A series of lectures extolling the merits of staying in Israel, while offering logistical options for continued academic study in the Jewish State, were followed by a concert by renowned musician Chaim David Saracik. The annual event, which is taking place for its third year, took place in the ballroom of a Jerusalem hotel and was attended by busloads of students, most studying in Israel for one year after graduating from high school.
The event was organized by Aloh Na’aleh, an organization founded by a group of rabbis who made Aliyah (immigrated to Israel) from North America who seek to encourage those still in the Diaspora to move to Israel. It was co-sponsored by Yeshiva University and the Jerusalem Institute of Technology (Machon Lev).
Aloh Na’aleh Executive Director Rabbi Yerachmiel Roness told the crowd: “The mission of Aloh Na’aleh is to motivate you to consider Aliyah.” He went on to urge year-in-Israel students to begin viewing Israel as their home, rather than merely as a place to visit. “Many of you come for a year to study in yeshiva; some of you may even stay a second year,” he said. “But then, you are ready to go back to what some of you consider the ‘real world.’ We would like to suggest to you that, for Jews, the real world is right here in the Land of Israel.”
Jonathan Stein, a student who made Aliyah after high school, attended the event to let one-year students know about the possibilities of continuing their educations in Israel. “Machon Lev, the Jerusalem Institute of Technology, offers many ways for students to pursue a BA while staying in Israel and even continuing their Torah studies,” Stein told interested students who crowded around his information booth. “The school offers a first-year option in English, so students can begin to earn credits toward their degree while they are acclimating to the Hebrew environment.”
Stein says that in Israel, students can earn any degree they would pursue in North America. “I came right after high school, though most students join the program after a year of study in Israel, but there are so many options to accommodate everyone’s situation. There are a wide array of technological degrees and even tech-related business degrees, like technological marketing and accounting as well. There is even an arrangement called Atida, where you do college before your army service and then serve in the IDF within your field. For example, I could be a computer programmer in the army or even design scopes for sniper-rifles if I were studying electro-optics.”
A recent initiative by the Aliyah assistance organization Nefesh b’Nefesh, helping temporary residents declare “new immigrant” status, has seen hundreds of responses in recent months, particularly among young people studying in Israel.
The event was organized by Aloh Na’aleh, an organization founded by a group of rabbis who made Aliyah (immigrated to Israel) from North America who seek to encourage those still in the Diaspora to move to Israel. It was co-sponsored by Yeshiva University and the Jerusalem Institute of Technology (Machon Lev).
Aloh Na’aleh Executive Director Rabbi Yerachmiel Roness told the crowd: “The mission of Aloh Na’aleh is to motivate you to consider Aliyah.” He went on to urge year-in-Israel students to begin viewing Israel as their home, rather than merely as a place to visit. “Many of you come for a year to study in yeshiva; some of you may even stay a second year,” he said. “But then, you are ready to go back to what some of you consider the ‘real world.’ We would like to suggest to you that, for Jews, the real world is right here in the Land of Israel.”
Jonathan Stein, a student who made Aliyah after high school, attended the event to let one-year students know about the possibilities of continuing their educations in Israel. “Machon Lev, the Jerusalem Institute of Technology, offers many ways for students to pursue a BA while staying in Israel and even continuing their Torah studies,” Stein told interested students who crowded around his information booth. “The school offers a first-year option in English, so students can begin to earn credits toward their degree while they are acclimating to the Hebrew environment.”
Stein says that in Israel, students can earn any degree they would pursue in North America. “I came right after high school, though most students join the program after a year of study in Israel, but there are so many options to accommodate everyone’s situation. There are a wide array of technological degrees and even tech-related business degrees, like technological marketing and accounting as well. There is even an arrangement called Atida, where you do college before your army service and then serve in the IDF within your field. For example, I could be a computer programmer in the army or even design scopes for sniper-rifles if I were studying electro-optics.”
A recent initiative by the Aliyah assistance organization Nefesh b’Nefesh, helping temporary residents declare “new immigrant” status, has seen hundreds of responses in recent months, particularly among young people studying in Israel.