MEET A PAIR OF NEW IMMIGRANTS THAT YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT IS HELPING!

Irina and Vladimir Velicahay came to Israel from Odessa one year ago. They study Hebrew and live in our temporary absorption facility in Shavei Shomron. I asked them their age…With a smile, Irina answered, “this is a secret”. Vladimir told us that he is 52 and then volunteered his wife’s age as 49. I don’t know what repercussions he faced for telling us his wife’s age. J

Irinas brother arrived from Odessa five years ago.  He was the first in the family to arrive. When he sent word to the family that they should come, Irina and Vladimir’s daughter, Rahcel, was the next to arrive. Rachel came to Shavei Shomron for her initial absorption and stayed. Her parents missed her so much that they decided to make Aliyah and join Rachel in Shavei Shomron.

The picture on the upper right: L-R…Vlaimir, Irina, Rivka Bondi (Hebrew language coordinator) and Jacqueline Boot (Shuva Israel Canadian Director). Back row L-R are Moses Hansen (Denmark) and the other half of our Shuva Canadian team, Jake Boot.

After one year, the Velicahay’s have learned enough Hebrew to get by on a day to day basis.  They still mix Russian words in their Hebrew sentences. They worked for many years in Russia but draw no pension from the former USSR.  They are currently living on unemployment compensation and are barely able to get by.  I asked them how they felt about their future in Israel. Irina said, “As long as we are with our daughter, we are sure all will work out. We live day by day and manage to get by. We love Israel and are not discouraged by the difficult economic and security situation.  We learn to be creative. We brought a small crate of clothes and books from Odessa and used some of the wood to make furniture. We want to thank all the people in Israel and out../side2 of Israel who have helped us.”

                                                                                                                                                Eliezer Braun

Shuva Israel had a wonderfully successful groundbreaking trip to Canada in November/December, 2001. Jake/Jacqueline Boot and Georgina Saunders have committed themselves as volunteers to run the Shuva Israel office in Canada. We are privileged to have such dedicated volunteers willing to commit their time and effort in representing Shuva Israel in Canada . During the November/December, 2001 trip, we had several speaking engagements and met with numerous pastors. We batted      1,000%….meaning…that every pastor we met with invited us to speak and fundraise at their Church during the February, 2002 trip to Canada. Jake and Jacqueline have enthusiastically opened their home and office to handle all Shuva Canada inquiries and to process donations.  This is a great testimony to have such committed friends working entirely on a volunteer basis for Shuva!

The Canadian database is growing rapidly. Upcoming trips to Canada are February 1-17 and May 19-June 2, 2002.

Shuva Israel financial report-year ending December 31, 2001 (Figures in US$) Aid to new immigrants in Shavei Shomron, Einav & Chinanit   $127,731  (48.12%) Absorption Center building fund in Einav  $82,533 (31.09%) Administrative Costs       $55,179   (20.79%)

[The following article was printed in the "Jerusalem Post" on Friday, December 7, 2001.] 

Eugene W. Rostow, U. S. Undersecretary of State for political affairs between 1966 and 1969, and former dean of the Yale Law School, played a leading role in producing the much talked about UN Security Council Resolution 242.  He has emphatically stated that 242 "calls on the parties to make peace", and allows Israel to administer the territories it took over

in 1967. Resolution 242 called for secure and recognized boundaries Professor Rostow pointed out that Pre../side2nt Reagan always asserted and maintained that Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria and in the Gaza Strip were "perfectly legal."  Moreover, the British Mandate fully recognized the right of the Jewish People to settlement in the entire Mandated territory.  In 1922, Britain withheld Jewish settlement in what is now Jordan, but Rostow asserts that the Jewish right of settlement in Judea and Samaria, that is west of the Jordan river, is incontestable. Rostow states that right cannot be terminated and is buttressed by Article 80 of

the UN Charter which provides that nothing shall be construed to alter in any manner the rights of peoples or the terms of existing international instruments."  The Mandate given to Britain by the League of Nations was such an "international instrument."  The Mandate recognized the historical connection of the Jewish People with their Biblical homeland, and the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country. Former Undersecretary Rostow pointed out that, therefore, the Jews have the same right to settle in any part of Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip as they have to settle in Haifa, Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.

THINK AGAIN: US Christians care more than US Jews By Jonathan Rosenblum
Concern with Israel's security has long since ceased to preoccupy most American Jews. A recent survey by the Jewish Studies Center of CCNY concludes that of the 5.5 million Americans defined by sociologists as Jewish, half list their religion as "other" or "none."
Not surprisingly, ethnic identity of American Jews is declining rapidly. With little sense of themselves as Jews, most American Jews have little connection to one another, much less to Jews far away. While Jewish votes assure that New York's senators will always be demonstrably pro-Israel, those votes cannot begin to explain the broad consensus of congressional support for Israel and the consistently positive feelings toward Israel of the general American population. Many of Israel's staunchest supporters in Congress have traditionally come from states with small Jewish populations: e.g., Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, Senator Tim Hutchinson of Arkansas, Attorney-General John Ashcroft, formerly a senator from Missouri; and House Majority Whip Tom DeLay. Far from being supported by the mainstream Jewish community, these men are often anathematized by Jewish groups for their social conservatism. On a host of issues, from school prayer to aid to educational tax vouchers to abortion, they consistently line up on the opposite ../side2 from the organized Jewish community. These men support Israel not because of the mainstream Jewish community, but despite it. Their views are shaped by their own consciences and reflect the consensus of their overwhelmingly Christian constituents.
Devout Christians constitute the bedrock of American support for Israel. Such Christians number in the tens of millions. Unlike American Jews, they are not embarrassed by criticisms of Israel in certain left-wing circles, and do not cancel tours to Israel after each terrorist incident.
Even a casual survey of the letters to the editor of The Jerusalem Post reveals how avidly many American Christians follow events in Israel.
 Christian supporters of Israel open up their Bibles and read that Israel is the Promised Land, promised to the Jews.
Israel's Christian friends are thrilled when they meet Jews who take seriously the Bible's commandments and who continue to cherish the Temple Mount as the place where the Divine Presence dwelt. Orthodox Jews serve as a crucial link between Israel and its strongest Christian supporters.