Cleveland Jews feel the pull of Israel 

August 02, 2004
by John F. Hagan
Plain Dealer Reporter 
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/
index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1091439193156151.xml

For many Americans, their view of Israel is a few minutes of 
television news, showing the bloody aftermath of a terrorist 
attack, shattered remains of a blown-up bus or a bombed-out 
sidewalk cafe. 

For many American Jews, those scenes are aberrations and don't 
show what life is really like in Israel. 

To them, Israel is a safe place to live and raise a family. 
It's a place they consider their homeland. And, in increasing 
numbers, Jews across the United States are moving to Israel. 

"When you're here and you watch television and you read the news, 
you get the feeling that the minute you step off the plane, 
you step into a war zone, and you absolutely do not," said Pamela 
Braverman of Beachwood. 

"Life seems very normal. People go to work, they go to school, 
they go shopping, they go to the movies, and they eat in restaurants. 
They go about their lives in what seems to be a very normal way." 

Braverman, 43, her husband, Robert Lakin, 46, and their three 
young children will be boarding a plane Aug. 10 for Israel to 
make a new home there. 

They will be leaving a comfortable and spacious home in a cozy 
neighborhood for a smaller apartment in Raanana. They picked the 
city because many there speak English. 

The couple said that while the bloodshed in Israel is featured 
frequently in media reports, fear of violence is not on their 
minds as they prepare for the move. 

"That truly is the least of my worries," said Lakin, who will 
continue working as a business consultant. Instead, the family 
has the same concerns that accompany any family involved in a 
long-distance move, from how well the kids will adjust to a new 
school to whether they can take along their pet goldfish. 

Last year about 2,400 people from the United States moved to Israel. 

Maurice Singer, the Midwest director of the Israel Aliyah Center, 
which is outside Chicago, said the number of Jews going to live 
in Israel was up 20 percent last year from the year before and 
he expects that this year the number will be even greater. 
Last year, 30 people from the Cleveland area moved to Israel, 
and this year, 35 are making the move, he said. 

"It's both a spiritual and political statement when you go to 
live in Israel," said Singer. "Israel has two major problems: 
lack of water and lack of Jews. Israel has to import water and 
also has to import Jews." 

Americans do not have to give up their U.S. citizenship if they 
move to Israel. They keep their passports but can also become 
citizens of Israel, according to the Israel Aliyah Center. 

The Braverman-Lakin family is being helped by Nefesh B-Nefesh, 
an organization that offers aid for those immigrating to Israel. 
This summer, the organization is helping about 1,500 families 
who will travel to Israel on three separate jets. On board will 
be representatives of the Israeli government who will help the 
Americans with the paperwork involved in making the transition. 

"There is an extremely strong connection between Jewish people 
and the land of Israel," said Charley Levine, a spokesman for 
Nefesh B-Nefesh. As for the impression that Israel is unsafe, 
Levine said: "I would say there's significantly less street 
violence and crime than in most urban American settings." 

The Braverman-Lakin home in Beachwood is slowly being cleared out 
for the move. Their belongings are being crated and shipped to 
Israel. Family and friends have been supportive, although some 
are nervous for them, Braverman said. 

"It's our land, and we feel a pull towards it and in a way a 
little bit of obligation to live there," Braverman said in an 
interview in the family house, which is getting emptier by the day. 

Their oldest child, Ruth, 14, has just finished the eighth grade 
and will be going to an all-girls school with classrooms that 
are larger than at the Fuchs Mizrachi School in University Heights 
that she had attended. 

She's more concerned about her language skills than she is about 
potential violence. Ruth has been to Israel before, and so have 
many of her friends. "No one seemed nervous," she said. "They're 
just a little more careful of everything." 

Ruth, like her parents, feels a sense of obligation to live in 
Israel. "I feel that's where our family really should be," she said. 

The children, who also include Miriam, 11, and Jonah, 6, are 
excited, if not a bit nervous about the trip, family members said. 

"Hopefully, in years to come, they'll look back and thank us for 
this," said Lakin. 

He said he has been thinking about moving to Israel since he was 
a teenager. He likes the idea of living in a country where Jews 
are the majority. What drives him most about making the move, 
he said, is his sense of nationalism and his feeling that Israel 
is his homeland. 

"I view this as a personal event," he said. "Others may see it 
as a statement. I'm not a role model or an example for others."