Israel to come back to Him. And it happens all the time and if you mean people come back to Israel, the Land of The Holy G-d of Israel witch He gave to jews. read Ezekiel 36:24. or if you read the hole bible you will understand more:)

#17: thank you for being honest and for communicating with some sensitivity and intelligence, unlike #18 & 28 who still live on the playground. But first off: I'm Israeli, I didn't 'come' to Israel. Its my land, my birthright and I have lots and lots of beautiful children who'll serve in the IDF and provide the country with great things. As far as Olim leaving after 5 years of school...THAT'S not the problem: the problem sticks out like a sore thumb: a sixth of Israelis now live in the US; that's over ONE MILLION Israelis who have NO intention of coming back (that makes a grand total of 8 million Jews living in the US BTW). Why the hell do so many Israelis abandon ship every year? Is it because everything is going so good here? According to #18 and 28 you would think that...or perhaps they're just evading the reality. This 'cut-back' is just another one of those things that is ruining Israel: cutting off Olim is stupid: Israel is MADE UP of Olim. Not providing schooling for people who served in the IDF (i.e.: lone soldiers WHO ARE AFFECTED BY THESE CUTBACKS) is unforgivable, especially in light of all of the draft dodgers in Israel nowadays: its like a sport. I'm disappointed in my fellow Israelis for their apathy and complacency: its like we're turning into fat American couch potatoes with no purpose but self-satisfaction. Those are not the kind of people who made sacrifices and built the land: it doesn't take any sacrifice to be born in Israel: but it takes tremendous sacrifice to leave your entire life behind to start a new one thousands of miles away and give up everything you know. Sorry, no one can rationally dismiss such a thing. Only a totally arrogant, insensitive goon could do so. Perhaps people with the reasoning skills and blind 'Zohan' arrogance of #18 and #28 are the reason for Israelis leaving. Who would put up with such a mentality? "Don't expect freebies"? Well, okay: don't expect that $3BILLION PER YEAR from the US then. What hypocrisy! "Don't come here". Who the hell do you think you are? You don't have any right to tell a Jew to come or not to Israel. And the age old: "start from the bottom and work your way up" mentality doesn't apply in the 21st century: Israel isn't Mexico and it gets $3 BILLION from the US so we Israelis don't have to pay all of that extra cash for our security. You'd think that would mean the meager $60 million NIS would cover the education promised the Olim who came to Israel expecting our country to live up to its promises. You're reasoning doesn't apply: its absurd. You just think its okay for Jews to screw fellow Jews? Wow. That's pathetic. Good luck with that and all of the arrogance and stupidity that goes along with it. And while you're at it, go ahead and continue to ignore it and keep walking around with your nose in the air. But don't cry when your lack of reality comes crashing down on you. The 'freebies' from the US won't last forever and boy will the pinch be felt in Israel when it stops. It is pitiful that the 3 of you actually defended this betrayal of your fellow Israelis. Its completely surreal and sad. A total atrocity.

Tuition for state universities and colleges is not very expensive. Its 8500 shekels a year. It hasnt gone up in years, because every time the gov want to raise tuition the students go on strike. A young person can work for a year and instead of trekking thru Thailand or India, they can use it to pay their tuition. In addition, they get a grant from the army to help them pay tuition. As a matter of principal, I dont believe that college should be free. I studied with a group of people who got scholorships because they needed English teachers desperately. Most of them dropped out because it didnt cost them anything. The state lost a lot of money on those people. People dont appreciate what they dont pay for. Also, tuition is free in France and other countries in Europe, but look how that is working out. Those countries are going broke. Maybe loans are the way to go. People learning for high tech jobs will be laughing all the way to the bank when they graduate. Why shouldnt they pay it back? Milton Freedman had some interesting things to say about state subsidized public higher education. He thought that it unfairly takes money from lower income people(thru their taxes) who will not go to college, and transfers it to upper middle class people who do, so they should pay the full cost of their education. There are films on youtube of him discussing this topic.

I didn't make aliyah to get something, and I know that in the USA I could have had more money, but not a better life. I chose to move to Israel, as a zionist and with a great love of the country (BTW, I volunteered in the idf during the Gulf War--didn't get one cent for that either) To think that now the economy in the west is crap and the new immigrants will get a free ride here is a joke. I think most wouldn't have come if they still had the same opportunity they did before the world recession. It definitely makes me question your love of Israel. The Israelis that are born here and have or had parents who lived in tents to build the state are not given free education, even when they have done the army and their parents have not only done army, but also reserve duty for 40 yrs sometimes. This is money that the Jewish Agency clearly cannot provide, so who should pay? The Israelis who can hardly make their monthly payments and put food on the table daily? Please decide if you are in Israel for financial gain or zionism! If not for the later, you will get an education and go back to your country anyway!

