Aliyah should be part of the conversation 

Many readers no doubt shared Dorit Sasson’s assertion that the horrific shooting attack on the Chabad synagogue in Poway “made me feel more vulnerable than I have ever felt before” in her May 15 commentary, “I left Israel because of terror attacks. After Pittsburgh and Poway, I don’t feel safe in the U.S. anymore.” But, Sasson’s article is yet another example that proves that one of the most obvious possible responses to anti-Semitic violence has been almost completely absent from the post-shooting dialogue: aliyah.

 American Jews wonder how Jews in Paris and London don’t leave for Israel in light of the physical dangers they face and yet if the shooting attacks on the Pittsburgh and California synagogues illustrate an imminent danger then shouldn’t we at least be talking about the option that Jews in imminent danger have always considered and often undertaken: emigration to Israel? 

We should have serious discussions about what traditional Jewish sources have to say about the subject. Considering the implications of Pittsburgh and Poway it is incumbent upon us to include aliyah in the conversations we are having about the future of America’s Jewish community.

Moshe Phillips, National Director Herut North America (U.S. Division) — The Jabotinsky Movement