It is now that Israel needs us, say British migrants by Ian MacKinnon August 17, 2006 Times Online http://www.timesonline.co.uk They may be Israel’s newest Jewish immigrants, but the 147 Britons who swapped comfortable lives for the uncertainty of a country in conflict became overnight its most stalwart defenders. None of those who stepped off the El Al charter flight from Stansted yesterday morning to Tel Aviv had a flicker of doubt that they were living the dream, often long-planned, of migrating to the “homeland”. “Three weeks ago after the rockets started falling everyone was asking us, ‘Surely you’re not going to Israel now’?” said Helen Oster, 46, preparing to set up home 20 minutes from Haifa, a city rocked by Hezbollah missiles. “But this is when Israel most needs us. We’re going to a beautiful house with a bomb shelter.” The Oster family, including Gabi, 9, and Elliot, 7, from Hertfordshire, are part of a striking trend. Migration to Israel from many parts of the world has fallen or gone flat, while the number leaving Britain has risen. In the seven months to the end of July last year, 215 British Jews had taken Israeli citizenship. But over the same period this year 328 had made the leap. The latest arrivals should bolster the rising trend, with some blaming growing anti-Semitism while others merely wish to live in a land where they hail from the dominant culture. The Britons, along with two planeloads that arrived from Canada and the US, were given the red carpet treatment, with bands, buns and Israeli flags. Organised by Nefesh B’Nefesh [From Soul to Soul], a private Israeli organisation, the flights are part of the effort to revamp migration to Israel. Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, who is under attack for his handling of the Lebanese conflict, took time out from the crisis to welcome the newcomers. “The last few weeks were not easy,” Mr Olmert said. “The state of Israel has not been isolated. But there is no support that is stronger, more meaningful, more significant than Jewish people in every part of the world. And there is no greater support than your decision.” To help to convince lawyers, managers and accountants that they have made the right decision, Nefesh B’Nefesh ensures that Israeli government officials are on the planes to process citizenship papers, and assists in finding homes and jobs. “I will always see Britain as my home,” said Alex Green, 29, a property surveyor from London heading for Tel Aviv. “But it can feel uncomfortable there as a Jew. It’s not threatening on a day-to-day basis, but every Jew feels Israel is home.”