Just in time to celebrate Chanukah, a group of 76 new American Olim arrived in Israel this morning. … Continue Reading
Coming Home
In honor of Israel Independence Day, Nefesh B'Nefesh presents the 'laundry tale' of Jonathan and Rebecca Goldstein, who finally realize their dream of Aliyah to Israel after postponing for a few years. … Continue Reading
As Year Ends, a Final Burst of Aliyah
The final 1,000 new immigrants for 2010, from 25 countries, will be landing in Israel in the next few days Over the next several days, olim flights - organized by the Jewish Agency - will be arriving at Ben Gurion airport. The new immigrants will be arriving from many countries including France, Italy, Belgium, Great Britain, South Africa, USA, Canada Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador, el Salvador, Spain, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Australia, Germany, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Some of the flights and the reception of the new immigrants are organized in cooperation with “Nefesh B’Nefesh” and the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption. Immediately upon landing, the new immigrants will participate in the Jewish Agency’s … Continue Reading
The New Jewish Agency Approach: Peoplehood for Survival
A new emphasis on ‘Peoplehood’ reflects both the economic reality and Russian roots of The Jewish Agency. by Gal Beckerman Natan Sharansky knows he’s disturbing the status quo. Days before the most recent meeting of the Board of Governors, the body that oversees the Jewish Agency for Israel, Sharansky, its relatively new chairman, declared that the agency’s traditional mission had outlived its usefulness. “It’s not enough to speak about aliyah,” Sharansky said, talking in front of a delegation of American Jewish leaders. “It’s almost prohibited for the head of the Jewish Agency to say so, but it can’t be our goal [just] to bring more Jewish people [to Israel].” With these words - and the recent appointment to key positions of people who share his views - Sharansky … Continue Reading
The Jewish Agency and Nefesh B’Nefesh Continue to Squabble
from The Jerusalem Post: 'Nefesh B'Nefesh delegitimizing non-US aliya' The years of acrimony between the Jewish Agency and the private aliya group Nefesh B'Nefesh reached a climax this week with the leak of an e-mail in which Jewish Agency director-general Moshe Vigdor suggested ways to improve the agency's image at Nefesh's expense. The e-mail, which was sent to department heads and senior officials in the agency, came in the wake of a study commissioned by Nefesh B'Nefesh claiming that American, Canadian and British olim who came to Israel with the organization represented a net gain to Israel's economy of some NIS 1 billion between 2002 and 2008. Agency officials were angered by the report, which failed to mention the agency's role in bringing the olim, including its aliya emissaries … Continue Reading
NewsBits: Odds and Ends
from the Jerusalem Post: Analysis: Why Nefesh B'Nefesh changes everything Let's get the bad news out of the way first: mass American aliya is unlikely in the near term. However you count American Jewry - serious counts place the number at anywhere from 4.2 million to as many as 7.4 million - there is no doubt that an average aliya of 3,000 per year is insignificant in national or strategic terms. The private aliya organization Nefesh B'Nefesh, which last week brought 238 olim to Israel from North America, hopes this aliya will rise above 4,000 for 2009, a figure it says will be driven by the economic recession in the US. But even then, aliya will count for less than 0.1 percent of the smallest estimate of American Jewry. Nefesh B'Nefesh disputes these conclusions. from New Jersey … Continue Reading
JAFI’s Many Challenges
As the Jewish Agency gathers in Jerusalem this week, conversation centers around the budget, the bylaw changes and who will ultimately replace Zeev Bielski as Chairman of the Executive. It will be an interesting few days, both at the Inbal and in the political corridors of power. The only thing for certain, JAFI is undergoing significant and needed change. These few days will hopefully set the stage for JAFI to become more efficient and manage better in the 21st Century. In discussing some of the challenges JAFI faces, Richie Pearlstone, JAFI's Board Chair, made some points that are applicable to almost every organization going forward: The nature of fundraising in America is changing – this is the landscape we are facing. JAFI must and can adapt to the new models we are … Continue Reading
Nefesh B’Nefesh Receives $8 million Gift
Nefesh B'Nefesh has announced the receipt of a major gift to support the organization's work in bringing Jews from the West to live in Israel. The donor Guma Aguiar, a philanthropist and founder of Leor Energy, gave $8 million to Nefesh B’Nefesh during the period ending December 31, 2008. According to Tony Gelbart, Co-Founder and Chairman of Nefesh B'Nefesh, "this substantial donation demonstrates how the remarkable commitment of Jews who choose to make Israel their home even in these challenging times, is echoed and fortified by the support of generous individuals like Guma. These vital funds strengthen Israel's human resources and ensure its future. The gift has already played a major role in helping Nefesh B'Nefesh bring a record number of newcomers to Israel in 2008." Aguiar, a board … Continue Reading
The Jewish World Speaks
all three from the Jerusalem Post: Jewish charities fear Wall Street chaos US Jewish social service agencies and nonprofits say they expect this week's string of bankruptcies, buyouts and takeovers on Wall Street to severely cramp their end-of-year fund-raising as individuals curtail their donations and whole companies suspend their philanthropic programs. Officials at the UJA-Federation of New York, which supports 102 social service agencies in the New York area, told The Jerusalem Post Wednesday they were particularly anxious about the fate of Neuberger Berman, a subsidiary of Lehman Brothers whose executives have historically contributed a significant proportion of the approximately $42 million raised annually from Wall Street. Analysis: Some things can't be privatized When the … Continue Reading
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