Tag Archive for new immigrants

| December 3, 2020
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Israel welcomes 316 new immigrants from Ethiopia

Hundreds of new immigrants arrive in Israel from Ethiopia on the 1st flight of “Operation Zur Israel” (“Rock of Israel”).
– PM Netanyahu: “I can’t remember being so moved by such a distilled sight of Zionism… Welcome to the State of Israel! The Ethiopian community is returning to the motherland, step by step.”

By Sivan Hilaie, Associated Press

 

Hundreds of members of the Jewish community in Ethiopia arrived in Israel Thursday morning as part of Operation Rock of Israel which aims to reunite families and their relatives who have immigrated to Israel in the past.

Thousands of people with Jewish roots waiting in Ethiopia to come to Israel, 2,000 of which are expected to arrive in the Jewish state by January 2021, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent outbreak of war in the northern Tigray region. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Jewish News | Tags: , , ,
| July 2, 2019
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Dutch firefighting couple are first responders on Gaza border

With the estimated 100 fires that the Palestinian incendiary devices created along the Gaza border last week alone, Raymond and Mirjam Reijnen returned to be professional firefighters on their Gaza border kibbutz, as they were in the Netherlands before immigrating to Israel.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF

 

Raymond and Mirjam Reijnen fight fires lit by Gaza balloons so often, that a rolled up volunteer firefighters’ uniform, a mask, and a pair of boots are permanently stashed outside their front door in Kibbutz Nahal Oz.

“Firefighters here have their suits outside,” Raymond said.

“There is no time to search for your things,” said Mirjam, adding that in their case they have only one, because “we wear the same size.” Continue Reading »

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| July 1, 2019
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European anti-Semitism increases demand for housing in Israel

Israel real estate agent say sense of danger for Diaspora Jews is manifested in a sharp increased demand for home purchases throughout Israel, “We sold three apartments to foreign Jews this week alone. One from Russia, one from France, and another from Britain.”

By  Dan Lavie , Assaf Golan

 

Global anti-Semitism is rearing its head, and Jews in Europe are starting to be afraid to wear kippot in public. Meanwhile, US synagogues are turning into sites of bloodbaths. The sense of insecurity many Diaspora Jews are feeling is prompting them to invest in homes in Israel, whether as part of a plan to make aliyah or out of a desire to have a safe haven in place. Continue Reading »

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| August 2, 2018
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158 volunteers from 18 countries arrive in Israel to volunteer for the IDF

Majority of the new IDF recruits, new immigrants and foreign volunteers, come from North America, followed by 43 volunteers from France, 16 from the UK.

By ANNA AHRONHEIM

 

IDF volunteers from 18 different countries arrived in Israel over this summer, the Defense Ministry’s Social Defense Branch announced Wednesday.

The 158 new recruits comprised of 120 male volunteers and 38 females, the majority from North America with 69 volunteers (45%) followed France with 43 volunteers (30%).

Gathering of the 158 volunteers from 18 different countries arrive in Israel to volunteer for the IDF. – Photo courtesy: Israel’s Defense Ministry

According to the Defense Ministry, the number of volunteers from Australia has “quadrupled” since last year with eight volunteers, and the number from Britain doubled with 16 volunteers this year. Continue Reading »

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| August 30, 2017
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Immigrant to Israel trades tropical heat for military service in Jerusalem hot zone

Yonatan Herrera made aliyah from tropical Honduras, then spent almost 3 years in a religious yeshiva in Jerusalem where the rabbis tried to convince him not to enlist into the military.
• Jonathan met Devorah, his wife, then their daughter Avital was born just as Herrera started his combat service with the Border Police.

By Itsik Saban

 

Yonatan Herrera, 23, is proof that nothing is impossible.

