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He has met potential olim -- new immigrants -- in their homes in Baltimore, coffee shops in the District, Hillel facilities in North Carolina, Jewish community centers in Pittsburgh and Richmond.
"I have done a lot traveling because I think it was important to go out and meet people, rather than have them come to me," Neil Gillman says in an interview as he finishes his three-year stint as director of the Jewish Agency for Israel's local Israel Aliyah and Program Center.
Terming his time here a "tremendously challenging and rewarding experience," Gillman says about 700 people have made aliyah from his territory -- which encompasses Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia and North and South Carolina -- during his tenure, compared to between 500 and 600 in the previous three years.
So far this year, there have been 98 Washington-area residents who have gone to make a new life in the Jewish state, and another 160 expected to move in the next few weeks, he says.
The economic downturn has been both good and bad for aliyah, he says. On the negative side of the ledger, some individuals who had been counting on selling their homes or on their retirement funds or investments to finance their aliyah are having second thoughts. On the other hand, some young college grads having a tough time finding jobs are considering Israel as an option.
"But irrespective of the economy, the number of olim has grown year by year," he says.
In January 2008, Nefesh B'Nefesh, the group that assists North American and British immigrants to Israel, and the Jewish Agency for Israel reached an agreement whereby American olim have to fill out only one set of forms to determine their eligibility by JAFI and to get resettlement assistance from NBN.
As the local JAFI shaliach, emissary, Gillman has helped implement the agreement on the local level, trying to make the process for the immigrant "more straightforward, more streamlined and more user friendly," he says.
Prospective olim still have to be in contact with both agencies, but, Gillman says, "the fact that I live in the community and am an oleh myself [he made aliyah from the Britain in 1996] means people feel comfortable talking to me. I am usually the person people have a lot of contact with before aliyah.
"Most of the contact with NBN is online, but when it comes to face-to-face contact, it is me."
Olim seem to like his hands-on approach.
Tsvi Mark, who is making aliyah this summer from Silver Spring, says Gillman "helped clarify many things for me. When I needed information, he got it for me. He's a friendly type of guy."
Jacob Gakner, another Silver Springer moving to Israel this summer, agrees. "It is easier to work with him than with any organization," Gakner says. "He's very easy to reach and communicate with. He was very approachable and was always in his office with a smile."
Gillman, his wife, Aliza, and their 20-month-old son, Mordechai, will be going home to Jerusalem on the Aug. 18 Nefesh B'Nefesh flight of olim. Gillman says he hopes to continue working in "the world of aliyah" although he has not locked down a job as of yet.
Although Gillman, whose replacement has not yet been announced, enjoyed his stay in the area and is proud of his accomplishments, he acknowledges setbacks.
"The times when, for whatever reason, people decided not to go ahead with their plans or, on a few occasions, when people come back [from Israel], that was very tough for me," he says.
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