LET THEM PAY ( at least a small amount )

I did leave my parents and everything that was familiar, just like you. My husband could have made a lot more money in the US. We got some minimal benefits when we first came, but really it wasnt much. We are doing better now, but we went thru a long hard period when our kids were young, so you dont have to be so sanctimonious. I just dont believe in state sponsored freebies. It is a parent's responsibility to pay for their kids college to the greatest extent that they can and they should start saving as soon as the baby is born. Why should tax shekels be diverted from lower income workers to you?

yes it was sooo much more difficult years ago and people survived and built themselves - well done. Yes, other countries its harder like africa - fair enough. The real point is this. In today’s Israel - you dont go very far at all without a good education from the state. Try working in high-tech at a young age without a min of 1 very good hebrew degree from Israel!! Yes we can all go work as security guards and stop complaining and be like the older generation and dance around a fire and sow the land coz this is REAL 'ALIYA' - but this is not real and it is not today. Today to be a success in this country - you need the education here. SO - when you decide to move to a country knowing you will need the education for the move to be a success...and when you know that if you do move you will get a lot of help for this education because this is what you are told....The entire basis of coming here for these guys is based on a back stabbing lie by the country. Furthermore - dont talk about if you were a real zionist you would come here regardless - because this is BS. There are plenty zionists not living in israel for a lot of reasons. Building a state together because nowhere else in the world would have us, does not make older generations more zionistic than current ones. The difference being that today, education plans are given in almost all countries which these guys have made aliya from. Its about a promise - and a lie!

What is all of america protested that they cant afford to live on Park Ave in NYC? People would tell them, hey the USA is big, you can find affordable housing in most places. Israel is a small country, but only a tiny % is expensive housing wise, yes if you want to live in Tel Aviv its expensive, if you want to live in Kfar Shmaryahu its even more expensive, but there are so many places that are very affordable!

You make some good points. My parents didn't have two nickels to rub together either, but I was lucky enough to have an education in a field that is in demand all over the world: accounting and finance. I also spent six months on a kibbutz ulpan which was a great preparation for entering Israeli life. And I chose to eventually settle in a development area where English was a rarity (Tveria). One thing I never expected was for anyone else to foot my education bill. that wouldn't have happened here in the States, so i never expected it to happen in Israel, either.

I am very happy to have made aliyah, even though my standard of living has dropped dramatically from what I had in the U.S. I'm paid about half of my U.S. salary but the cost of living here is just as high if not higher than most of the U.S. (Gas is twice the price here!) Israel needs olim, and when we come here we are giving up a lot of material wealth. My daughter, who made aliyah with us, is about to finish Tsahal. She was counting on this student aid to go to university. Now what? We don't have the tuition and other costs in our family budget, now that our income is much lower. Are you saying we olim should all just leave? That is what you want for Israel? To weaken this country by turning away an enthusiastic, idealistic group of people whose contributions to Israel are incalculable? You don't see the return on investment to Israel by supporting students? Such short sightedness!

Dear Observer from Egypt. You really ought to try reading the Bible, and you will see that the entire story of Abraham and Sarah coming to Israel (Canaan) speaks of their "going up" (aliyah in Hebrew) to the Land of Israel. Then there is that whole thing about the exodus, also going up (aliyah). Not to mention the comings and going of various prophets, Jewish exiles returning from Babylon, all "going up" (aliyah) to the Land of Israel.

When I was at the absorbtion centre there was an American guy there who I spoke with quite abit. He had never been to Israel in his life before and had never been religious or a hardline zionist. The reason he came to Israel was he recently got divorced and the wife took everything and he was left in the poorhouse. Moving to Israel meant the state gave him some help to start out and so he thought that he would have a better chance at starting over in Israel with states help than he would in the US where he would just be another individual struggling to pay the rent. You expect people from the Third World to come for economic reasons but you don't expect people from countries like the US to move to Israel for economics but just goes to show that not everybody who makes alliyah is a zionist. There needs to be a whole change of thinking on alliyah Whilst Jews should be exposed to the realities of Israel, get some people who tell them about taxes, living costs etc. Right now all they are shown are booklets with lots of nice pictures and a few basics like how the medical system works roughly. At least if people know a little bit more about the real Israel before they come it will hopefully make them think more carefully about if alliyah is for them and it might mean fewer olim but the ones who do come stay. Non Jews should not be allowed to take mickey mouse conversion courses before or after they arrive so they can be considered Jewish and allowed to stay. That whole thing makes a mockery or both religion and alliyah, better to let them apply for permission to emigrate ( although no guaranteed it will be granted ), better though to have somebody who is non Jewish admitting he is non Jewish than a beurucratic conversion.

