On August 16, with perfect timing, two days before the cease-fire in the Lebanon war, three airplanes landed at Ben Gurion Airport. One came from New York, one from London, and the third from Toronto - and discharged their cargo: 520 new olim (immigrants). They had all packed and come here with their eyes open, leaving behind families and comfortable homes, work and familiar surroundings, and landed in the hot and tense Israeli summer as if they had nothing better to do.
All in all, summer 2006 will be noted as one of the peaks in Jewish immigration from the West, primarily from prosperous English-speaking countries. In recent months, 2,100 new immigrants, including 450 singles and 400 families with 850 children, have arrived in Israel from the US, Canada, and Britain, despite the war, some even arriving in the midst of it. Behind this mass immigration is Nefesh B'Nefesh: a private organization, which is independent, fairly young, and not-for-profit (of course). During its five years of activity, Nefesh B'Nefesh has managed to increase the number of immigrants it has assisted by leaps and bounds from 500 people in 2002, to 3,500 people in 2006.
Danny Oberman, Executive VP of Israel Operations for Nefesh B'Nefesh, explains how the organization was founded on the initiative of Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, formerly of Florida, after his cousin was killed in a terror attack in Israel in 2001. Fass decided that the response to the attacks lay in immigration to Israel. When he began to talk to friends about his intentions, he discovered that immigration was in the minds of many but the process seemed too overwhelming to become reality.
A study conducted by Fass together with businessman Tony Gelbert, his partner in founding Nefesh B'Nefesh, identified four obstacles to immigration: 1) employment; 2) community services (knowledge of the education system, the health system etc) 3) Israeli bureaucracy; 4) high financial costs.
The organization decided to open specialized departments to provide services in these four areas. Meanwhile, right at the outset, the first group for collective immigration was forged, and the first Nefesh B'Nefesh flight arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in July 2002. On board was the organization's founder, Rabbi Fass. "The experience of a group flight is very emotional. There is the added value of a feeling of belonging, and as a group it is easier to expedite the technical procedures," explains Oberman. When an entire planeload of new olim arrives, there is a media buzz. This inaugural flight made headlines throughout the North American media, and the buzz began to sweep through its Jewish communities. 22 flights have arrived since then, seven of them this summer.”
Globes: Why you and not the Jewish Agency?
Oberman: "There are two bodies that deal with immigrants to Israel: The Ministry of Immigrant Absorption in Israel, and the Jewish Agency abroad. We have created a system that is in contact with the immigrants from the pre-decision stage of aliyah (immigration) until after they move to Israel. We maintain continuous contact with the new olim and build trust and confidence in order to provide answers to their questions. This is all done under one roof. Our staff works until midnight and answers phone inquiries from a toll free number in the US. The information we provide is very exact. We are dealing with people who are about to change their lives any incorrect information can wreck their lives."
50 salaried employees, most of them in Israel
The organization has 50 salaried employees, most of them living in Israel. It is run on business lines, with clear goals and using advanced technology for data management and communications. "We see immigration as a goal that can be attained and improved,” says Oberman.
How much does it cost?
The organization's 2005 budget came to some $9 million. The cost per new immigrant, i.e. of assisting them in moving to Israel and helping with their absorption here, is about $3,000. About 70% of the immigrants receive financial assistance from Nefesh B'Nefesh, ranging from $15,000-$18,000 for a family unit to $4,000-$5,000 for a single person.
In the beginning, Nefesh B'Nefesh was funded by private donations. However, financial support for the organization increased when, during the past year, the Knesset passed a law for the financing of organizations that support immigration to Israel. 20-25% of the organization’s annual budget is provided under this law. An additional 9% comes from the Jewish Agency. Flying the immigrants to Israel is part of the cooperation with the Jewish Agency: "The Agency provides the flight tickets and we lease the plane", explains Oberman. "Instead of the immigrants coming on a regular El Al flight they come over on our plane."
Nefesh B'Nefesh was established to revitalize aliyah to Israel. The services provided by the organization are intended to create a "positive aliyah experience" and include, apart from financial assistance, job search services, social and welfare services, connections with local buddy families, as well as cutting through bureaucracy at various government offices. The organization's web site includes an online community guide offering future immigrants information about residential areas in Israel; an online radio station that broadcasts informative programs on demand - with a range of issues connected to immigration including employment, education, and family issues; a mailing list with over 1,800 active users; a monthly informational newsletter, and even a book published by the organization entitled 'Building Israel One Person at a Time'. In addition, there is a step by step chart for planning aliyah, which includes guidance for preparatory visits, financial planning, and the first steps in the aliyah process.
The organization reports amazing success rates, amounting to 99%. "Our target audience is always people who visited Israel previously and left here with tears in their eyes I don’t need to explain to them why they should immigrate to Israel but rather to show them this is a feasible option. We run pre-aliyah informational seminars in which people start to explore the practical steps," says Oberman.
