Nefesh B’Nefesh, a nonprofit that facilitates aliyah for Americans and Canadians, has continued apace despite the ongoing war in the Middle East.
With around 2,000 new immigrants from North America arriving in Israel this summer, the organization has helped establish a flagship charter flight on Aug. 19. This flight, the first of its kind since the conflict between Israel and Iran began, will carry over 220 Olim.
This surge in aliyah comes at a time when many people might hesitate to make such a move. Yet for some Baltimore families, the current moment has only deepened their resolve.
Nefesh B’Nefesh, in cooperation with the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, The Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael and Jewish National Fund-USA, has already assisted over 100 immigrants to arrive within the first week of July.
One of those Olim was Jenna Lifson-Book, a native Baltimorean who had recently gone to Israel on a gap-year program after graduating from the University of Maryland. Originally planning on making aliyah on June 18, Lifson-Book’s flight was canceled as a result of the Israel-Iran conflict.
“It was pretty devastating. I remember [I was] at a goodbye dinner with my family, and we got the alert that Israel had attacked Iran and that they were retaliating. I was really worried for my friends who were there, and then I [thought], ‘Oh my God, what’s going to happen with my aliyah?’” Lifson-Book said.
Nefesh B’Nefesh immediately began communicating with Lifson-Book and many others in the same position to provide support.
Lifson-Book noted that Nefesh B’Nefesh paired her with an aliyah advisor who called a few times to update her.
“It was stressful, but it was pretty smooth. Once all the restrictions [were] lifted, they [said], ‘OK, it’s time to rebook your flight and come make aliyah.’ So I [said], ‘OK, let’s do it,’” Lifson-Book said.
Lifson-Book made aliyah on July 16.
She explained that while she was living in Rishon LeZion during her gap year, which overlapped with the attacks of Oct. 7, she decided to live in Israel.
Growing up attending Krieger Schechter Day School in Pikesville, Lifson-Book felt that the school had a large impact on her love for Israel and her burgeoning Jewish identity.
Now living in Tel Aviv, Lifson-Book is settling into her new home.
She explained that Nefesh B’Nefesh organized a flight with 60 other people making aliyah.
“I don’t think that I would have been able to do it without Nefesh B’Nefesh. It can definitely be a very overwhelming process, especially [because] I don’t have any direct family in Israel, so having that support with English-speaking advisors and other Americans or Canadians or whoever has made aliyah was really helpful,” Lifson-Book said, “They really just held my hand through the whole 24 hours that it took for me to fly and land and get all my paperwork.”
Even before the Israel-Iran conflict in June, Nefesh B’Nefesh reported high rates of Americans making aliyah despite the continuation of the war post-Oct. 7.
In May, Michelle Moskowitz, a member of Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion in Baltimore, made the decision to move to Israel. While she had not lived in Israel since 1983 during her gap year, she was prepared to navigate the challenges of making aliyah. What she did not know was that, only months after she settled into her home in Ramat Beit Shemesh, the Israel-Iran conflict would upend her stable lifestyle.
Moskowitz’s move, she explained, was difficult, but she had help from her mother, brother, two nieces and a nephew who live in Israel. Even with their help, though, Moskowitz was still struggling.
“I would not have been able to do it without Nefesh B’Nefesh,” she said.
Once the Israel-Iran conflict began in early June, Moskowitz stopped leaving her apartment and going to appointments, and she found it difficult to sleep. Nefesh B’Nefesh paired Moskowitz with social workers who were able to identify her challenges and help her feel more comfortable.
“The social workers call and check up on me and make sure I am doing everything I need to do in order to get the stuff I need to get. … They started following up with me by phone,” Moskowitz said.
Originally, when deciding to move to Israel, Moskowitz was prepared for the sirens that had grown to become a daily occurrence since Oct. 7, but she was ill prepared for the sirens that went off in the middle of the night during the Israel-Iran conflict.
“During the regular sirens, you’re in your safe room for 10 minutes, and it’s kind of redundant. You don’t really feel like you’re protecting yourself there. It doesn’t feel like there’s much of a danger during those sirens and rockets,” Moskowitz explained. “But during the Iranian war, it was not like that. Those rockets did hit, and it was true that if you were in your safe room, you were very probably saving your life. … So you had to stay there until they told you that you could leave.”
After spending many nights in her safe room, Moskowitz had a difficult time adjusting to her normal sleep schedule.
“It took me two weeks to finally be able to sleep at night,” Moskowitz said.
Despite the sirens and constant nights in the safe room, Moskowitz, who was once mugged at gunpoint back in Baltimore, said that Israel is safer.
“Honestly, I think we’re safer here than we are in the States. I really do. Even with the Iranian war, I still feel safer here than I did in the States,” Moskowitz said.
Moskowitz, a former kindergarten teacher at Torah Academy in Baltimore, said that now that she has settled into her new home, she would like to go back to work.
Amy Hollander is a Baltimore Jewish Times Intern.
