The Jewish Agency’s website explains Israel’s Law of Return as follows:

1950 – “Every Jew has the right to come to this country [Israel] as an Oleh.”

1970 – “…automatic citizenship not only to Jews, but also to their non-Jewish children, grandchildren, and spouses, and to the non-Jewish spouses of their children and grandchildren. This addition not only ensured that families would not be broken apart, but also promised a safe haven in Israel for non-Jews subject to persecution because of their Jewish roots.”

Our Jewish Federation is part of the collective of Jewish Federations that provides much of the funding to the Jewish Agency to support the rescue of Jews from around the world for resettlement in Israel.

While we are mired in political turmoil in the United States and we all have opinions about the politics of Israel, I encourage us to put aside our politics to appreciate the wonder that is the modern State of Israel as we help it to fulfill its mission with the passion and sensitivity as expressed in the nuance of the Law of Return.

With that as the backdrop, we were delighted to welcome 316 members of the Falash Mura community of Ethiopia to Israel yesterday. We expect another group today and plan to bring 2,000 community members by the end of next month.

Please click here for more on Ethiopian Aliya and here for a short video clip from the Jewish Agency on yesterday’s historic event."

To receive this weekly email message from our President and CEO, Rob Kovach, please join our email list!