Immigration to Israel in 2014 was at its highest in a decade. No doubt, this had something to do with the wave of anti-Semitism sweeping Europe. But Jews do not come to Israel solely to escape persecution; like Rom Lerner, who emigrated from Kenya with the assistance of Garin Tzabar, an Israel Scouts project, many come because they want to live in and serve their national homeland. He writes of his own experience:
Most of us have not personally experienced unusual anti-Semitic events, most of our parents haven’t been seriously affected by the economic situation, and to be honest, most of us had a comfortable, well-planned life ahead of us. The truth is that the real reason is very simple and contains two parts. . . . None of the young people of Garin Tzabar, myself included, have given up—despite the many temptations—on our right to take on the burden of protecting our Jewish identity. We were never willing to cut the historic, cultural, or religious ties that bind us [to the Jewish people], even if some of us had only seen Israel on postcards. We always fought—in school, at conferences, in forums, in conversations with friends—to tell Israel’s side, despite the criticism we got for it.
Read more on Israel Hayom: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=11117