Today marked the 3rd Ashdod Conference for Aliyah & Klita, a conference which discussed the very essence of Aliyah and at the same time dug deep into the core issues that Olim are faced with on a daily level.
Honoured by the presence of many politicians, chair people, heads of and many others, the conference set out to show that Aliyah is taken seriously and is viewed as a valuable part of Israel, Israeli society and the Israeli economy. Speaker after speaker praised the Aliyot from various destinations, encouraged Oleh associations and organisations to continue the efforts to bring more Olim and all made promises to work towards further benefiting the Oleh.
However with praise, romance and honour came reality. It wasn't until the speeches were spoken and the coffee break concluded that the panels began to discuss the real and sometimes not so pleasant issues that come with being an Oleh. Employment issues, racism towards Olim, immigrant youth, were all just a few of the issues discussed thought out the conference.
Being in the midst of it all, sitting deep in the audience, I heard comments in Russian, Amharic, English, French and Hebrew. The comments we not necessarily pleasant or positive all the time, but without a doubt, they were passionate. Passionate about the Oleh, Aliyah and what it means to be living in the Cholent Pot that is Israel.
People will have their comments about whether this years conference was good or bad, interesting or not. Either way, it left people passionate and that will no doubt lead to stronger efforts and even harder work than what already is put in towards benefiting the Olim that continue to arrive.
Honoured by the presence of many politicians, chair people, heads of and many others, the conference set out to show that Aliyah is taken seriously and is viewed as a valuable part of Israel, Israeli society and the Israeli economy. Speaker after speaker praised the Aliyot from various destinations, encouraged Oleh associations and organisations to continue the efforts to bring more Olim and all made promises to work towards further benefiting the Oleh.
However with praise, romance and honour came reality. It wasn't until the speeches were spoken and the coffee break concluded that the panels began to discuss the real and sometimes not so pleasant issues that come with being an Oleh. Employment issues, racism towards Olim, immigrant youth, were all just a few of the issues discussed thought out the conference.
Being in the midst of it all, sitting deep in the audience, I heard comments in Russian, Amharic, English, French and Hebrew. The comments we not necessarily pleasant or positive all the time, but without a doubt, they were passionate. Passionate about the Oleh, Aliyah and what it means to be living in the Cholent Pot that is Israel.
People will have their comments about whether this years conference was good or bad, interesting or not. Either way, it left people passionate and that will no doubt lead to stronger efforts and even harder work than what already is put in towards benefiting the Olim that continue to arrive.
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