Three years ago, Herrera made aliyah from Honduras and began studying at a haredi yeshiva in Jerusalem. After his course of study, he said he wanted to enlist in the military. But then he encountered pressure from the rabbis at the yeshiva, who tried to talk him out of it. Continue Reading »

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| May 14, 2017
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102 from India’s ‘Bnei Menashe’ officially join Israeli society

After spending the past 3 months in an absorption center, the Bnei Menashe immigrants from the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram will now settle in Nazareth Illit in the Galilee, where they will begin to build their new lives in the Jewish state.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

 

One hundred two members of the Bnei Menashe Jewish community will officially join Israeli society on Monday, May 15.

The new Bnei Menashe immigrants arrived in Israel from the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram in February. Mizoram borders Burma and Bangladesh and is home to the second-largest concentration of Bnei Menashe in India after that of the state of Manipur. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Jewish News | Tags: , , ,
| February 12, 2017
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Jewish American immigrant denied citizenship after Temple Mount arrest

 

An American haredi’s citizenship request was denied based on an arrest for ‘interfering with a police officer’ and ‘disturbing the peace’ during a visit on the Temple Mount.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

 

A resident of Jerusalem who applied for citizenship under the Law of Return, was stunned to find his citizenship application opposed by the Interior Ministry because he was previously arrested on the Temple Mount, an arrest for which he is currently suing the police, the Honenu legal organization reported.

A., a haredi Torah scholar from the US who has worked and and studied in Jerusalem for the past few years,and who married an Israeli woman and has Israeli children, was arrested two years ago when he ascended the Temple Mount on suspicion of interfering with a police officer and disturbing the peace on the Temple Mount. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Jewish News | Tags: , , ,
| December 28, 2016
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72 new immigrants (Olim) from North America land in Israel

 

Among the 72 Olim that landed at Ben Gurion Airport this morning are 20 future IDF Lone Soldiers – ‘present-day Maccabees,’ making for a wonderful Chanukah present.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

 

72 new immigrants (Olim) from North America, including 20 soon-to-be IDF Lone Soldiers, landed this morning, December 28, in Israel on a Nefesh B’Nefesh group Aliyah flight, in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah & Immigrant Absorption, the Jewish Agency, Keren Kayemeth Le’Israel, JNF-USA.

20 future Lone Soldiers - ‘present-day Maccabees' arrive in Israel 28 Dec 2016. - Photo/ Ben Kelmer, courtesy of Nefesh B'Nefesh

20 future Lone Soldiers – ‘present-day Maccabees’ arrive in Israel 28 Dec 2016. – Photo: Ben Kelmer, courtesy of Nefesh B’Nefesh

These young men and women are drafting with the Tzofim-Garin Tzabar program and will serve in the IDF as part of the Nefesh B’Nefesh Lone Soldiers Program. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Jewish News | Tags: , , , , , ,
| August 19, 2016
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IDF welcomes a Native American Jewish soldier

 

Having recently found out that he’s of Native American descent, Benjamin Barmeyer is excited about joining the IDF, saying, “I fell in love with Israel 4 years ago when I first visited.”

By Noam Dvir

 

Benjamin Barmeyer of Texas, 22, of Native American descent, is among the diverse pool of young people from abroad who have chosen to join the Israel Defense Forces and enrich the military with their variety.

During a pre-IDF course, Benjamin Barmeyer – Photo courtesy

Barmeyer, who came to Israel with the Garin Tzabar program, found out about his heritage only recently. He was adopted as a baby by Larry and Don Barmeyer, who raised him as Jewish and held a bar mitzvah ceremony for him. Continue Reading »

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| July 19, 2016
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Aliyah ‘airlift’ begins Tuesday bringing 2000 new immigrants from US, Canada

 

The first of the Summer 2016 chartered Nefesh B’Nefesh planes is scheduled to arrive on Tuesday, carrying 220 olim who chose to turn down potentially lucrative job offers.

By Efrat Forsher

 

Some 220 North American Jews are expected to make aliyah Tuesday on a chartered plane under the auspices of the Nefesh B’Nefesh organization.

