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I find Zahry in Beit Shemesh, where he is living with relatives after a three-month stay in the Immigration Absorption Center in Beer Sheva.   At first he is hesitant to talk about his experiences as a recent immigrant from Yemen.  Suspicion comes naturally to many …

Meeting with me in a Tel Aviv café on a sunny morning, Gabriel, who will soon mark his ninth anniversary in Israel, speaks nostalgically about his native Argentina, but seems to have no second thoughts about his decision to become one of the thousands of …

At the edge of the Negev Desert, the town of Beersheva is home to a community of Bene-Israel Jews, originally from India.  Sitting on a bench under a sheltering palm, I talk with Sara, who came to Beersheva in 1964, at the age of 20. …

Theodor meets me at a tree-shaded outdoor café for lunch and to reminisce about his aliyah twenty years ago.  Arriving on an El Al flight to Tel Aviv, he recalls leaving Budapest with equal parts hope and anxiety.  His move, ironically, came on the heels …

I find Uri in a Nahariya park, where we had earlier agreed to meet.  A sea breeze off Israel’s northern Mediterranean coast gently rattles the leaves of an overhanging tree.  At the age of 67, Uri still has a spring in his step as he …

As anti-Semitism has grown over the last few years in France, so has the number of French immigrants in Israel.  In 2005, Israel experienced the largest influx of French Jews in 33 years, and the phenomenon continues.  To better understand the dynamics of modern Judaism …

In a Jerusalem office complex, I meet with David, the administrator of a large non-profit organization based here.  Today David plans to share with me the story of his move to Israel 20 years ago. David’s Story At the age of 50, David looks a …

The ancient country of China has a colorful history of Jewish involvement, ironic in a country with almost no practicing Jews today.  Chinese immigration to Israel is therefore a rarity, but not unheard of, to which 25-year-old Yacoov can attest. Yacoov’s Story One of the …

Jonathan has very recently arrived in Israel from Canada, where he lived for the first 30 years of his life. I question him in Jerusalem, where he is in the process of completing the absorption process. Jonathan’s Story An Orthodox Jew from Hamilton, Ontario, Jonathan …

Arthur meets with me near the Hebrew University, where he is studying education.  He arrived here from Sao Paolo two years ago, and at the age of 25, he is on his way to a fulfilling life in Israel. Arthur’s Story Growing up in the …