Goofball, Israel never expected a Roman conquest. There was no need to mention aliyah. You are impossibly dense.

No one is suggesting that Israelis should be deprived of benefits and services in order to fund those who wish to make aliyah. But why not simply cut off the millions of shekels that flow to Gaza and the ersatz "Palestine" Authority? Why not put an end to the extraordinary drain upon society presented by illegal aliens? What is wrong with that? Besides, nearly all of the American youth whom I know who are making aliyah or have already made aliyah are funded by their parents. Also, I think that higher education should be funded for all Israelis, as long as they have performed national service or served in the IDF. Everyone else can pay their own freight.

really why is it that the African, Filipino, Chinese, Indian, Nepalese etc., etc., economic migrants have no problem making it in Israel despite all of the hardships involved in being illegals and yet the Kosher Olim can't make it without handouts?

They do not get a "freebie: They get aid for coming here. Are you so stupid as to think that we have enough people. If so, please go back to America because we do not need people like you,

so you were lied to. Boo-hoo. Turn the violins on. Just look at what ADDITONAL burdens Eliezer Ben-Yehudah subjected his personal life to, to not only live here but to revive our national patrimony.... our national language. I'm a realist, I don't point fingers at yordim. I also don't buy the whining. If they go abroad to get university, good luck to them, I hope they do come back. Anyway, all great civilizations have diasporas.

First of all, I never got a penny from Israel nor do I expect 'handouts'. MOST olim DON'T expect handouts: anyone who comes to Israel expecting handouts would be a lunatic. Second: you so ignorantly ignore the Jewish people when you speak of Israel: perhaps "the land" means more to you than the treatment of Jews BY Jews. It's simple: these people were made promises that were broken: u support that? Then you're an ignoramus and a hateful individual who supports corruption and a lack of ethos & morality. Second: ANYONE can get a free college education in the west if they're struggling via Jr colleges and grants; PERIOD. Why should Israel be exempt from such an elementary responsibility? Guess u support having uneducated people walking around. Nice. Also, there are claims about "immigrants" "making it" without handouts. Really? Gee: wonder how they "make it? Hard work? How about crime for starters and or being totally victimized like slaves living in deplorable conditions for years: u callthat 'making it'? So Many of my fellow Israelis ignore the facts on the ground and make wild, outlandish statements that makes us Israelis look like a pack of ignoramouses. Too many talk hot air about not expecting "hand outs"....MEANWHILE, BACK ON THE FARM: ISRAEL GETS $3 BILLION IN FREEBIES AND HANDOUTS FROM THE US BUT YOU DON'T SPEAK OF THAT!? LOL!!! Even those who came here 100 yrs ago and lived in 'tents' had major financial backing from the Rothchilds and Rich European Jews so don't kid yourself. SOMEONE PAID for the land they built ther lives on; if they were so poor and did it all without "handouts", explain how they acquired the land purchase documents? Silly people. So arrogant it's shameful. Do some research and KNOW UR COUNTRY'S HISTORY before running off at the mouth. EVERYONE who "makes it" got help from someone else. Such a joke to think otherwise.

aliyah is not too trivial to be ignored and to be not mentioned once in the bible. did the G-d of Israel never expect Zionism?

I made alyia from argentina when i was 17 years old. Leaving my family, friends. In Argentina i could go to a public university for free, but instead i came here because i wanted to serve in Tzahal

Read the Book of Exodus, you moron. And have you ever heard of the Babylonian Captivity? Zionism is built into Judaism. It doesn't require special mention.

do the bible search by yourself!

So it's ok coz eliezer ben yehuda went through shit so today's world it's ok for the government to lie and backstab. Brilliant point. Smart argument. Take it you didn't go to university then?!?! Fool.

It is extremely shocking that Israel REWARDS Islam's rockets from Gaza, as you state: " Israel provides free electricity, fresh water and tens of millions of metric tons of humanitarian aid and food to Gaza on a weekly basis." This aids and abets the enemy in time of WAR. It is the most WICKED BETRAYAL of the Jewish people. It is TREASON, and the treason must stop now. The entire nation should be out in the streets protesting this wicked treason.

This verse on aliyah is just one of many verses! Written thousands of years ago, the Scriptures-the eternal, unchanging Word of G-D, speak of the future time that we are in. Bible, Ezekiel 37:21 Thus says the L-RD G-D, "Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land". Our Glorious, Awesome, Wonderful Creator keeps ALL His promises!