Nefesh B'Nefesh, a group that aims to
help North American Jews make aliyah
by removing as many logistical and
financial hurdles as possible.
The Israeli government doesn't track
what stream of Judaism an immigrant
associates with, but Nefesh B'Nefesh
estimates that 70 percent of North
American Jews who have made aliyah
through the organization are Orthodox.
Rabbi Joshua Fass, an Orthodox Jew
who made aliyah from Boca Raton, Fla.,
and is a co-founder of Nefesh B'Nefesh,
said aliyah is the natural extension of an
Orthodox upbringing.
"The exposure that an individual in
the modern Orthodox movement gets
from schooling, camp, involvement in
synagogue is always with involvement in
Israel. It's not only a connection to a
land but a viable place for one's future,"
he said.
Lorraine Hoffmann of Milwaukee,
president of the Lake Park Synagogue,
spoke of how prayers make the link
stronger. "It's a daily reminder of the
link between the Jews in the diaspora
and the State of Israel. It is what we are
all about," she said.
Yishai Fleisher, who made aliyah from
New York last year after graduating law
school, passed out "Aliyah Revolution"
pins at the convention.
A talk-show host for the settler-run
Arutz Sheva radio station, which broad-
casts on the Internet, Fleisher and his
wife live in Beit El in the West Bank.
'As an Orthodox Jew you feel very,
very connected to the land." He said
being Orthodox helps smooth over
some of the difficulties of living in Israel.
Fleisher has established Kumah, which
he described as a grass-roots organization
to encourage North American aliyah.
He also encourages those already living
in Israel "to keep making aliyah" — that
is, to improve the country any way they
can, whether it's helping to clean up the
environment or lobbying for road safety.
But the majority of Jews, Orthodox or
otherwise, don't immigrate to Israel. The
guilt of not moving to Israel can be
acute, O.U. members said, but the con-
nection to Torah ensures an ongoing
relationship with the Jewish state.
At the close of the convention, the
Orthodox Union passed a resolution
expressing reservations about Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to
withdraw troops and settlers from the
Gaza Strip. The resolution did not come
out either for or against the plan, but
expressed the organization's empathy
i_
with settlers who may be evacuated. E

FEDERATION'S

2005

ANNUAL
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Jewish News Staff Writer Shelli Liebman
Dorfman contributed to this report.

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2004

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