Periphery on the Rise

“Having grown up in a Zionist home, I always knew that I would move to Israel. I just didn’t know when,” says English teacher Atara Bienenfeld. The move took place about four years ago: Bienenfeld, her husband Zack - an engineer with Amazon, and their four children, made aliyah from the United States as part of a program jointly run by KKL-JNF and Nefesh B’Nefesh. Initially they lived in Raanana, which is well-known for its ability to absorb large numbers of North American immigrants, but very soon, just six months later, they began to look for somewhere else to settle down. “It was important to us to find somewhere where we could make a difference, somewhere with a solid community where we could afford to buy a home, and, of course, somewhere that provided reasonable transportation to the center of the country,” says Bienefeld.

When she and her husband heard of a group of families that were planning to move to Carmei Gat, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Kiryat Gat [in southern Israel], they decided to take the plunge and relocate to the periphery. “Everyone bought houses in the same building project, and so we’ve created a close-knit community,” she says, adding that other members of their family have followed their example and likewise immigrated to Israel.

KKL-JNF and Nefesh B’Nefesh – which was founded to encourage Jews from Western countries, and from North America in particular, to immigrate to Israel – have in recent years begun to operate a comprehensive program to motivate Jews from the West to immigrate and settle in Galilee and the Negev, in order to develop and strengthen these outlying regions. Immigrants who have come to Israel through joint KKL-JNF and Nefesh B’Nefesh activities include a wide range of professionals: academics, educators, medical specialists, practitioners of alternative medicine, marketing experts, engineers and musicians, as well as athletes and sportspeople. “This assortment of immigrants fits in well with KKL-JNF’s desire to develop and strengthen the Negev and Galilee, and by settling them in these areas we prevent a brain drain [to the center of the country],” explains KKL-JNF World Chairman Daniel Atar. According to Nefesh B’Nefesh data, Beersheba, Ashkelon, Kiryat Gat, Arad, Carmiel, Nahariya, Katzrin and other cities in Israel’s periphery are all preferred locations in which around 9,000 immigrants have chosen to settle in recent years. “Today, the fact that over 6,000 immigrants have settled in northern Israel and over 2,000 in the south underlines the importance of maintaining a strong bond with Jews in the Diaspora,” says Atar.

 

In recent months KKL-JNF World Chairman Danny Atar has been promoting KKL-JNF’s vision for the next two decades. Entitled “Israel 2040: Israeli Relocation,” its prime objective is to narrow the [social and economic] gaps that have widened over the years between central Israel and the outlying Negev and Galilee regions. Firm in its belief that both these regions can contribute greatly to Israel’s strategic and economic strength, the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund is encouraging Israelis to move there and work towards transforming them into engines of growth. “The program helped us a lot,” affirms Bienenfeld. “Before we made aliyah we met up with the Nefesh B’Nefesh representative in New York, and after we immigrated, they helped us to find employment opportunities and explained to us in detail exactly how the job market in Israel works. In addition, they also put us in touch with the community to which we belong today.”

Apart from receiving extensive support from the program, immigrants who settle in Israel’s peripheral regions are also provided with a generous financial grant to help them remain there. When asked to describe the difference between life in Raanana and their new life in Carmei Gat, Bienenfeld smiles and tells us: “There’s no comparison. Life in the periphery moves at a slower pace, it’s quieter here and there’s a lot more greenery around. I’m enjoying being here. It’s true that the education system in Raanana is amazing, but we’re having a good experience here, too.” If there’s anything that needs improving, she says, it’s local transport. “Here you definitely need your own car, because there’s only one bus that leaves Kiryat Gat for Beersheba or central Israel.” However, despite the difficulties, the most important thing as far as the Bienenfeld family is concerned is, beyond a doubt, the well-integrated community of which they have become a part. “This is a very united community that is determined to develop and change the area by organizing local society and helping it grow,” they say.

“The State of Israel is the home that embraces every Jew everywhere, and KKL-JNF proudly welcomes every Jew who immigrates to Israel, especially those who settle in Galilee and the Negev. That is the essence of Zionism and the practical application of building the Jewish Home,” said Atar of the program. “Unfortunately, however, in recent months we have witnessed a significant escalation in hate crimes against Jews worldwide, simply because of the fact that they are Jewish, and these have become unbelievably routine.”

Atar continued: “Antisemitism is rearing its head once again and threatening the precarious personal safety of Diaspora Jews, which in some places barely exists. We must not remain silent. We need to support the Jews of the Diaspora in an uncompromising struggle against anti-Semitism, and we need to be in the forefront of protest against the undermining of the social order and the failure to protect Jewish lives in the Diaspora. The State of Israel is the home of the Jewish People and it is committed to preserving the safety of all Jews.”

The article was published in conjunction with KKL-JNF