Aliya Official Explains Basis for ‘mivtza Elef’ (project 1000)

Yossi Harel, spokesman for the aliya department of the Jewish Agency in Israel, said here in a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that his department had established “Mivtza Elef” (Project 1000) “in order to give families the opportunity to see and know Israel before they decide on aliya.”

Harel, who is also a member of the steering committee involved in Project 1000, pointed out: “There are eight million Jews in the West who could move wherever they want. We would like them to come to Israel, however they have to be prepared to come. We want them to see the value of working, housing and education in Israel. We call this process ‘aliya in stages’, or more colloquially, taste it before you eat it.”

Harel was responding to an article by Cindy Kaye, a JTA correspondent in Jerusalem, who described the positive elements of the project, including some of the problems encountered by some of the participants in it in the August 4 issue of the Daily News Bulletin.

Project 1000, which was introduced this summer by the Israel Aliya Center of North America in cooperation with 30 other American Jewish organizations, is aimed at exposing American families to life in Israel. The program offers two month-long sessions to bring a total of 1,000 families to Israel in a variety of capacities, hoping that the participants would become interested in aliya.

Referring to some of the criticisms of the participants, Harel said: “Without checking out every individual complaint, I can’t say how accurate they are or how objective. However, I will say that we have to work on the area of organization. This is the first year that so many families have come on this program — 250 families comprising 14 groups in July and August. Next year we mean to strengthen our organizational level. Despite the problems we encountered this summer we are glad the families came and look forward to more people next year.”