Brighton family finds new life in Israel
By Kate Perry

Some Jews make a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Israel, and some, like the Zivan family, take their passion for the homeland a lot further.

The family of seven, Brighton residents until a few weeks ago, was to arrive in Israel this morning with plans for a new life.

The Zivans are part of a growing group of Jewish Americans moving to the country by choice, said Charley Levine. Levine is a spokesman for Nefesh B'Nefesh, an organization based in Jerusalem that facilitates the America-to-Israel move for thousands of people each year.

The Zivans flew to Israel on a chartered plane for American emigrants.

In 2008, an estimated 3,500 to 4,000 North American Jews –– a large majority from the United States –– will move to Israel, Levine said, and Nefesh B'Nefesh is currently assisting about 20,000 people in some stage of the process.

Karen Zivan, who worked as a psychologist in the Rochester area, said the move isn't about running away from America but is about going toward what Israel can offer her family spiritually.

Israel is guided by Jewish principles and virtues, which are built into daily life, and the holidays, traditions and customs are the rule, not the exception as they are in America.

"I think as much as we love our family and our Rochester community, there might be someplace that feels more like home, and Israel might be it because the Jewish lifestyle will be easier to live there," she said Monday by cell phone from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

Karen Zivan, 43; her husband, Bruce, 45; and their five sons from ages 9 to 18 are moving to Chashmonaim, a town squarely between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. They are moving into a rented house and are finding jobs. The children are already enrolled in school, Bruce Zivan said.

The Zivans spent the last few weeks with relatives at a family vacation home in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. Karen Zivan said saying goodbye to their extended family and friends was the hardest part about leaving.

She said the children are excited about their new life but had their own reservations about leaving their familiar lives and relatives. Her youngest, Elie, 9, is the most reticent, Karen Zivan said. He worries about not knowing anyone in their new town.

Still, she said, all of the children understand that the nervousness they feel is part of the adventure.

Levine said Israel offers American Jews many professional opportunities as a young nation with a growing economy, but the obvious draw is the spiritual comfort it offers to pilgrims.

Being part of the majority in a place where their faith is dominant is so important to the immigrating Jews, Levine said, that their numbers don't drop off even when the volatile dangers of the Middle East touch the country.

"The people that we are dealing with speak in terms of history, not headlines," he said. "They don't look at what's happening today or tomorrow; they look at what's happening for generations to come."