Aliyah

Since the early 1980s, the ICEJ has helped more than 100,000 Jews overcome political and geographic obstacles when immigrating (making “Aliyah”) to Israel. From launching protests outside Soviet embassies worldwide to sponsoring 58 Aliyah charter flights of new immigrants, plus sponsoring transportation for Jewish immigrants to airports, the ICEJ has played a key role in Aliyah.  

The ICEJ labors in remote areas of Siberia and other former Soviet republics as well as Germany, France, the USA, and Canada, encouraging the Jewish population to return to the land of Israel.

 “ Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and set up my ensign to the peoples  
and they shall bring thy sons…” Isa 49:22

If you would like to send a donation via the ICEJ UK Branch for the Aliyah work , please click here for details of how to give online or by post.  Mark your gift for 'Aliyah'. 

Below are two articles about ICEJ's aliyah work from Russia and North America:-

Russian Aliyah
From Uzbekistan to North America
By Howard Flower, ICEJ Russia

The first mandate for aliyah work at the ICEJ has been with the Jews of the Former Soviet Union. Since 1989 we have been helping in many areas. Recently we decided to expand our work and reach out to Russian speaking Jews in Germany, the USA and Canada. While more than a million FSU Jews were moving to Israel another 800,000 were moving to other areas. In 2003 we began a program to help in the USA, in 2004 we started our program in Canada and in 2005 we began to work in Germany. We have continued to work in the Former Soviet Union in Russia, Belarus, the Baltic countries and Uzbekistan.

Today we are continuing our fishing work through the mass media, television, radio, and direct mail. And recently we have begun fishing through the Internet: “Web Fishing” as we call it. Fishing is a term found in Jer. 16: 16

The major world wide economic downturn will open the way for many Jewish people to make aliyah. We saw this in Russia when the Russian banks collapsed in 1998. Again we saw the aliyah increase among the FSU Jews living in America after the tragedy of 9/11 and the recession in 2001.

We continue our work of providing Aliyah charter flights. The next will be in the Spring of 2009 from Finland, carrying FSU Jewish Olim. We are working together with other Finnish Christian organizations to make these flights possible. We also partner with many other established Aliyah groups such as Ministry to Israel who is one of our most important partners.

We are very thankful for our network of worldwide support and encourage you to continue to work with us to get ready to help this new and fresh wave of aliyah that will be coming soon. Just as we got ready ahead of time to help with the more than one million FSU who came home following to collapse of the Soviet Union we are now making plans for the next wave from the West.

North American Aliyah
By Donna Holbrook, ICEJ Canada

TORONTO – The largest number of North American Jews ever to move to Israel in one day boarded two planes this summer with several immigrants who were helped on their way to Israel by the ICEJ.

Although the first waves of Aliyah were mostly Russian and former Soviet Union Jews, a smaller but steady stream of Jews from North America (many from Russian background) have been making Aliyah to Israel.  I was prompted to become involved with Aliyah in Canada after hearing and being spiritually impacted by a prophetic word that Russian Jews would come through Canada to make their way to Israel. Two years ago, I brought this up with ICEJ Executive Director Malcolm Hedding who told me he had heard the same word 10 years prior.  "So we are closer now to that time of fulfillment,” I responded.

I connected with A. Howard Flower, national director of ICEJ Russia, and we decided to develop a program through North America.   “The Lord had already put many of these Russian Jews in Canada,” Flower said. “There was a huge outpouring from the FSU (former Soviet Union) and some Russian Jews moved to Canada. It’s a cold country like most of the Soviet Union, it’s somewhat of a socialistic country and the Canadians have a heart for refugees.”

In the 1880s an exodus of Jews escaping the pogroms in Russia also chose Canada for the same reasons. Another wave of Jewish people who moved to Canada is from Cuba. Fidel Castro “let them go” and they went with the help of Canadians, Flower said.

To begin the ICEJ program, I contacted the Toronto Israel Aliyah Centre and through them, their agents in Montreal. This initial connection has developed into a friendly bond with these agencies. They were enthusiastic about our willingness and pro-active approach to assist them in returning their people to their homeland. To their knowledge, no Christian ministry had offered this assistance before.

Once they approve and complete the documentation of an individual, couple or family, ICEJ Canada is notified either by the “shlicha,” Jewish Aliyah agent, or, more regularly, through Flower in St. Petersburg who helps coordinate and fund Aliyah applicants. Funding also comes from Ministry to Israel, ICEJ Finland, Finnish Exodus Committee and ICEJ Russia.

The ICEJ project has so far helped more than 100 Jews emigrate from North America. Each person gets a grant of $500 (US) and is reimbursed for vouchers and sometimes traveling expenses.  One woman said she had no financial means to make Aliyah, although it was her heart’s desire. She was referred to the ICEJ and received a generous gift that enabled her to move to Israel.

“It was so encouraging and really important to know that there are people, even strangers, who are so excited and supportive of your decision to resettle in Israel that they are willing to help financially,” Ilana said.

There is no experience quite like the one when, for the first time, you meet the “olim” (immigrants to Israel) on their last day’s visit to the Aliyah Centre where you meet, shake hands and present them with a gift of money, made possible by hundreds of ICEJ supporters who have a heart to see God’s people return to their homeland, Israel.

They are thrilled and amazed that we want to help them make their move easier through this gift and through the support once they are in Israel through the ICEJ Aid Program.  It is a work of our heart to God’s people to see them restored to their land of promise.