Education is new focus
made sweeping internal changes, including closing its historically prominent Aliyah Department. The organisation’s work became less focused on promoting aliyah and more on education (which it hopes will bring aliyah in the long term).
“The Jewish Agency has de-escalated its aliyah efforts in the UK and this is the result,” said Michael Jankelowitz, who was the Agency’s foreign media spokesman for many years until the restructuring.
Although British aliyah was down on last year, the 2013 figure of 510 matches the average for this country since the beginning of the century.
After hitting a low of around 300 in 2002, aliyah from Britain began to climb, rising to more than 800 four years ago .
Zionist Federation chairman Paul Charney said that the current level reflects “the fact that British Jews are still motivated to move by positive factors such as their connection to their ancient homeland and the attractive living conditions in modern Israel, while avoiding being pushed out by negative factors such as the antisemitism that is sadly more prevalent in other European countries.”
At the Limmud conference in Warwick last wee k , t h e U S - b o r n Israeli MK Rabbi Dov Lipman called for more emigration from the West, saying that “I believe we should be raising our children to move to Israel.” But he acknowledged: “I don’t think we are doing enough in our government to help with English speakers who are making aliyah.”
One recent move made by the Israeli government was to invest around £60 million in an £180 million project to boost diaspora Jewish education.
UJIA chief executive Michael Wegier, who is chairing an international committee on informal education for the project, said: “The Israeli government recognises is that you don’t get aliyah from the West without strong Jewish education, in the same way you don’t get strong Jewish communities without strong Jewish education.”
One outcome from the venture could be greater aliyah, although the education projects would not be “aliyah-focused”, Mr Wegier explained. “One of the ideas being looked is how we might reduce the cost of gap years in Israel.”
The Zionist Federation said in a statement:
“T h e Z F a n d the World Zionist Organisation will be increasing their level of aliyah work in the UK in 2014 and are devoting more resources to
this end.”