ISRAEL AT 40 Going Up The `Ingathering of the Exiles' is taking longer than was expected 40 years ago KIMBERLY LIFTON Staff Writer IM elvin and Etta Mermell plan to retire in Israel, and they know exactly where they want to live when they get there. The Mermells, who decided to make aliyah after their first visit to Israel 18 years ago, want to make their home in 'Ibl Aviv in an old renovated building on Hayarkon Street facing the Mediterra- nean Sea. "It's a great location. It will be such a great thing to be surrounded every day by our own people," Mrs. Mermell says. "You can't compare it with any other country, any other place, any other setting. I never had any idea there could be a life like that." Family and business ties have kept the couple in Detroit until now. But the Mermells, married for 51 years, have traveled to Israel 26 times and hope to make the move soon. Their son, Mar- shall, and grandson, Matan, already live there. The Mermells are one of 50 families in the metropolitan Detroit area who belong to the local Chug Aliyah, a sup- port group for potential olim, which meets once a month. Aliyah, a Hebrew word which literally means going up, denotes more than just immigrating to Israel. It signifies a moral and spiritual elevation. Yet such staunch Zionists as the Mermells who believe all Jews must support Israel and make aliyah — are only a minority in the United States. Zionism and the expected "Ingathering of the Exiles" to Israel, says Yefet Ozery, Detroit's community shaliach, have not materialized as Theodor Herzl and other founding fathers intended. Today, some Jews in the Diaspora have redefined Zionism to mean work- ing for the State of Israel's continued existence. Most Jews today, Ozery explains, don't feel the need to make aliyah because they are prosperous and don't confront persecution and discrimina- tion as Jews did when the modern Zionist movement began in the 1880s. "Most Jewish communities throughout the world are not facing the kinds of troubles they had 100 years ago," he says. lb date, about 70,000 Americans have made aliyah, including 1,000 Michigan natives. Ozery estimates that of the 14 million Jews in the world, roughly 3.6 million live in Israel. About 5.5 million Jews live in the United States. As Jews around the world begin celebrating the 40th anniversary of Israel's independence, some are ques- tioning the success of the Zionist movement. While immigration to Israel re- mains at a steady trickle, more Jews are leaving the Jewish state each year. An estimated half-million Israelis have opted for life in the Diaspora. "You can't judge whether aliyah succeeded or failed by 40 years," Ozery explains. "We still hope that in the corn- ing generation, most Jews will gather in Israel." The concept of Zionism to many Jews, he says, is as an ideal rather than a reality. But, he stresses, an increase from 650,000 original Israel residents in 1948 to 3.6 million today is a tremen- dous achievement. "We are making good progress," Ozery says, adding that the Israeli government provides incentives to at- tract more olim. Some incentives are: • Any Jew moving to Israel is entitl- ed to automatic citizenship • Tax breaks for three years • Moving costs up to 70 percent • Job placement assistance • Better interest rates on home loans • Up to six months free residence in an absorption center. Traditional Zionists argue that the emancipation of Jews in the modern era has led to an increase in intermarriage and assimilation into a secular society. They say entire generations of Jews eventually will disappear, and that someday, all Jewish people will be in Israel. Meanwhile, the Jewish Welfare Federation of Detroit is planning to set up an emergency loan fund to support olim, Ozery says. The fund, to be corn- prised initially of $15,000, is pending Federation approval. Two years ago, the Detroit Federa- tion became the first such Jewish agen- cy in the country to voice public support for olim. Now, discussions are under way to create an aliyah council to help Michigan Jews who wish to make a move to Israel. It's the first time ever that' the Federation has offered financial support for olim. "Federations, and ours in par- ticular, will be more in the forefront of encouraging, facilitating and helping to fund the settlement of Jews in Israel from our community," says Dr. Conrad Giles, Federation president. Giles says the Federation has only recently begun supporting aliyah because the current generation recognizes its importance. "Twenty years ago, Jewish educa- tion was low on the agenda. And as Jewish education has become a high agenda item, so, too, will aliyah." Previously, Ozery says, many Jews in the United States felt threatened by Zionism — fearing that all Jews would go to Israel, leaving none here. But, Ozery says, "In recent years, people have realized that it is not a threat." Traditional Zionists argue that the emancipation of Jews in the modern era has led to an increase in intermarriage and assimilation into a secular society. They say entire generations of Jews eventually will disappear, and that someday, all Jewish people will be in Israel. THE FOURTH DECADE MUNICH MASSACRE: Arab terrorism against Israeli civilians increased in the 1970s, symbolized by the murder of Israeli athletes during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. YOM KIPPUR WAR: The Arab states, led by Egypt, launched a war against Israel on Yom Kippur, 1973. Israel suffered heavy casualties before pushing back the Arab armies and controlling the Sinai desert and the Golan Heights. Shown here, a roadside religious service on the fateful Yom Kippur day. 32 FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 1988 ENTEBBE RESCUE: On July 3, 1976, Israeli forces swooped into Uganda to rescue more than a hundred Jewish hostages being held by Arab terrorists. Shown here, the tumultuous homecoming.