The word “Aliyah” means “to go up”, or “ascension”, and signifies the return of Jewish people to their historic homeland of Israel. The 1948 “Declaration of the Establishment of the state of Israel” states that “The State of Israel will be open for Jewish immigration and the ingathering of exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel”. Furthermore, the 1950 Law of Return states that any Jewish person immigrating to Israel will be granted citizenship.
Since its founding, the nation of Israel has experienced immigration on a huge scale. Some immigrants come, motivated by the historic and Biblical ties of the Jewish people to the land that forms the nation of Israel, that was promised by God to Abraham in a covenant to belong to him and his descendants forever. Others come motivated by the ideals of Zionism, seeing Israel as a place for the persecuted, oppressed Jewish people to seek refuge and form a national identity of their own. Throughout Israel’s short history, waves of Jewish immigrants have come to the country, many from war-torn, impoverished areas, or from Arab countries in the Middle East where they were no longer welcome after the establishment of the nation of Israel. Many of the large scale immigration movements could be equated to rescue missions, such as Operation Magic Carpet in 1949 that airlifted 46,000 Jews from Yemen, Operation Ezra and Nehemiah in 1951 that airlifted 121,000 Jews from Iraq, and the evacuation in the years 1984 and 1991 Operations Moses and Solomon secretly evacuated 22,200 Jews from war-torn and famine ridden Ethiopia.
Israel has worked hard to make the transition process as smooth as possible for their new immigrants, providing help with housing, job training, and whatever else the immigrants are in need of, including offering Ulpanim, or intensive Hebrew language courses. The many different ethnic groups that have come to Israel as a result of their openness to new Jewish immigrants has created a very diverse culture, but one that is held together by a common bond of being Jewish. The mandatory military service that all able citizens must take part in is another factor contributing to the national sense of unity. Today, Israel keeps watch over Jewish communities in high risk areas, waiting in readiness to receive them. The ideals of a Jewish state that is a sanctuary for the faith and culture of the Jewish community endeavors to create a desire to make Aliyah and return to the homeland among the Jewish community throughout the world.
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