A mere six months after Sam Leeman became the 75,000th new immigrant to make aliyah through Nefesh B'Nefesh, his parents – Barbara and Daniel Leeman – followed in his footsteps and arrived in Israel last week.
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The couple moved from Maine to join their three children – 27-year-old Sam, 24-year-old Arielle and 28-year-old Hannah. All three siblings study in university, Sam and Hannah in their second year and Arielle in her first. Hannah made aliyah in the summer of 2021 and Sam followed a year later.
Now in Israel, the elder Leemans plan to live in Beersheba as part of the KKL–Nefesh B'Nefesh Go Beyond initiative that assists new olim who settle in southern or northern Israel.
Back in the United States, Barbara worked in computer and database management, while Daniel served as a rabbi and cantor in Maine and New Hampshire for over 40 years.
Video: Nefesh B'Nefesh
"Although the United States has always been a blessing to the Jewish people in so many ways, Israel stands as our greatest hope for humanity," Barbara said. "This is something that we have been considering since 1985 after our first trip to Israel. Now that all three of our children are here, we knew that we would regret it if we did not act now. So, we sold our house and decided we'd just go for it and figure it out along the way."
Their flight carried 20 other olim from the US who made aliyah through Nefesh B'Nefesh, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary and works in cooperation with the Aliyah and Integration Ministry, The Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, and Jewish National Fund-USA.
Ronnie Vinnikov, chief development officer of Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, said, "We are delighted to see the path that Barbara and Daniel have chosen to be closer to their children. KKL is proud to be a partner in this vast project of assisting Diaspora Jewry to move to Israel and extend a special welcome to all the newcomers from the US and Canada to the Negev. We encourage aliyah to Israel and are thrilled to see from year to year more and more Jews choosing to move here and settle in Israel."
Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, co-founder and executive director of Nefesh B'Nefesh, added, "The Leemans should feel triply blessed as all three of their amazing children are fulfilling their dreams of becoming doctors in Israel. We are inspired by the aliyah of the younger pioneers of the family, which has now led to their parents making aliyah and reuniting together in Israel. Each one of the new Leeman physicians will undoubtedly make incredible contributions to the Israeli healthcare system and positively influence all of our lives for the better."
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