We must celebrate our olim on Yom HaAliyah - opinion

• Author: DAVID FINE
• Published date: 11 October 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Yom HaAliyah – to be marked this Wednesday – should be no different.

According to the opening clause of the Knesset law that created Yom HaAliyah: "The purpose of this law is to set an annual holiday to recognize the importance of Jewish immigration to the Land of Israel as the basis for the existence of the State of Israel, its development and design as a multicultural society."

It is a very good thing to recognize the importance of Jewish immigration, but that certainly should not be the end of the story. If we are to celebrate aliyah, then we must also celebrate olim.

I would even go further. If we are to celebrate olim, we should also ensure they feel fully integrated into their new lives in the Jewish state. A full and meaningful klita is the greatest celebration of aliyah. Klita is generally translated as absorption.

The process of absorption is for something from the outside to be integrated into the inside. That entity doesn't lose its identity and changes or adds something into what it was absorbed. This should also be the same for absorption into Israel.

While we need to stress that we do not want Israel to become a little US, UK or Australia, we do want to contribute our knowledge and above all our experiences to make Israel even better.

The State of Israel, from its establishment, has been a product of immigrant experience and sensibility. Our quasi-socialist welfare and health systems were brought from central and eastern Europe. Parts of our parliamentary system were taken from the Weimar Republic, brought to Israel by German Jews.

Our status as a hi-tech powerhouse is largely a result of the aliyah from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s. The Ethiopian aliyah brought a distinctive culture, embraced by many Israelis as demonstrated by how many outside the community now celebrate the Sigd holiday.

These are just some examples of how immigrants have contributed to Israel in many arenas, including governance, the economy, development and progress. The question then remains what Anglo immigrants can bring to the table.

At the Anglo Vision, it is our hope that as people who have multiple and differing experiences of governance, political representation and accountability, we can suggest and help implement some ideas about how to improve a political system that is rapidly moving toward paralysis.

It is clear from the past almost three years that the current system, while providing almost absolute representation, lacks governability and...