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North American Aliyah Has Arrived
18:34
Dec 14, '04 / 2 Tevet 5765
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Not only has North American Aliyah
(immigration to Israel) reached a 21-year high, but the new
immigrants have been absorbed with remarkable success.
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According to a study commissioned by
the Nefesh b’Nefesh Aliyah assistance
organization, Over 70% have found jobs in their fields within
a year of moving to Israel. Impressive figures, especially
considering that the olim (immigrants) the statistics are
based on arrived in Israel as the country faced a very deep
recession.
Nefesh b’Nefesh hopes to make that
percentage even higher, embracing the phenomenon of
outsourcing for the benefit of North American olim. “Many
individuals have outsourced their old jobs here to Israel –
staying up late and connecting to their old offices, doing the
same work, from here,” Fass said. He added that Nefesh
b’Nefesh plans on encouraging the phenomenon. “We are trying
to harness the time-difference. There are many businesses that
want to have 24-hour productivity [in terms of] legal work,
radiology, and graphic design. We want to harness that
potential and create jobs for olim.”
The study also
shows that the olim themselves are not the only ones to
benefit from the move to Israel – the Jewish State itself is
the big winner.
According to the study, the average
adult newcomer represents approximately $200,000 in instant
value to Israel’s economy based on education, professional
experience and financial assets upon arrival. As many as 90%
join the labor pool, and unemployment for the group is on par
with the national average after a very brief time in the
country. The average family will generate output worth almost
$1 million during their first 10 years in the country. Over
50% of these newcomers bought homes in Israel by the end of
2004, many doing so within 3-9 months of their
arrival.
“There have been many waves of Aliyah,” said
Nefesh b’Nefesh co-founder Tony Gelbart. “We feel it is time
for the wave of North American Aliyah – it is our turn. There
is a wellspring of idealistic Zionist Jews who will contribute
to Israel from the moment they arrive at the
airport.”
Rabbi Yehoshua Fass – the Florida pulpit
rabbi who left his synagogue in Boca Ratonin favor of creating
a mass Aliyah movement from North America – signaled a
dramatic shift in the organization’s mode of operation. In the
past, Nefesh b’Nefesh’s focused on assisting prospective
immigrants in their Aliyah process, now Nefesh b’Nefesh will
actively recruit American Jews to go home. “We now have the
infrastructure to accommodate thousands of individuals and
want to spread the word,” said Fass.
Rabbi Fass
outlined several programs aimed at fostering the Aliyah
revolution:
* Aliyah Ambassador Program – Nefesh
b’Nefesh is sending olim back to address the Jewish
communities in their former home towns. The veteran olim will
speak at Orthodox, Conservative and Reform synagogues across
the North America.
* Instant Aliyah – Working
hand-in-hand with Israel’s Interior Ministry, Nefesh b’Nefesh
has made it easier for students on tourist visas, “who catch
the bug and want to stay,” as Fass puts it, to do just that.
Thanks to this new initiative, the daunting bureaucratic
process now takes only a few days. “This month, over 200
students have made Aliyah and received their Israeli
identification card, thanks to this new program,” Fass
said.
* Student Ambassadors – Working with local
Zionist groups, Nefesh b’Nefesh is subsidizing college
sophomores and juniors on campuses across the North America
who want to promote Aliyah. 18 of the Aliyah Ambassadors, from
Berkeley, UCLA, Harvard, MIT, Penn, NYU, Columbia and several
other schools will be visiting Israel in the coming weeks to
meet veteran Aliyah activists and exchange strategies. “They
want to promote Aliyah and we are giving them the promotional
tools to put the word out on campus,” Fass said. “They will be
our arms, eyes and ears on campus.”
Also in the works
are subsidized pilot trips for prospective olim and seminars
in major Jewish population centers across North America aimed
at supplying practical information to those “sitting on the
fence,” and spread the word that Aliyah is
do-able.
According to Professor Pinchas Landau of the
Israel Business Information Service, although the focus of
Nefesh b’Nefesh has been the needs of North American
immigrants, the State of Israel has been the prime benefactor
of the organization’s effort. Landau’s company specializes in
analyzing the contributions of various groups of olim to
Israeli society. “The data are unprecedented,” he said at the
press conference. “89% of the olim from North America have
higher degrees and they are bringing with them more resources
and work experience than any other demographic coming to
Israel. These are the ‘creme de la creme’ of the most advanced
society in the world.”
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Published: 17:08 December 14,
2004
Last Update: 18:34 December 14, 2004 |
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