The Nefesh B’Nefesh Aliyah (NBN) organization is launching tailored seminars in areas with large Jewish populations in the US to better facilitate mass immigration.
The group’s “Enhanced Pre-Aliyah Informational Seminars” will include twelve sessions with various experts and professionals dealing with various aspects of immigrating to the Jewish state. NBN has tailored different seminars to some of the dominant demographic segments that are making the move.
The first round of tailored seminars will cater to young couples, retirees and physicians in the New York and New Jersey area. They will take place on Sunday, March 9 and will feature general seminars as well, geared for all individuals considering Aliyah.
“One of the ways that Nefesh B'Nefesh has revolutionized Aliyah planning is by sending its expert staff around the world offering professional and personal guidance and advice on all aspects of Aliyah to individuals considering the move,” organizers say. Indeed, despite being active in the US, Canada and the United Kingdom, nearly all of Nefesh B’Nefesh’s staff works out of its headquarters in Jerusalem’s Givat Sha’ul neighborhood.
NBN says the seminars are both for those “actively planning” as well as just “contemplating” Aliyah. The seminars will deal with specific issues such as employment, schooling, healthcare, government benefits, communities and housing.
The seminars will include free baby-sitting, a move that is expected to allow families with many children to attend. That demographic, judging from the stream of young children disembarking from the organization’s charter flights, is well represented in the Aliyah movement.
“Due to the high importance of proper Aliyah planning, Nefesh B’Nefesh has made a concerted effort to reach out to anyone seeking advice on Aliyah, and provide as much qualitative information as possible,” Nefesh B’Nefesh Co-Founder and Executive Director Rabbi Yehoshua Fass explains. “At present, we are coordinating, customizing and implementing seminars across the three countries we operate in, in order to offer the best guidance and information possible as well as inspire any potential Olim to take the next step in realizing their dream of moving to Israel.”
To date, close to 30,000 North American and British Jews have attended Nefesh B'Nefesh pre-Aliyah informational seminars and the organization says that over 19,000 people have contacted them requesting guidance and support for making Aliyah in the near future.
Click here for a full listing of seminars and locations.