To All Diaspora Leaders
On June 21, the World Health Organization issued a warning regarding the likelihood of a second wave of Coronavirus: "The world is in a new a dangerous phase. The virus is still spreading fast, it is still deadly and most people are still susceptible. We call on all countries and all people to exercise extreme vigilance."
Until this week, medical experts around the world warned that a second wave was likely to begin by late autumn and to continue throughout the winter of 2021. Now it seems that the second wave will appear much sooner.
At the moment, El Al plans to resume regular flights at the end of July, but a second wave could mean that the airline will remain on the ground. If that happens, the window of opportunity for Diaspora Jews to make Aliyah will be seriously threatened. While the Jewish Agency has reported that double the number of people as usual have opened Aliyah folders in the past three Corona-filled months, the numbers are still small.
The forecast, to say the least, does not look optimistic for the scattered and vulnerable Jewish communities around the globe who won’t have Tzahal to defend them.
While Nefesh B’Nefesh has reserved seats for new olim on 14 El-Al flights this summer, the current number of monthly new immigrants is lower than usual, with the majority coming from Russia, and only 6% from America.
With a new outburst of the COVID-19 epidemic, even if special emergency flights are continued in order bring new Jewish immigrants to the Promised Land, the number of new arrivals could be severely diminished until an effective vaccination is found.
In addition, if another worldwide lockdown is required, with the increased unemployment and economic chaos that will follow throughout the Diaspora, rioting is also likely to become even more widespread and violent. The forecast, to say the least, does not look optimistic for the scattered and vulnerable Jewish communities around the globe who won’t have Tzahal to defend them. READ MORE