Friends bring friends
Nefesh B'Nefesh’s marketing outreach to its target audience is mainly done through word of mouth. Oberman: "This has a cumulative effect those who are already in Israel bring their friends who later seek us out. This is why it is so important to maintain the connection with the newcomers for several years after their arrival here. The immigrants of 2002/3 brought their friends who arrived in 2005.
“Our activities in the UK, for example,” explains Oberman, “occurred in response to demand from both British Jews and from places of work in Israel that show interest in the immigrants. We advertised a pre-aliyah seminar in the British Jewish press. It was attended by about 500 people, an amazing number, eager to meet us."
In 2005, more than 12,000 people in the USA and Canada participated in pre-aliyah seminars organized by Nefesh B'Nefesh offering guidance and advice on the immigration process.
What resistance have you encountered?
"I recently received an e-mail from someone who immigrated through us in 2002. He asked us to stop contacting them, something like, "Everything is fine, I have work. Everyone is well, now you can leave us alone." One can understand this since in the first year, for example, we contact them once a month. The approach is pro-active if we identify a problem we will be able to deal with it before it becomes a disaster.
"Sometimes there is also criticism from the family abroad whose children immigrated. Nowadays communications and mobility are so improved that it is easier, but it is still hard for people to say goodbye".
The organization, in contrast to its image, is not religious or political, although most of the immigrant families (70%) are religious. By contrast, says Oberman, most of the single immigrants are secular.
Oberman: "Our olim are unique in that they immigrate by choice, out of free will, and not because of financial difficulties or persecution. This is the realization of the Zionist dream - immigration by choice. Israel is not a country that Jews escape to, but one in which they choose to live".
Nefesh B'Nefesh maintains an informative and remarkably user-friendly website in English and Hebrew (www.nbn.org.il) as well as a visitors' center in Jerusalem that highlights the entire immigration process.
This is our security net
Yitzhak and Tamara Bloch, both doctors from Springfield, Massachusetts arrived in the midst of the war and settled in Mizpe Netufa, in the north of the country, with their five children: Ari (11), Daphna (9), Leora (5.5), Yishai (4) and Shani (2½).
Where do the Israeli names come from?
Tamara: "We have been planning to make aliyah for at least ten years, so we chose names that would be suitable for here, one thing less to adapt to."
Why did you choose a small settlement in the north?
"We came on a pilot trip in April which actually was not so successful. We thought we would find somewhere a little more urban to live, like Modi'in, and the greatest achievement of the trip was the decision to live in a small settlement. Nefesh B'Nefesh’s website has a list of settlements and communities. We went through the list until we found Mizpe Netufa. The Jewish Agency has a plan to promote settlement here; we are currently in a one-year absorption program during which we can decide whether to build a home here or elsewhere".
As far as community life is concerned, she says, they feel sheltered and protected. "A representative of the settlement received us at the airport, and we have an adoptive family. I haven't prepared any food in the ten days since we arrived. We have been invited to someone every day. Some people living here immigrated themselves, some 20-30 years ago, and still remember what it was like".
Why did you think of immigrating? What was missing?
"My father-in-law moved from Haifa to Mexico. My husband visited Israel several times as a child, and studied here at yeshiva for a year after high school. Since my first visits here, I have always felt a connection and a sense of belonging, the rich history, and an order of priorities that suits us better. I always felt I was living in a Christian country.
"Living here, we are part of something bigger, contributing to the security of future generations. This sounds romantic, but it stems from a very rational point of view. We often had to explain to people why we are doing this.
"I believe there is a greater goal that is outside of ourselves. In the US, everything revolves around self-gratification, one’s needs, and there is less of a feeling of community and the importance of greater goals; it's only myself and what I have and what I need and what I want. I'm not naïve, I know that exists here too, but, for example, the first question in the US is always 'What do you do?' and one is defined by one's professional status; not who I am and what I like to do but what are my external achievements."
What was the moment of epiphany?
"Twelve years ago, when I was pregnant with my first child, we were both finishing our medical studies, and we were here in Israel for ten months. At that time we knew that we would eventually come to live here and thought of specializing here. My husband is a surgeon and I am a pediatrician. I had received recommendations to specialize in the US and then move to Israel. It was logical to do it at that way - to first specialize and establish ourselves. We managed to do all that, and a year ago decided the time had come. We gave a year's notice at our places of work and to our families".
The assistance provided by Nefesh B'Nefesh, says Tamara, "is accessible and appropriate to our needs. Everything I want to ask already appears on their website. The Jewish Agency may have the same answers but the information is not as accessible. Here in Israel too, the assistance of Nefesh B'Nefesh in finding employment, maintaining the connection, coordinating social activities, and their support, are amazing I feel there is someone holding my hand. It's my safety net, since I don’t have my extended supportive family here."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on October 5, 2006
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2006