Sharon and top ministers greet 330 North American new immigrants 
 
by Neil Bar-Or 
July 10, 2003
Ha'aretz  
 
Amid fanfare befitting a foreign dignitary, 330 new immigrants 
arrived in Israel yesterday from the United States and Canada. 

Handed Israeli flags, balloons and flowers as they walked off
the plane, the newcomers were greeted as Israelis by Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon, Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
Immigrant Absorption Minister Tzipi Livni and other government 
officials during a welcoming ceremony at an El Al hangar at 
Ben-Gurion International Airport. 

Sharon began by welcoming the new olim "to the homeland of 
the Jews for 4,000 years," and reminded them that, while 
Israel is "not always an easy place, it's ours." 

The El Al flight was chartered by Nefesh B'Nefesh in cooperation 
with the Jewish Agency. Created to revitalize Jewish immigration 
from North America by removing logistical and economic hurdles, 
Nefesh B'Nefesh plans to bring nearly 1,000 new immigrants to 
Israel this year, topping the 519 they ushered in last year. 

"We have always needed you, but now we need you more than ever," 
Sharon told the crowd. 

Indeed, many of the new immigrants cited the difficult times 
in Israel as a catalyst for their desire to emigrate. Natalie 
Gar, 24, from Toronto, Canada, said moving to Israel "is the
best way to show support for the State and the people. Israel 
is where I feel at home. I'm going to kiss the ground as soon 
as I can." 

Guy Mayer of New York, who came with his wife and four children, 
exclaimed, "60 years ago my father, who survived the Holocaust, 
had to carry around a yellow star. Today I bring my family to 
the home of Jews and now I carry a teudat-zehut (Israeli I.D. 
card)." 

Netanyahu said immigration to Israel was the best answer to 
the terror that has plagued the region for the past three years. 
"This is what Israel is all about. The immigrants here today
are reaffirming the spirit of Israel. The terrorists want to 
drive us away but they (the Jewish immigrants) keep coming. 
This is the real answer to terror." 

Rabbi Joshua Fass, who started Nefesh B'Nefesh after his 
cousin was killed in a terror attack and who immigrated with 
last year's group, stressed that now is the time to spur 
voluntary immigration based on idealism, rather than the 
refuge-seeking of the past century. 

"Our olim are making history," said Fass. "They aren't fleeing 
adversity or anti-Semitism. They are idealistically, consciously 
realizing their dream to make their lives in Israel and to
contribute economically, socially and culturally to this 
country." 

According to Fass, 95 percent of the immigrants will be living 
in Israel proper, while about 5 percent will be living in 
"well-established settlements like Efrat or Gush Etzion. 
No one's going to live on a hilltop somewhere." 

Nefesh B'Nefesh claims they've found a way to tap in to the 
vast number of North American Jews, many of whom would 
emigrate if the funds were available. "We didn't advertise 
our services at all and still we had to turn down hundreds 
of people this year just because we didn't have the dollars," 
Fass said. 

"We've challenged the Israeli government. We believe we can 
bring 100,000 North American Jews to Israel in the next five 
years. We just need the funding. In the next few days, we'll
be having some very pivotal meetings on this issue with the 
Jewish Agency." 

Aside from helping the new immigrants settle affairs, such as 
college loans and other debts in the United States, co-founder 
Tony Gelbart said Nefesh B'Nefesh also "provides assistance
in finding employment and housing," and comes with a built-in 
support system for aiding in social integration and navigating 
government processes upon arrival in Israel. 

According to Michael Landsberg, director of the Jewish Agency's 
aliyah delegation in North America, this year has seen a 
30 percent increase in immigrants over last year. 

In addition to the incentives offered by Nefesh B'Nefesh, 
new immigrants are also entitled to a "basket of absorption 
goods" that, according to the Jewish Agency, consists of more 
than $3,300 spread over three years, mortgage subsidies, and 
tax advantages. 

While most of the newcomers acknowledged that the financial 
benefits made their decision easier, most said they were 
coming for intangible reasons. 

"I'm here because God gave us this land to live in," said 
Aharon Denton. "I'm very excited to move into my new home."