Olim in-waiting remain committed to aliya

What should have been a simple farewell for a group of olim leaving South Africa unfolded under the shadow of uncertainty, as the reality of life in Israel made every goodbye feel heavier. 

About 20 olim in-waiting gathered at Beyachad on 18 March for a send-off. Many were supposed to have been in Israel already, with departure dates having been set for the beginning of March but now in limbo, waiting for normal flights to Israel to resume. Some are waiting to hear if their later flights will go ahead after all aliya flights before 23 March were cancelled. 

But despite war raging in Israel, often with multiple sirens blaring a day, not one of these prospective olim has decided not to go to Israel. 

“During this time, not one person has changed their mind,” said aliya advisor at the Israel Centre Shelly Bookatz. “Everybody is still coming because this is our land, and nobody can change that because this is G-d-given, and you don’t have to be Jewish to understand that. This is where we belong, and everybody’s going home.” 

“At the moment, we are hanging in there, and all that we have is emunah (faith),” said Ziva Taitz, head of the Aliya Department at the Israel Centre of the Jewish Agency. “We don’t know how or when it’s going to be, but we have to trust that it will be the best way and the best date and arrangement, and whatever it is, it will be the best that is right for us.” 

Bookatz explained that she has been inundated with emails asking what is happening with flights and when people can book their aliya flight tickets. She spoke of her admiration for those who are choosing to make aliya now because they are uprooting their comfortable lives to go to a warzone. 

“I can tell you that I know from what people have told me that you are safer in Israel than you are anywhere else, even with the bombs,” she told the olim. “I don’t even know how to express what a special time this is to make aliya. And each of you, you’re going to go to Israel, you’re going to build the economy, you’re going to add to looking after everybody else, you’re going to look after each other, you’re going to invest in property, and even the rent that you pay, you don’t know how much that’s going to build the country, and it is so deeply meaningful to all the Israelis who live in Israel.” 

Avi Kagan, the new Israeli representative from the Jewish Agency at the Israel Centre, explained that making aliya at this time epitomises what being a Zionist is. 

“We grew up on stories about how Abraham, our father, left his land and went to the unknown. This time, what you’re doing is no different from what our father Abraham did. Just going, just chatting with some of you, and knowing about your cases from our team. I know it’s not easy,” he said, “So for that, I think that’s the most Zionist, that’s the top of being Zionist. For some of you, all your life, you felt Zionist, you were Zionist, you donated. But now you’re saying that it’s not enough for you. You want to be part of what’s going on there. And as an Israeli, I’m proud, and I think that we, together, have an assignment to rebuild Israel. And just by coming, just by considering making aliya, I think it strengthens the country, and the people of Israel.” 

Kagan explained that though these olim haven’t actually set foot in Israel yet, there’s already the uncertainty of red tape that is part of life in Israel. 

“I want you to remember this moment. Right now, in Johannesburg, before we get into all the details: the flights, the passports, all the bureaucracy. I know some of you are already dealing with that reality,” he said. “Some passports are sitting in Pretoria at the embassy, but staff can’t access them because of security rules. That’s the bureaucracy. Some of you already had flights booked, suitcases packed weeks ago, ready to go. We know, because we’ve been speaking about it constantly and trying to find solutions. And if you think the bureaucracy ends the moment you land in Israel, I have to tell you, it doesn’t. It will continue. But maybe that’s also part of what we love about our country. It’s frustrating, but it’s ours.” 

Kagan, who moved to South Africa only at the beginning of the year, explained that he considers these olim braver than Israelis like himself. 

“We have the Israelis who actually, or someone like myself, who didn’t make any choice. I was born there. So you are much braver than I am,” he said. “I am a seventh-generation Israeli, as I like to say, and you are first-generation. Some of you already have kids in Israel. And they’re first-generation, but you’re also first-generation. And the young people, well, you’re going to be like Israelis, born Israelis. So it’s really moving.”