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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
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Israel Today
OCTOBER 15, 2020
It’s Your Move Aliyah in the Wake of the Coronavirus Crisis
THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME
By Ben Horodenker
A view of downtown Jerusalem at night, with a computer-generated image of the Jerusalem Spirit tower in the center
B A LT I M O R E J E W I S H H O M E . C O M
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or many Jews, Israel has always been the “final destination,” with their current residence (even one that is several generations strong!) merely a “pitstop” on the way home. Of course, that temporary sojourn is often further protracted by the comfortable lifestyle, ever-increasing opportunities and vibrant Jewish life that the Western world has to offer. And then came COVID-19. For many of us, the lockdown last Passover was an even more powerful catalyst for introspection than the High Holidays; it was the first time we were forced to be truly present, sans the myriad distractions that so conveniently keep us away from … ourselves. Interestingly, that encounter led many people to consider some serious questions: Who am I? What do I want? Where do I want to be?
Surge in Aliyah Yael Katzman, the director of marketing and communications at Nefesh B’Nefesh, says that since COVID struck they’ve seen a massive
240% spike in people expressing interest in aliyah. The non-profit organization works mostly with North Americans, facilitating aliyah before, during and after, and increasing the retention rate of its olim to 90%. Through the height of the COVID lockdown and afterward, Nefesh B’Nefesh has continued to help absorb planefuls of new olim. “Of course, most of the people arriving now had already been in the pipeline before the coronavirus hit,” noted Yael, “but their joy in coming to Israel was palpable, regardless of the fact that they had to immediately enter isolation for 14 days.” Katzman reports that interest in aliyah is across the board, represented by singles, young families, older families, and seniors; professionals, students and retirees. “We are currently helping a 100-year-old Holocaust survivor with no children, who since COVID has been feeling lonely and wants to move to Israel to be closer to her niece,” she said. For many families, moving to Israel had always been a long-term
A computer-generated image of the library in the Jerusalem Spirit’s spacious lobby
dream, relegated to some distant time on the horizon. “I always believed I’d return to Israel eventually,” says Rachel Kapeluto, a toshav chozer or returning Israeli. “But you know how it is; one year led to another and then another and another. When the coronavirus crisis hit, I saw that Israel was the safest place to be, compared to Europe, the U.S. and most other countries.” Rachel is now happily resettled in Israel and says that despite the second COVID wave, she feels very secure. Additional factors such as anti-Semitism worldwide, challenges to the religious Jewish educational system in the UK and in the U.S., and the continued mass protests in some American cities are additional factors that have contributed to the feeling that the time has come to pack up and go “home.” Katzman clarifies that she doesn’t advise anyone regarding where to set down roots, but rather, provides the information to enable potential olim to make the best, most educated
decision. “No one can guarantee a future for anyone, no matter where they live. The most important thing is to have as much information as possible and to come as informed and prepared as possible.” Clearly, one of the factors impacting an oleh’s decision where to purchase housing is economic, but there will always be those for whom location takes precedence, even if that means settling for a smaller dwelling. “For me and my family, aliyah didn’t just mean Israel, it meant Yerushalayim,” says Parisian born Yoel. “Yerushalayim is the heart of the country and it is in my heart; I think that every Jew dreams about Yerushalayim.” Jerusalem today is a huge, cosmopolitan city, sprawled over a huge area and boasting dozens of neighborhoods, each with its own unique character. For Yoel, the first priority was finding an apartment that “captures as much of Yerushalayim as possible.” He found what he was looking for in the upscale Jerusalem
