Community Magazine January 2021

20 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Many community members do have Israel on their minds! In addition to loving the Jewish Homeland, many community members are considering purchasing an apartment in Israel for their future full-time residence or are thinking of buying a vacation home in Israel for when they visit. However, often people lack the proper information needed to actualize these plans. But there is good news: a newly formed community group, Syrian-Link Israel, has been doing the research you need. Their stated purpose is: Together we can build a flourishing Syrian Sephardic community in the land of Israel.  Syrian-Israel Link was created to strengthen our connection to the Holy Land together as a community, and serve as a one-stop hub for those seeking to learn more about spending time in Israel – be it in the short term, or long term. The core team consists of community members Rabbi Moses Haber as president; Moshe Laniado, vice president; Eli Mizrahi, secretary; Ralph Sasson, treasurer; Daniel Levy, marketing and publicity; and Jack Terzi technology director.   New Buzz in the Community about Israel “At the moment there is tremendous opportunity happening in Eres Yisrael. Our energies to promote investment in and/or support Aliya are not sourced in fear of current politics or the pandemic, rather in the historic realization that the Land of Israel is slated to be a success story for the Jewish people. This realization is surely reaching our community’s population now more than ever,” noted Rabbi Haber.  Rabbi Haber said that in the summer of 2020, more and more community members were discussing Israel. Last summer Rabbi Haber moderated an online conversation with Nefesh B’Nefesh representative Mr. Eli Bialik dubbed “Are You Thinking About Making Aliyah?” which was viewed by 150 people. “The questions that were sent into the Zoom chat were very practical, which means there are many in the community already thinking about what it is going to take to make Aliyah, have dual citizenship, or begin investing in land or apartments,” Rabbi Haber said, noting also that many reached out to him afterward for more information.  Syrian-Israel Link – Source of Vital Information Soon after, Rabbi Haber sought to spearhead an official group that would help focus the “disjointed conversations” that people were having in the community.   “Throughout our Zoom calls during the pandemic, we really created an understanding between us that this is an essential and important thing for us to do. But we wanted to do something the right way, in an organized fashion.” said Rabbi Haber.  An apolitical non-profit organization was born. Currently, the team is focused on gathering data from the community via a formal survey. The information collected will help SY-Israel Link present up to date and accurate information to community members in an organized way. The SY-Israel Link survey will help identify significant information about the respondents, such as their age bracket, their time frame for buying real estate or making Aliya, their projected budgets, and the locations they are considering. Nearly a hundred and fifty people have filled out the confidential online survey. According to Moshe Laniado, information gleaned from the survey reveals that community members from different socio- economic groups are looking tomake Aliyah. Additionally, themajority of people do not knowwhere in Israel they would like to settle, or buy a home.  Direction towardsAreaswithSyrianCommunityMembers That is good news for SY-Israel Link, because it means that potential Olim are open to different locations and helping them to find a place with like-minded community members should be easier if they are all not insistent that theymustmove to Jerusalem. Is the Land of Israel on Your Mind?