Is NBN a Failure? האם נפש בנפש כשל
- Ariel Avidar
- Apr 14
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 20
Is Nefesh B'Nefesh a failure? Good question. So, my Aliyah talks have made the rounds. And they've gotten a lot of feedback, not really positive feedback from Westerners, from Americans, from Anglos, as they call them.
And it's because I speak in a very direct and confrontational, in a direct, offensive way. And why? It's because no one else will do it. No one else will speak like that. And frankly, I can, because I made Aliyah. And I did it with the family. And I did it mid-career. And I saw the direction that the United States was heading in. And this was years ago. Today, forget it, it's even worse.
But in the end, I don't want to be the Aliyah guy. Because it's a position that's destined to failure, won't be successful. People won't be convinced to make Aliyah out of reason. It's a discussion for the heart. And you can't convince the heart with facts. So, unless the person is woken up by their own Zionism, or Judaism, or by simple fear of what's going on, you can't convince them with facts.
But back to the question of whether Nefesh b'nefesh is a failure. So, the other day, they proudly boasted that 3,000 Americans and Canadians, which is their region, made Aliyah. Now, over 3,000 people means probably around 1,000 families, in a population of over 10 million by some estimates.
So, why so few? People are afraid to make Aliyah for many legitimate reasons. They believe they're moving to a war zone. They're going to a new culture. They have to work in a new language. Sometimes their degrees may not transfer over properly. Often they're just tied to their stuff, and they don't want to leave their stuff.
And the response that they get from Nefesh b'nefesh is, well, you'll get two points off your mortgage as an immigrant, as an oleh. So, that's obviously not going to work.
But it could very well be that that's just not Nefesh b'Nefesh's job. That they're not really, their primary role, as I understand it, is not to promote Aliyah necessarily. It's to help facilitate those who want to make Aliya, to let them understand, help them understand what the benefits are, to help them understand what the paperwork, what the logistics are to do so, the requirements. And once they're here, to help them integrate with jobs, with language, things to that effect. And in that sense, I could speak from experience, they do an excellent job. They really do.
So, perhaps what we need is a different organization. And I've called it Nefesh b'sakana, a soul in danger. One that will use a heavy-handed approach to highlight the threats, to explain Jewish history, to awaken that Aliyah spirit. Now, it's more than likely that such an organization couldn't be an Israeli government organization, because they would find that too sensitive, too controversial of an approach.
Years ago, one ministry, maybe the ministry of integration, put out some commercials in the United States, with a heavy-handed approach regarding the life of Israelis who left Israel. I thought it was spot on. I thought it was great. They were great. But that's probably exactly why they would find them controversial.
https://youtu.be/JAkXBULjUCk
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