On August 19th, a Nefesh B’Nefesh charter flight, filled with hundreds of olim, will be departing JFK Airport in New York. Among the hundreds of people on board will be families from the Baltimore/Washington area, including the family of Neil and Aliza Gillman and their son Mo. It is in Neil’s honor we write, as he is leaving his position as Shaliach for the Jewish Agency to return to Israel after three years in America.

We met Neil in his Rockville office in 2006, one-and-a- half years before we made Aliyah. His relaxed demeanor immediately put us at ease, and his constant professionalism always kept us on track towards our goal. In addition, he wasn’t content to sit in his office and have people come to him. Neil came to numerous gatherings of the Baltimore Chug Aliyah, he attended many community events, and he even arranged for olim from the Baltimore/Washington area to attend a gathering at the Israeli embassy.

He worked tirelessly to ensure that we—and hundreds of others through his three years—had a realistic picture of what life in Israel would be like. And through the stress of picking up and moving our family 6,000 miles away, he was always there to answer questions with a smile and some British humor.

Neil, we take this opportunity to publicly salute you and the important work you accomplished. We look forward to greeting you and your family at Ben Gurion airport in a few weeks, where we can finally say to you—Welcome home!

Alan and Andrea Friedenberg and Family
Karnei Shomron, Israel