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Aliyah Continued from Page 1
with her husband and five
children, has her two oldest
children enrolled in boarding
schools to the south. They were
forced into bomb shelters the
first day of fighting, May 11, so
the family arranged rides for
them to return home the next
day. It’s uncertain when they’ll
be sent back.

That same day, Ben Shalom,
who owns a dating and relation-
ship coaching business, was in
Netanya for a work meeting
held on the beach, leaving only
a couple hours before the sirens
sounded. For Nemoff, who lives in
Candice Nemoff out on a date
Photos courtesy of Candice Nemoff
From left: Leah Cheirif, Aleeza Ben Shalom and Aviva Miller. All three
women are from Philadelphia originally and all made aliyah. Ben Shalom
started a dating coaching business called Marriage Minded Mentor, Cheirif
is a dating coach and Miller is the office manager. On May 11, the team held
its first in-person business meeting on the beach in Netanya — hours before
the sirens sounded.
Courtesy of Aleeza Ben Shalom
“It’s been a tremendous transition. It’s been one of the hardest things
I’ve had to do. Child birth may be easier than this — and I have five
children.” the United States.

That was part of Nemoff’s
recruiting pitch for other U.S.

residents to join her, and interest
in making aliyah apparently
remains high.

Nefesh B’Nefesh,
an organization that facilitates
immigration to Israel by North
Americans in conjunction with
The Jewish Agency for Israel,
Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael and
Candice Nemoff and her sister
Allison — who made aliyah in
December 2018 and is in the Israel
Defense Forces Lone Soldier
program —- at the Haifa beach
JNF-USA, said that Israel could
expect 90,000 olim by the
end of 2021, compared to just
35,463 in 2019, JTA reported
in June.

“I’m really happy with
making aliyah,” Nemoff. “I
hope everyone who wants to
do so is able.” l
agotlieb@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0797
ALEEZA BEN SHALOM
Netanya, the sirens have only
sounded three times. While
she had visited Israel many
times before, she had never
heard the sirens.

“It sounds like a tornado
siren — but Israel doesn’t have
tornadoes,” she said.

Both Nemoff and Ben
Shalom said the Israelis take
the uncertainty in stride.

“The way the Israelis work,
when things are quiet, there’s
normal life,” Ben Shalom said,
noting that public sentiment
seems to be that a cease-
fire is likely soon. “When
something’s going on, they
adapt. ... In America, people
would probably be freaking
out.” “Everyone just gathers in the
bottom of the staircase” when
the sirens sound, Nemoff said.

“For the most part, everyone
was calm and chatty.”
While neither woman regrets
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM the decision to make aliyah, they
noted that things aren’t always
easy, in part because of pandem-
ic-mandated requirements.

“It’s been a tremendous
transition,” Ben Shalom said.

“It’s been one of the hardest
things I’ve had to do. Child birth
may be easier than this — and I
have five children.”
Aside from a mandatory
two weeks of quarantining, the
Ben Shalom family had to find
a new rental house when their
initial plans fell through.

Nemoff, who’s been in Israel
for eight months, noted that
it’s taken a while to get used to
nearly everything being closed
on Shabbat. With buses not
running, it can be hard to get
around. Still, both said they’re
adapting and feel welcomed by
Israelis. “Everyone celebrates all
the holidays together,” Nemoff
said, detailing a May 16
Shavuot barbecue she attended
with her boyfriend’s family.

“That’s the community I was
searching for.”
Nemoff is working remotely
for a company that teaches
English and makes worksheets
used in teaching the language.

She hopes to be teaching
English herself soon, all while
she’s taking Hebrew instruc-
tion part time.

That fact that Israeli society
is opening up since the country
has vaccinated so many
residents helps. Both are fully
vaccinated and have “green
passports” that allow them to
sit inside at restaurants, among
other privileges.

“Corona’s been hard, but
it’s been hard everywhere,”
Nemoff said.

Technology also is valuable,
making it easy to stay in
touch with loved ones back in
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