Going home: Local family prepares to make aliyah
 
by Jen Stone
Staff Writer 
August 06, 2004 
Kansas City Jewi Chronicle
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=
12635226&BRD=1425&PAG=461&dept_id=154733&rfi=6
 
This Sunday, August 8, Dr. Ari and Debbie Simckes, along with 
their three children, lately of Overland Park, Kan., will board 
a plane for New York. The following Tuesday (Aug. 10), they will 
embark on a life-changing journey: they are making aliyah.  
The couple hails from New York, but they've lived in Kansas City 
for the last 10 years. Moving to Israel, they say, has been a 
lifelong dream. "We're moving for very idealistic and Zionistic 
reasons," said Debbie Simckes. "I just feel like I belong there." 
Dr. Ari Simckes agrees. "We've spent many summers in Israel," 
he said, "and I spent some time studying there. We both come 
from very Zionistic families." In fact, Ari Simckes' father is 
a rabbi who leads trips to Israel. Debbie Simckes' parents are 
Holocaust survivors with strong Zionistic beliefs. Debbie's cousins 
and sister, and Ari's brothers all made aliyah, and they're glad 
to have family to whom they can turn once they arrive. 

The family will start their new lives in Chasmonaim, a town close 
to Modi'in. Dr. Ari Simckes, who is a pediatric nephrologist, 
has job offers from three different hospitals, and whether they 
continue to live in Chasmonaim depends on where he takes a job. 
The two eldest children, although apprehensive about leaving their 
friends in the Kansas City area, are excited to start school in 
Israel and to continue participating in sports. Avital, age 8, 
said she "wants to understand the gymnastics class," because while 
she speaks Hebrew (all three kids were raised speaking both Hebrew 
and English), she doesn't know any Hebrew gymnastics words. 
Eitan, age 6, wants to play soccer. Their youngest, Matan, 
at 3 years old, seemed very excited to be going on a big airplane.

The Simckes family is going to Israel with the assistance of 
Nefesh b'Nefesh, (Hebrew for Soul to Soul) a not-for-profit 
organization designed to help olim - those who are making aliyah - 
make the transition into Israeli society. "Basically, they work 
to streamline the bureaucratic process," said Debbie Simckes. 
They will fly on a chartered plane with other olim organized by 
Nefesh b'Nefesh. There will be a departure ceremony. And while on 
the plane, the olim will receive assistance from government 
officials with some of the bureaucratic processes that could have 
taken days or months to complete without the program. Upon arriving, 
they will be welcomed by members of the Israeli army, senior 
government officials, friends and family. "These people are so 
amazing. They don't ask for anything, but they do all these things 
for you," said Debbie Simckes.

Free choice

While the two parents are excited about the move, Avital and Eitan 
expressed concern about leaving their friends, and making new ones. 

"It's a very difficult change for the kids," said Dr. Ari Simckes. 
"But we know in our hearts that this will be the best thing for 
them," adds Debbie Simckes. They chose to move now, while Ari, 
who is 42, and Debbie, 36, were still young enough to make a 
contribution to Israeli society, and before it became harder for 
the kids to become part of the society and not feel like outsiders. 
"A lot of people make aliyah because of persecution or anti-Semitism," 
Debbie notes. "We're very lucky to be able to go by free choice."

Despite their sense of connection to Israel, both parents agree 
that it will be difficult to leave good friends. Avital and Eitan 
had been enrolled at the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, and the 
family attended Congregation Beth Israel Abraham and Voliner, 
where Debbie Simckes had served as the first female president of 
the Orthodox congregation. Dr. Ari Simckes practiced pediatric 
nephrology at the Children's Mercy hospitals for 10 years, 
and is an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of 
Missouri-Kansas City. "Working at Children's Mercy has been an 
ideal job . . . a great job with great colleagues, and a 
state-of-the-art facility," he said. "I'm very fortunate to have 
been part of the process." 

The family also believes they are lucky to have lived in the 
Kansas City area. Debbie Simckes said Kansas City is a good place 
to grow, spiritually and emotionally. "It's very hard for us to 
leave good friends," she adds. "But we have a strong belief in 
Israel, its right to exist, and its importance to the Jewish 
people. Every time we visit, we feel like we're at home."