After the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, Michal Shapiro, a newly minted Israeli citizen from Baltimore, was hesitant at first, but she then decided she didn’t want to be anywhere besides the Jewish state.
Shapiro, 25, was in Israel when the attack happened, but she officially made aliyah on Nov. 15, 2023, a little more than a month after that fateful day. She received immigration services from the nonprofit Israeli organization Nefesh B’Nefesh, in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration and other Jewish agencies.
“I was tempted to go back to Baltimore and visit, but I’m happy that I didn’t leave in the end,” she said. “I feel privileged to have this opportunity.”
She came to know the country she would adopt as a student on a gap year.
“When I came here, I fell in love with it and decided I wanted to live here, but it took a couple of years to be able to do that,” she said.
In the last quarter of 2023, 4,175 individuals and families from North America applied to make aliyah through Nefesh B’Nefesh. Of them, 720 made aliyah since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. These numbers mark a 142% increase compared to the same time last year, according to Nefesh B’Nefesh.
“The tremendous increase in requests to open aliyah files are a beautiful expression of solidarity with the country, providing us with a much-needed boost to our morale,” said Ofir Sofer, minister of aliyah and integration, in a statement released by Nefesh B’Nefesh. “Together with our partners at The Jewish Agency for Israel and Nefesh B’Nefesh, we are working to improve the absorption process by easing the bureaucracy as well as helping with Hebrew learning and job placements. We believe that full integration of the newcomers will contribute greatly to Israeli society and economic growth.”
In a statement, Tony Gelbart, co-founder and chairman of Nefesh B’Nefesh, said, “Our olim [immigrants making aliyah] never cease to amaze us as they prove their commitment to fulfilling the Zionist dream of making Israel their home. These individuals have not only remained steadfast in their desire to make aliyah despite the war and escalating regional tensions, but have felt an even stronger impetus to do so out of a profound sense of connection and solidarity with the Jewish people and our homeland.”
Shapiro said life in Israel is hard now. She regularly hears sirens and rushes to bomb shelters.
“It’s a little scary not knowing where you could be at any given moment that there could be a siren,” she said. “You have to figure out what to do.”
Shapiro grew up in Greenspring and attended Bais Yaakov of Baltimore. She was educated at Maalot Baltimore, now the Women’s Institute of Torah Seminary & College. She belonged to Congregation Shomrei Emunah. She was a teacher at Bais Yaakov of Baltimore for four years as well.
Five months ago, she married Yechiel Shapiro, a 29-year-old plumber. He was born and raised in Israel, though his father is from Baltimore. The young couple live in Ramat Beit Shemesh, located in the foothills of the Judean Mountains, about 19 miles west of Jerusalem.
For now, she is helping the youth in her town through a social services organization. Shapiro is planning to open her own business in Israel, a recording studio to help people create songs for milestone celebrations. The idea came from a friend who set up such a business in Baltimore.
“My family were all singers so this is a job that I would love,” Shapiro said.
She identifies with the Israeli people “who are taking on more mitzvot and more opportunities to help people during this war. There are tons and tons of people who are packaging things and donating to the soldiers.”
She has volunteered for an organization in Jerusalem she said is known as the Amazon for soldiers. The soldiers order anything they need, and it’s shipped to them.
“I was telling my husband how I was so worried that when things like Oct. 7 happen, they go back to normal and people forget and they move on. But the opposite is true,” Shapiro said.
“Actually, people have not forgotten, and everyone is really standing together.”
