benlevi

Aliyah is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally described as ＂the act of going up＂, moving to the Land of Israel or ＂making aliyah＂ is one of the most basic tenets of Zionism.

Zionist ideology was premised upon the reconstitution of the Jews as a free, self-determining nation in their own state. In recognition of this aspiration, Israel’s Declaration of Independence declared that ＂The State of Israel will be open to the immigration of Jews and for the ingathering of exiles from all countries of their dispersion.＂ In 1950, this principle was given shape as the Law of Return, enshrining this Zionist principle within Israeli law. The Law of Return grants every Jew in the world the automatic right to immigrate to Israel - in Hebrew called aliyah - and immediately become a citizen of the state.

The Law of Return did not arise from ideology alone; it was also a practical measure. In the wake of the Holocaust, the first act of the new Israeli government was to abolish all restrictions on Jewish immigration. Israel, the government declared, would provide Jews the world over with a haven from anti-Semitism.

This book of poems covers much of the spectrum of emotion associated with making Aliyah.