First aliyah

New school, new home: Young olim begin the school year in Israel

From learning Hebrew to making new friends, five young olim share the excitement and nerves of finding their place in an Israeli classroom.

New olim at Ben Gurion Airport greeting first graders
 The surrender of Jerusalem, December 9, 1917.

The war against the Jewish state began long before Israel was established - opinion

 THE EXPECTATION that citizens should roam the length and breadth of the country in order to find an appointment slot somewhere to renew a passport is preposterous.

Proposed Law of Return amendment sparks debate over conversion standards in Israel

THE WRITER wraps up a ‘Hinenu’ photoshoot at a heliport in Herzliya last year.

Moving to a 'war-zone': What the headlines won't tell you about the lives of Israelis - opinion


Gov't opens trauma hotline for olim living in South

The center was established in collaboration with The Community Stress Prevention Center (CSPC).

 Israelis run for shelter during a rocket alert in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, on August 6, 2022.

From Hong Kong to Jerusalem: Wax on to Israel

Stephen Ho's unlikely story of aliyah begins with a long-forgotten wax museum, which once was in the Shalom Tower in Tel Aviv.

 Stephen Ho, 68, from Hong Kong to Kadima, 2011.

Aliyah advice from Murray Greenfield

"What I’ve found is that the guy who gives up and throws up his hands in disgust gets no place," is the one-liner advice from 59-year-old Murray S. Greenfield, who made aliyah in 1947.

 Murray Greenfield

The subtle traumas of Jewish immigration to Israel don't disappear

I would rather the salesperson, clerk or waitress have to suffer through my accented Hebrew than me having to suffer through their accented English.

 The language of the Hebrew man

'Every day is a miracle, it's just more apparent in Israel'

“The moment we landed, I started crying.”

The Schwartzes: Dr. Reuven, 71, and Amy, 66 from Pittsburgh to Jerusalem, 2015

Arrival stories: Rabbi David Arias Weil, 31, Chile to Jerusalem

In Chile, he left behind his parents, four siblings, a beloved grandmother, other close relatives and many friends.

(LEFT TO right) Rabba Diana Villa, Rabbi David Arias, Rabbi Yosef Kleiner and Rabbi Ehud Bandel at Arias’ rabbinic graduation/ordination ceremony.

Aliya as an act of faith

More than 3,000 Bnei Menashe have thus far made aliya thanks largely to Shavei Israel, the organization I founded and chair. Another 7,000 are still in India, all of whom wish to come.

A PLANE at Ben-Gurion International Airport.

The ups and downs of aliya

A YOUNG olah, newly arrived from France, waves an Israeli flag after disembarking from a plane upon arriving in Israel on a special flight organized by the Jewish Agency at Ben-Gurion Airport, last year.

An answer to Paris: The ‘gentile aliya’ epidemic

srael will soon have to expand its borders far beyond its wildest dreams – not for the benefit of the Jews, but at the request of millions of Europeans.

THE STATUE at the Place de la République in Paris is seen featured with a giant cardboard pencil reading ‘I am Charlie’ in 2015 after the attack against the ‘Charlie Hebdo’ magazine

Time to ease aliya for French Jews

It is well known that the first cracks in the equation of “France equals liberty, equality and fraternity” have been evident for quite a while.

TRAY of pastries is seen at a patisserie owned by members of the French community in Netanya