Making aliyah

Nefesh B'Nefesh (Hebrew for "Jewish souls united") was founded by Rabbi Yehoshua Fass when he was in Boca Raton, Fla., where his duties included directing the Helen Julius Reiter Institute of Judaic Studies.

"He always sort of wanted to move to Israel," Levine said about Fass.

About five years ago, that distant longing became more urgent for Fass when his 13-year-old cousin was killed by a suicide bomber in Israel while waiting at a bus stop.

"Rabbi Fass said, 'I'm drawing two immediate conclusions,'" Levine said. "'First, instead of talking about moving to Israel, I'm moving to Israel, but also I'm going to find out what's keeping other people like me from moving.'"

Fass met with Tony Gelbart, the son of Jewish immigrants and CEO of CPM Worldwide LLC, an investment company in Boca Raton with holdings in the U.S. and Israel.

Together, the men formed Nefesh B'Nefesh to help Northern American Jews make aliyah, which translates as "going up," a term that has come to mean immigration to Israel.

"They were very smart," Levine said. "They did market research. They found out literally what was stopping people from moving."

Among the reasons were that people had no jobs waiting for them, they had children in school, they were afraid they would not fit in or they could not afford the expense.

"This is a country that is not terribly user-friendly," the Texas-born Levine said of Israel, where he has lived 28 years. "Typically, somebody spends two months going from this office to that office."

To cut some of the red tape, Nefesh B'Nefesh arranges for government officials to meet immigrant families while they still are on the plane. By the time they step off, they have completed two months' worth of paperwork.

The group also helps families find schools, comfortable neighborhoods and jobs. Last, Nefesh B'Nefesh provides grants from $8,000 for singles to up to $22,000 for large families. If the immigrants stay at least three years, they do not have to repay the money.

The program is open to Jews of any age in the United States or Canada. On Aug. 16, chartered flights from the U.S., Canada and, for the first time, the United Kingdom, will travel to Israel for the largest single aliyah in Israel's history.

Various motives

People have many reasons for wanting to relocate to Israel, Levine said.

"There are X numbers of people out there who have had this vision for many years to reconnect to the land of Israel for historical reasons, cultural reasons, religious reasons," he said. "You name it."

The typical immigrants are couples in their late 20s or early 30s with one or two children, Levine said. Both parents usually are highly educated professionals who have worked in their field for about five years.

"Often time they're religiously observant, but not in an extreme sense," he said. "They're definitely motivated somewhat by religion."

Religious values are among the motivations for the Benzions, who have a 2-year-old son, Yosef.

"I think it's an ideal place for a Jewish family to live," said Meredith, a professional midwife. "Here in America, you can live a Jewish life, but you're always going to be a stranger. But in Israel, everybody is Jewish. Our child is going to go to school, and he's not going to feel different. I want him to fit in."

She said she has noticed that children in Israel are confident and have a greater respect for life.

"I was raised in Encinitas, and I find the depth of life incredibly lacking," said Meredith, who also sees Israel as a country where people look after one another.

"The whole country sort of breathes as a collective," she said. "There's a general sense of everybody looking out for each other."

Frimmer, who said he is spiritual but not necessarily religious, is attracted to Israel because of its culture, music and people.

"My Israel friends are the toughest people I know," he said. "They work hard and they play hard."

A songwriter who performs electronic music with a rock influence, Frimmer was excited by what he found on a visit to Tel Aviv earlier this year.

"I love electronic music, and there's just this unbelievable scene over there," he said. "They throw these amazing parties. They really know how to live life over there. Maybe because they're always in danger of losing their lives. It's just such a great culture. It went from being 'This could be a cool place' to 'Oh my God, this is the coolest place I've ever seen in my life.' It's amazing. It just felt like home. Great food, great people, great culture, great parties."

Though the Benzions and Frimmer have different motivations for moving, they share a belief in Israel's right to defend itself.

"There's a nice chunk of me that wants to pick up a gun and fight for it," Frimmer said. "Although my home is America, I feel passion for the Israeli Army. But I feel almost no passion for the American Army."

Meredith said, "I'm a religious Jew. As a Jewish person, I believe we were given the land of Israel as our inheritance."

Her husband sees their plans to move as a historical opportunity. "Israel has always been a central part in Jewish history," he said, "and for most of our history, it's been off-limits."

Benefit to Israel

As immigrants fulfill their dream of living in Israel, Israel also benefits from immigration, Levine said.

"People always ask, 'Are you planning to even up the score? Get more Jews than Arabs?'" he said. But at 10,000 immigrants over five years, Levine said, the impact from Nefesh B'Nefesh has not been numerically significant. Instead, the new arrivals have had an influence in other ways.

"Most are highly educated," he said. "They've worked in professional areas. They're highly motivated. The best that America produces."

Nefesh B'Nefesh helped 500 immigrants in 2002, its first year. An additional 1,000 Jews immigrated with help from the group in 2003, followed by 2,000 in 2004 and 3,000 last year, when it began working with the Jewish Agency for Israel, which also helps people immigrate to Israel.

"For Israel to survive and flourish as a Jewish democratic society, aliyah remains imperative," reads the Web site for the Jewish Agency for Israel. "Israel must become home to more Jewish people."

Levine stressed that the immigrants, who will have dual citizenship with the United States, should not be seen as abandoning America.

"We're actually building closer bridges between the two countries," he said. "Every young couple that moves comes back to visit."

Frimmer's plane fare to Israel will be paid for by Nefesh B'Nefesh, but first he has to buy his own ticket to Toronto, where the flight will depart. So far he hasn't bought his ticket, and he has given himself until Aug. 1 to decide whether he will go next month or wait until the situation calms down.

"It's still a month away," he said. "And a lot can happen in a month."

If his parents had their way, Frimmer would be staying put.

"They tell me every day not to move," he said. "Every single member of my family has called and said, 'Don't move.'"

Frimmer and the Benzions are young, but there is no age limit on immigrants who are aided by Nefesh B'Nefesh, Levine said. Last December, the group helped two sisters in their 90s immigrate to Israel.

"They survived the Holocaust," Levine said. "They were in concentration camps. They moved to America, had kids. Both had husbands who died years ago. They took each other's hands, got in the plane and said, 'This is what we've dreamed of doing for the last 50 years.'"

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