Nefesh B'Nefesh, an organization dedicated to revitalizing aliyah from North America and the U.K., will be conducting eight Mega Aliyah Events from March 7-14. Held in New York, Los Angeles, Montreal-, Baltimore, Toronto. San Francisco, Chicago and South Florida, the events will be attended by over 1.500 people who will have the opportunity to meet with representatives from the Israeli Ministries of Absorption, Health and the Development of the Negev and the Galilee. Seminars and workshops will also be presented, covering a range of topics, including: Employment in Israel, Real Estate & Mortgages, Financial Planning, Taxes & Budgeting, Retiring in Israel, Choosing a Community, The Israeli Healthcare System, Navigating Israel's Education System, Overview of the Aliyah Process, Shipping and Nefesh B'Nefesh's Go North program.

In New York and Los Angeles, the Mega Events will also include an Aliyah Seminar for Medical Professionals focusing on the specific needs of those employed in the medical field. In addition, for the first time, dentists who are making aliyah will be able to take the first part of the Israeli Dentistry Licensing Exam in order to start their Israeli licensing process while in the U.S. MK Silvan Shalom, vice prime minister, minister of regional cooperation and minister of the Development of the Negev and Galilee, will attend the Mega Event in New York, March 7, 12:30 p.m.6:30 p.m., to promote a new joint initiative with the Israeli government and Nefesh B'Nefesh encouraging aliyah to Israel's periphery. As part of tlie initiative, increased support will be provided for olim who move to the north and south of the country as of 2010. The Mega Event in New York takes place at the Holiday Inn JFK, 144-02 135th Avenue, Jamaica. For details, visit www.nbn.org.il/megaevent or call 866.4.ALIYAH.

AFSI Mission to Israel Americans for a Safe Israel (AFSI) has been leading chizuk (support) missions to Israel for over 15 years, concentrating on the country's threatened communities. AFSI's upcoming trip will take place from May 9-17. Participants make their own travel arrangements and meet the group in Ben Gurion Airport on May 10, 8 a.m., to board a private bus and head for the Shomron. Highlights of the trip include: A visit to the threatened home of Major Roi Klein in the Hayovel neighborhood of Eli in Samaria; Attending the celebration of the 1967 reunification of Jerusalem in Yerushalayim; A tour of the Temple Mount and east Jerusalem; Marching in the Yom Yerushalayim parade; Attending the Moskowitz Zionism awards event in Ir David; Visiting the struggling communities in the southern Hebron hills; Shabbat in Yerushalayim with a walking tour of the Old City; - Meeting with the Shomrim, who are guarding the Jewish farms from marauding Bedouin Arabs; and A gala farewell dinner in Ashkelon. To make reservations, call AFSI at 212.828.2424 or e-mail [email protected]. por more infonnation, visit www.afsi.org.