North American Jews arrive on a Nefesh B’Nefesh flight in 2015, escorted by then-Absorption Minister Zeev Elkin – Photo: Yossi Zeliger

The organization says it plans to fly almost 2,000 olim from Canada and the United States this summer, joining the 45,000 who have made aliyah through the organization over the years. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| June 7, 2016
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Israel’s ‘Lone Soldiers’, exploited then abandoned, a squandered resource

 

MK Itzik Shmuli seeks solutions so others like Seth, who served 3 years in the IDF then left Israel due to an inability to adjust to a foreign culture, are assisted in their assimilation instead of being abandoned.

By Talam Yahav

 

“I thought my calling was to live in Israel. I left everything, my family, friends and college and I made aliyah. After a few months I joined the army. I was assigned to Givati and was chosen to be in Sayeret Rimon (Special Operations Unit – Desert Commando – ed). The only words I knew in Hebrew were ‘yes’, ‘no’ and ‘thanks’. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , ,
| May 22, 2016
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LA girl fulfills decade-long dream, joins IDF combat unit

“What’s most important is being a combat soldier & contributing to the state,” (of Israel) says 25 yr-old Alisa Sheldon of the IDF’s Lions of the Jordan Valley Battalion.

By Danny Brenner

 

For 10 years, Alisa Sheldon couldn’t shake her dream of moving to Israel and serving in the IDF as a combat soldier. Two months ago she realized that dream, joining the ranks of the Lions of the Jordan Valley Battalion.

Alisa Sheldon – Photo: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit

On Saturday, the 25-year-old Sheldon stood at attention with her male and female comrades, swearing their allegiance to the IDF and the State of Israel. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , ,
| January 15, 2016
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As More Jews Are Attacked Daily In Europe, Aliyah Keeps Breaking Records

 

The increase of anti-Semitic attacks throughout western Europe has Jews so worried for the personal safety of their families, the Jewish Agency figures 8,000 new immigrants have come from France in the past year, as a result.

By Shoshana Miskin

 

The Jewish Agency revealed on Thursday that the number of Jews who made Aliyah to Israel from Western Europe has reached an all-time high.

Jewish new immigrants from France are welcomed upon their arrival at Ben Gurion Int’l Airport on December 8, 2015 – Photo: AFP/Jack Guez

According to the figures, 9,880 Western European Jews immigrated to Israel in 2015 – the highest number ever recorded. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Jewish News, The Diaspora | Tags: , , , , ,
| January 6, 2016
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Grandparents’ stories of Israel inspired Japanese man to join IDF

 

Now serving in the Nahal Brigade, Daniel Tomohiro speaks of growing up in Japan, being inspired by his grandfather’s stories of making aliyah and fighting in Israel’s War of Independence.
• “My grandmother was in Auschwitz and was saved only because a German nurse covered her with a blanket,” he says.

By Danny Brenner

 

Daniel Tomohiro is not the typical Israeli soldier. His Hungarian grandparents survived the Holocaust, made aliyah, and fought in the War of Independence, but they then moved to Australia, where his mother met and married a Japanese man and moved to Iwata, Japan.

Now Tomohiro has come full circle and is serving in the Israel Defense Forces, undergoing basic training with the Nahal Brigade’s 50th Battalion. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , , ,
| November 16, 2015
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Scholarship Students From Russia, Brazil Used Google Translate Before Learning Hebrew

 

Before learning Hebrew as their common language, Valeva from Russia, & Louis of São Paulo fell in love and turned to Google Translate after moving to Israel as part of a science & technology scholarship program for high schoolers.

By Danny Brenner

 

Nicole Valeva grew up in the city of Ufa near the Ural Mountains in Russia, while Louis Weinstein was playing soccer on the beach near São Paulo, Brazil. A year ago, when they were both 15, they left their native countries, their families and friends and made aliyah to Israel to join the World ORT Anières Elite Academy’s science and technology scholarship program. Continue Reading »

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