|
|
| North America: 1-866-4-ALIYAH • United Kingdom: 0800-075-7200 • Israel: 02-659-5800 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
Nefesh B'Nefesh scheme propels surge of immigration to the North
By Raphael Ahren
|
| |
More people than expected applied for Nefesh B'Nefesh's new Go North program, which gives English-speaking immigrants financial incentives for settling in the Golan and the Galilee. Yet immigration professionals said the local job market - with few opportunities for highly educated Anglos - and other considerations might endanger the project's enduring success.
According to NBN, which announced the campaign last December, more than 220 families indicated interest in the initiative on their immigration applications. To date, 23 families - more than 100 people - have finalized their papers and NBN expects that, in total, about 35 to 40 Anglo families will join the program this year. Participants are eligible for need-based grants of up to $25,000 and vehicle subsidies, as well as on-site employment and social service assistance. "The financing is not available for everybody," said Danny Oberman, NBN's executive vice president of Israeli operations. Because many more people applied than expected, he explained, "we're trying to get financing for as many people as possible.Go North, a $10 million project funded by the Russell Berrie Foundation, aims to expand Jewish communities in the Galilee by bringing more than 1,000 newcomers to the area over the next three years. "We think we'll reach this number earlier," Oberman told Anglo File. "If the families are successful in their absorption, you might find Anglo communities [such as] Modi'in up north within five years." While he said the North featured educational systems "second to none" and that the "quality of life there for many people is fantastic," Oberman also addressed the question of employment, which he said is the main obstacle to successful absorption.
"We're very aware that the employment challenge up north can be more serious than in the center of the country," he said. "For example, the requirement to know Hebrew is far more critical in the North. We want to provide people with the financial cushion so that they'll be able to go to ulpan [Hebrew classes] and not have to consider dropping out to look for work." People in the North often have to travel greater distances to find and get to their jobs, Oberman continued. "They might find themselves working in Haifa, or in the high-tech parks south of Haifa or in Nahariya," he said, adding that to that end Go North comes with an extra $16,000 to be spent on the lease or purchase of a car.
Oberman added that half a dozen NBN staffers live in the North who will "proactively" help immigrants adjust to their new environment, including one full-time employee solely in charge of employment. "With the support we give, newcomers will find employment," he said. "So what if they have to travel a little bit to come to work?"
Dr. Chaim Waxman, a sociologist who studies U.S. immigration to Israel, praised NBN for its initiative but doubted its viability. "Maybe NBN will be able again to do what the Jewish Agency didn't do, but so far I can only see it for people working in certain fields, such as primary or secondary education and social services," he told Anglo File. "I am not sure about people in other fields typical for Anglos - high-tech, [advanced] medicine or any post-secondary school research." He added: "As long as the country is divided into the center and the periphery, the center, it's going to be difficult to have tremendous population growth there from Western immigrants. Clearly, NBN can't change everything; it's a lot bigger than NBN. It's a good first step, but I hope they tell immigrants who are not fit to go there it would be a sure disaster."
Jewish Agency spokesman Michael Jankelowitz said Anglos might consider moving north because they want to contribute to strengthening the periphery, which is a national-priority project. "Making aliyah is about more than just changing your address," he said. "You can live on Jan Smuts Boulevard in Johannesburg and you can live on Jan Smuts Boulevard in Tel Aviv. But some Anglos are dedicated to Zionism and really are drawn to the lifestyle that the North offers them. No one's forcing them to go there."
Jankelowitz added that Anglo immigrants are intelligent consumers who know what to expect. "Of course the North is more of a challenge in terms of employment. But it's unfair to say there's no work there at all," he stressed. "Just look at the two industrial parks that [Israeli billionaire] Stef Wertheimer built there in the 1970s." Waxman counters it was a great idea that "didn't meet the expectations."
NBN promises "a core of English speaking residents" in some of the pre-selected Go North communities. But Josie Arbel, AACI's director of absorption, said that until now, Anglo immigrants have not moved to the North in large numbers and so the social infrastructure might not be as developed as elsewhere in the country. "A colleague of mine was also concerned about the school system - are the schools immigrant-friendly, let alone Anglo friendly? These are small communities and he was wondering whether they're ready for American immigrants and their particular needs," she said.
While she trusts NBN's advisers do their job well, she said immigrants need to thoroughly weigh their options before deciding to go north. "Obviously, immigrants going to Kfar Tavor or to Acre need to think intensively about what the hell they will do there - work in the paint factory?" " |
|
|
|
|
|
