The volunteers from Boston

Article published on Ynetnews.com March 31, 2010
By Danny Spector

Every year, Steve and Carol Doppelt gather a number of American friends and volunteer in Haifa for an entire month.

Steve and Carol Doppelt have been living in the United States for four generations. At first the family lived in New York and then moved to Boston, where they live to this day. And yet every year they arrive in Israel with a growing group of volunteers for an entire month of voluntary activities in the Haifa area.
Why? Because they feel like it.

"We visited Israel for the first time to celebrate our son's bar mitzvah in Jerusalem," says Steve. "After that time we simply fell in love with the country and realized that we wanted to come back here again and again.

"Since then we try to come every year, just to volunteer. We bring along good Jews who love the country and try to do all they can to develop Haifa and help educate the next generation."

The latest delegation, which landed here about two months ago, included 15 people who volunteered in the northern city's schools for four weeks. They taught the children English and tried to help in whichever way they could, even with matters requiring labor.

All this took place thanks to the Boston-Haifa Partnership which flew them here, while the city's residents took care of their accommodation.

"We feel like we've come home when we arrive here," Steve adds. "We want Israelis know that in spite of the situation there are always people who will come and stand by them here. We do it every year and we're happy to see the positive effect of what we do. Let's hope we can continue coming and doing this for many more years."

Why don't you just make aliyah?

"The truth is that we've also taken the opportunity to study Hebrew in an ulpan. Who knows, maybe in the future we'll even make aliyah."

Latin American Jews building in Jerusalem's Har Nof

Article published on GLOBES [online] August 18, 2009
By Ariel Rosenberg

Latin American Jews building in Jerusalem's Har Nof. Most of the members of the buyers group are Jews from Venezuela and Mexico who are planning to immigrate to Israel soon.

A buyers group of Latin American Jews will build two nine-floor residential buildings in Jerusalem's Har Nof neighborhood.
The Pninat Har Nof will exploit the hilly topography of the site to build 70 terraced apartments of three to six rooms each. The project will also include a synagogue and Beit Midrash, spa, fitness rooms, sports fields, a banquet hall, underground parking, and a park.

Most of the members of the buyers group are Jews from Venezuela and Mexico who are planning to immigrate to Israel soon. The buyers group was organized by Moises Benarroch, a resident of the neighborhood who immigrated to Israel 13 years ago.

South Africans Make Aliyah at Western Wall

Article on Arutz Sheva Aprill 22, 2009
By Hillel Fendel

Over 85 new immigrants of all ages from South Africa and Zimbabwe arriving in Israel today (Wednesday) will receive their citizenship at a unique group ceremony at the Western Wall on Thursday.

The arrival of the Jewish Agency flight at Ben Gurion International Airport will contribute to the increasing Aliyah numbers from South Africa. Some 340 Jews moved to Israel from the country in 2008, twice as many as in the year before. This flight is the third one bringing South African Jews this year.

South African Jews at Western Wall

The Jewish Agency will hold a special Absorption Day for the new Israelis at the Shalom Hotel in Jerusalem's Bayit V’gan neighborhood on Thursday morning. Representatives of various government and important offices, such as the National Insurance Institute, the health funds, phone companies, the Ministry of Absorption, and others, will be on hand.

At 4 p.m, the new immigrants will receive their ID cards in a unique ceremony at the Western Wall. Such cards are usually granted without fanfare in an Absorption Ministry office.

On hand for the occasion will be Jewish Agency Treasurer and former Meretz MK Haggai Merom, South African Jewry lay-leader Mendel Kaplan, and representatives of the Friendship Fund.

Some 65,000 Jews still live in South Africa, including 45,000 in Johannesburg and 15,000 in Capetown. Some 21,000 South African Jews have made Aliyah since the inception of the State of Israel.