“The contribution of Olim to the country in the fields of industry, education and culture is immeasurable,” said MK Neguise.
By: United with Israel Staff
Israel celebrated “Aliyah Day” in honor of the Olim, new immigrants to Israel.
The Knesset on Monday marked Aliyah Day with a celebratory meeting of the Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs at the Knesset Auditorium, with the participation of representatives of the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization, hundreds of new immigrants, including immigrant soldiers, heads of immigrant organizations and others.
“We cannot imagine the State of Israel without the waves of immigration,” Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, an Oleh from the former USSR, told those in attendance.
Committee Chairman Avraham Neguise, himself an Oleh from Ethiopia and one of the initiators of the Aliyah Day Law, said that “the contribution of Olim to the country in the fields of industry, education and culture is immeasurable.”
“Aliyah is the air this country breaths, the justification for the existence of Zionism and the reason for the state’s existence as the state of the Jewish people,” he underscored.
Neguise mentioned that Aliyah Day coincides with the reading of the Torah portion Lech Lecha, in which Abraham is told to leave his home and go to the Promised Land.
Almost 27,000 Olim in 2018
Minister of Immigration and Absorption Sofa Landver, an Olah from the former USSR, said “Aliyah is the country’s symbol,” and noted that 26,830 new immigrants and returning residents arrived in Israel since the beginning of the year.
“Aliyah has brought many achievements, and despite the difficulties, it leaves its mark on culture, medicine, science education and settlement,” she stated.
Coalition Chairman MK David Amsalem expressed hope that all the world’s Jews will eventually immigrate to Israel. Otherwise, he said, assimilation will destroy Diaspora Judaism.
Just last week, a diverse group of 33 Americans immigrated to Israel.
The new immigrants will reside in communities throughout Israel. They work in professions such as biotech, engineering, education, media, business and psychology. The group also includes individuals who have already made significant contributions to Israel, including a man who helped establish a microelectronics laboratory for the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
Some 3.5 million people have made Aliyah since 1948, making up 42 percent of the total population.
In 2018, over 70 years after the Holocaust, the world’s largest Jewish population lives in Israel. This figure represents 43 percent of world Jewry.