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| The group of Olim ‘Aliyah Flight Daled’, Yossi Eshed, WPZC Chairman Moonyeen Castle and Justine Friedman, Aliyah consultant |
July started off with a bang in the Aliyah Department, as Cape Town said “Lehitraot v’Behatzlacha” to 11 enthusiastic olim leaving in one group. On 4 July Capetonians joined up with fellow South Africans to take part in the fourth official group Aliyah flight, which left for Israel with over 120 passengers.
Ages ranged from individual young adults and new families with children, to older couples looking to reunite with family in the Holy Land. The Cape Town group was made up of a diversity of people, including a young family with two very small children and seven singles aged from 21 to 71, demonstrating that no one is too young or too old to settle in our homeland.
The Cape Town farewell was a mixture of much excitement and a little anxiousness. This was alleviated by encouraging words from Monyeen Castle, the chairman of the WPZC and Yossi Eshed, the Cape Town shaliach, as well as shared thoughts and emotions by the olim themselves.
One of the olim, Megan Freidberg (26), spoke about her and her brother, Steven’s (23) feelings of eagerness and exhilaration to start a new life in Israel, even though they had never left South Africa before. Hope for a good life and faith in their country, Israel, filled the air and was truly inspiring. This Aliyah flight could not have been as successful without the incredible support of meetings arranged for the olim in the hotel, soon after arriving in Israel. They enjoyed the ease of their ID books being arranged for them by the visit of Misrad Hapnim. No long lines and running from place to place, the Post Office and Kupat Cholim came to them to arrange their National Insurance and Medical Aid. Bank accounts were opened at the banks of their choice and cellular phones were given on the opening of contracts connecting them directly from the hotel.
Telfed was there, of course, to support and help them network from day one, as was the Jewish Agency available to respond to all their other inquiries.
Hot off the heels of this success, the group for the next Aliyah flight has already started to build up momentum. “These flights have really ‘taken off!’ We have received very positive reports from Israel about the smooth absorption of our olim,” says Yossi Eshed, Aliyah shaliach.
Clearly, now is the time to be making Aliyah, so make an appointment to meet with the Aliyah department by sending an email to aliyah@ctjc.co.za
