Page 23 - Issue 21

“This is the first time ever, even over the course of
wars and persecution in other countries, even
when Israel was receiving so many immigrants
each year,” Naomi Tamura, 26, told Davar. “A lot of
people make aliyah because of persecution, but a
lot of people also make aliyah because they want
Israel to fulfill the Zionist dream. So what does it
mean
when
that
place
suddenly
closes
the
door?”

Tamura,
who is
Naomi Tamura, an American waiting to make
aliyah currently
living with
her family in Pennsylvania, had scheduled her flight
to Israel for January 26. The flight was cancelled
when the Knesset approved a near total shutdown
of Ben Gurion Airport last week, which was
extended until February 7 at a Knesset meeting on
Sunday.

Aliyah has long
been a pillar of
Zionism, as
reflected in the
Law of Return,
Israel’s
immigration
policy for Jews
around the world. “On Eagles’ Wings,” the aliyah operation
for Yemeni Jews.