Winnipeg convenience store to immigrate to Israel this month along with 400 other Canadians. Some, like the 19-year-old Winnipegger, want to serve in Israel's armed forces as the country embarks on a plan to withdraw from settlements in the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank.

Other Canadians are moving because they think that now, more than ever, Israel needs their help to stabilize the economy, grow businesses and strengthen the democratic process.

Mainly, Paddock says, he wants to be a paratrooper, have some adventure and hopefully meet a girl. And Israel wants him. The state and private donors are giving him thousands of dollars in grants to make the move. Tax breaks and free tuition are offered to Jews who immigrate to Israel, as well as deals on houses.

An organization called Nefesh B'Nefesh is rolling out the welcome mat in Canada, cutting red tape and helping people who want to move to Israel navigate the bureaucratic maze.

Nefesh B'Nefesh matches immigrants with housing and jobs in communities that suit their lifestyle. The three-year-old group is Paddock's ticket to some real action, he said.

"The Canadian army doesn't do much. It's kind of small. I'd rather be part of an army that's fighting for something," he said.

"I've always wanted to learn another language and maybe I'll meet someone. I'd like that."

Paddock said he's bored with Winnipeg and his convenience store job.

The perks Israel dangles in front of North American newcomers have become more enticing, said Josh Neuman, editor of Heeb, a Jewish pop-culture magazine.

"Free trips, falafels better than any you'll find in North America," he said. "They give you a gun (on joining the army), the women are beautiful. We shouldn't be surprised the offer has so much appeal."

Neuman says it's also a chance to be part of history, to shape Israel as it moves toward a hoped-for peace with its plan to pull out of settlements.

"This is like the new wall," Neuman said. "Like when the Berlin Wall came down and everyone made a pilgrimage and listened to Pink Floyd."

That's probably not how Nicky Halpert would describe the journey she and her husband and four boys have decided to embark on. But the idea is the same.

"There's strength in numbers," said Halpert, a Torontonian and one of about 400 Canadians emigrating to Israel on July 12.

The Canadian flight will arrive in Israel around the same time as a flight from New York's JFK Airport, and the two planes will be greeted with a welcome ceremony by thousands of well-wishers, including Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and other government dignitaries.

"Jewish people at a time like this need to go support Israel," said Halpert. "Israel needs Jewish people to come and keep it strong and viable during this time of transition."

Ira Robinson, a Jewish studies professor at Montreal's Concordia University, said Canadian Jews who identify with the idea of Israel and are committed to growing a homeland have been deeply affected by instability in the region since 2000.

"The recent intefadeh has made people take stock of themselves, what they feel in their hearts and what their dreams are," said Robinson.

He also said an increase in anti-Semitism in Canada is inspiring more Jews to immigrate to Israel.

Halpert and her husband have been given money by the Israeli government and Nefesh B'Nefesh, which is trying to boost North American aliyah.

Aliyah - Hebrew for ascent - refers to the migration of Jews to Israel. It used to be that so few people "made aliyah" from Canada that almost no one paid attention to them when tallying emigration totals from North America.

According to the Jewish Agency for Israel's Toronto-based Israel Aliyah Center, which encourages Canadians to move to Israel, 3,000 people made aliyah from North America in 2004. Of those, 10 per cent - or 312 people - came from Canada.

It's expected that about 450 of Canada's 300,000 Jews will move to Israel by the end of this year. That's up 35 per cent over 2004.

Nefesh B'Nefesh director Charley Levine credits his organization for the increase after it put the whole immigration process online and streamlined it considerably.

Nefesh B'Nefesh is partly funded by the Jewish Agency for Israel, an non-governmental organization that organizes all immigration to Israel.

Boosting North American aliyah is a major goal of Israel because most Jews from this part of the world have some money, are educated and believe in democracy.

Israel has also come up with new "products" to entice Canadians and Americans to immigrate, said Michael Landsberg, director of the Jewish Agency for Israel.

Young Canadian Jewish adults are given free, 10-day birthright trips to Israel, an opportunity to see the country and learn about the culture.

Paddock did the tour in December and within six months he was packing to move to Jerusalem and then onto a kibbutz to learn Hebrew. He'll be in the army as soon as he has a grasp of some basic vocabulary.

Israel recently started giving North American immigrants grants of about $5,000, and Nefesh B'Nefesh offers up to $20,000 in loans and grants per family - a better bonus than Paddock could ever hope to receive at any convenience store. He's barred by Nefesh B'Nefesh, which means Soul to Soul, from disclosing exactly how much money the state and private donors are giving him to emigrate.

Most people blow through the cash incentives quickly, since it takes time to learn Hebrew well enough to find a job.

Joel Nider speaks the international language of high technology and doesn't expect to have any problems fitting into Israel's booming software design sector.

"There are more exciting opportunities than in Canada - Israel's become a real leader in high-tech," said Nider, who spent eight months in the country last year scouting for jobs and learning Hebrew.

What he's really looking for is belonging and a deeper understanding of his religion. He said he didn't have that while growing up in suburban Surrey, B.C.

"There's not much of a Jewish community in Surrey. I went to a small synagogue in White Rock - it's not even a synagogue actually, there is no rabbi, it's just services in the Jewish Community Centre."

Thoughts of moving to Israel have been in his heart for a long time, said Nider. But Nefesh B'Nefesh made it possible.

Staff will be on the plane with Nider, helping him fill out the immigration paperwork so it's ready when he lands.

And when he's settled in his apartment, Nefesh B'Nefesh will organize beer and pizza nights so he can hang out with Canadian newcomers and talk about familiar things.

"It's an adjustment, but it feels good to know that everyone is doing a part for their country," says Nider. "That's what's missing in Canada. We don't have that sense of national unity."

Many immigrants to Israel come with dreams that are quickly shattered by reality. The percentage of people who actually stay has fluctuated between 20 and 50 per cent, according to the Jewish Agency. Nefesh B'Nefesh reports that 90 per cent of people they have recruited since starting operations three years ago are still in the country, making a go of things.

"I certainly realized it's not the land of milk and honey," said Neuman, the editor of Heeb who has decided to stay in New York.

"The poverty is huge, the economy is weak. It's not an easy life."