Israel Still Has A Pull For Many Violence Fails To Deter Believers June 29, 2003 By Frances Grandy Taylor The Hartford Courant http://www.ctnow.com David Bogner knew he wanted to live in Israel, but everyday hurdles always seemed to stand in the way of his dream. There was his job as a project manager for the USA Network, and his wife Cheryl's work as a graphic designer. They had a comfortable home in a nice neighborhood in Fairfield, where they were raising their two children, Gilad, 7, and Ariella, 9. An observant Jew, Bogner, 42, was born in Long Beach, N.Y., was raised in Trumbull and served four years in the U.S. Navy. Though he was long accustomed to hearing Christmas carols and having people wish him a happy Easter, he said, he always felt like an outsider. Then came Sept. 11. "I was in the city on 9/11 and I watched the events unfold," Bogner said. "We started making concrete plans then. We saw no reason why we should be here, as opposed to there [Israel]. We were no safer." The Bogners' goal of moving to Israel is one that has been pursued by Jews over the years, though the numbers have fluctuated with the violence there. The Bogner family will be among 100 residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut who will move to Israel July 23, with as many as 800 people from the United States moving there this summer. The family is moving to Israel with the help of an organization called Nefesh B'Nefesh, which means Jewish Souls United. Nefesh B'Nefesh was founded last year to assist Jews in the United States seeking to move to Israel. It provides each family an average grant of $18,000 in relocation assistance, as well as guidance through government red tape and information about job opportunities. About 550 families were relocated to Israel last summer with the help of the organization, which receives donations from U.S. synagogues. The Israeli economy has been severely affected by the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, and tourism has dropped steeply. According to the Jewish Agency for Israel, 1,664 immigrants from North America arrived in Israel in 2002, a 21 percent increase over 2001, when 1,378 Americans and Canadians emigrated. In 1995, about 2,500 Americans and Canadians moved to Israel. About 65 percent of Jews who move to Israel are Orthodox. In Judaism, the act of moving to Israel is known as "aliyah." "The word means 'ascension.' Since the earliest days of the Jewish faith, going to Israel represents spiritual growth," said Rabbi Yitzchok Adler, who leads Beth David synagogue in West Hartford. The synagogue has had several families in the congregation move to Israel in the past five years. "Going to Israel to visit is good; going there to live is better," he said. The "emotional and spiritual linkage between [Jews] and the state of Israel is very strong, and the intifada has not changed that," Adler said. "The hardships that have been endured have fostered increased dialogue, debate and concern." The violence shown on the nightly news does not accurately reflect day-to-day life in Israel, Adler said. "Things happen, just like random crime happens in this country. The government of Israel works diligently to protect its citizens. While its methods are subject to debate, it does what it can to guarantee a quality of life." And that quality of life is what Bogner and other immigrants are seeking. "There are no kids on milk cartons there. There's no such thing as kids being snatched off the streets or accosted," said Bogner, who has a job offer from an Israeli aircraft company and is negotiating to buy a house in Efrat, a West Bank settlement town about 10 miles from Jerusalem. "When I was a kid, in the summer I'd leave home in morning and come back filthy and happy at night," Bogner said. "My parents didn't really know where I was. That world has vanished in the United States." Rabbi Pesach Wolicki, his wife, Kate, and their four children also are moving to Israel in July. They are friends of the Bogners, and both families attend Ahavath Achim synagogue in Fairfield. "Yes, there is terrorism, but it's not a war zone. Things are not blowing up constantly," said Wolicki, 33, who was born in Cleveland and holds dual American and Israeli citizenship. He previously lived in Israel for seven years and served for a time in the Israeli army. "If someone in Israel got their impression of the U.S. from television, they would think car chases go on constantly, and all marriages fail. The news does not report everyday life," said Wolicki, who will move with his family to Bet Shemesh, near the West Bank. He said the community, between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, is popular with young professionals, and he plans to start a program for American Jewish teens coming to Israel for a year after high school. "Israel is the place for me, as someone who wants to live a full Jewish life," Wolicki said. "There the national holidays are Jewish holidays," he said. "One of the tenets of our faith is that the land of Israel is our homeland, it's our holy land, and that's where we are supposed to be."