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Georgian Jews are Coming Home <<
Earlier this year Christians for Israel organized a special project in order to raise money so that 1000 Georgian Jews would be able to make Aliyah. Georgian Jews are one of the oldest communities in Georgia, Caucasus, tracing their migration into the country during the Babylonian captivity in 6th century BC.
Many of you have donated money to help one or more Jewish persons back home to Israel, and we are very grateful for your support. In March a delegation of Christians for Israel was invited to welcome a group of 50 Olim (Hebrew word for immigrants) arriving from Georgia at the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv.
It is not every day we experience something like that and we felt privileged to be a part of this special event. First we had to pass a lot of security but finally we were free to walk through the airport to what used to be the old arrivals terminal. The old arrivals terminal being was used for welcoming Olim from all over the world and here they get the first instructions concerning their further absorption. The plane landed at 8 pm and a bus took the Olim to the arrivals terminal. When the doors opened we welcomed the people with a loud applause.
Most of the Georgian Jews still speak Russian so we were able to have a few words with them. Among them were Nina and Bekker with their 10 months old baby Nanya, who had decided to make Aliyah, Regardless of how much they may have read or heard about the country they were travelling to, it is still a huge step into the unknown.
Another woman we talked to had been able to flee from the war-torn area of South Ossetia, and was so happy to start a new life in Israel. She later told us how grateful she was that Christians had helped her with transport to the airport.
We all continued to the arrivals terminal where Dick Schutte, Chairman Christians for Israel, Netherlands, had the privilege of telling these people about all the Christians who had helped sponsoring their Aliyah. Tamar, a Georgian Jewess who had made Aliyah together with her family in August 2008, translated what was being said.
Their apartment in Georgia had been bombed, but miraculously only Tamar had received minor injuries. We were all deeply touched when she also told us that she had just undergone surgery after a rocket from Gaza hit their apartment in Ashkelon!
Already she spoke Hebrew quite well and she was so grateful for the new opportunities she and her family received in Israel. When asked if she felt she had finally come home for good, she responded with a resounding ‘Yes!’ That is our hope and prayer for all the other Olim that evening.
A few days before the Jewish Passover they experienced their personal “exodus” and now they were able to celebrate Pesach in the Promised Land, and we witnessed this unforgettable event.