'I'd rather live happily in Israel with missiles than stay miserable in America'

2026-03-11 - 13:08

The decision to make aliyah – to leave the Diaspora and move to the land of Israel – embodies a courageous Zionist act of profound love for the country. At the same time, it involves difficult choices, and no small amount of anxiety – for the immigrant, their family, and their friends. Those anxieties have multiplied many times over in recent days, with the outbreak of Operation Roaring Lion. Despite that – or perhaps because of it – many people have decided in recent days to apply to make aliyah and begin the necessary procedures. According to figures from the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, since October 7, and against the backdrop of the wave of antisemitism that erupted around the world, 62,197 new immigrants had arrived in Israel as of the beginning of March. We spoke with two of them – Shoshana Coleman and Shiri Kahn – who filed to begin the aliyah process in recent days. "I've lost so many friends" Shoshana Coleman is a 25-year-old professional photographer from Boston. She filed her application to begin the aliyah process in recent days, with the goal of arriving in Israel by summer or, at the latest, by fall 2026. She made her final decision a few weeks ago, when the winds of war were already blowing, and the war itself did not deter her from filing. "I've been thinking about this for a long time. I've always felt a very deep connection to Israel," she said. Antisemitism in the United States has surged sharply since October 7, including in Massachusetts. According to figures from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), in 2024 alone, 638 antisemitic incidents were recorded across New England, 438 of them in Massachusetts. Shoshana Coleman (Photo: Michael Bartenwerfer) Coleman said that since October 7, she has lost many friends because of the pro-Israel, pro-Jewish positions she expressed, and was even subjected to abuse on social media. She decided she wanted to move somewhere she could express her Jewish identity openly and without fear. "Israel – that's where I need to be" "I usually wear a Star of David necklace in public, and right now I don't feel safe doing that in the US. Even though Israel is at war, somehow I'll feel safer in Israel than in America," she said. Shiri Kahn is a 45-year-old attorney from Tucson, Arizona, and a granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor. She had been in Israel just recently, on another round of Taglit (Birthright Israel) that took place between February 16 and 25. She said she feels she "belongs to Israel" – a feeling she first had on her first Taglit trip 18 years ago. "When we landed in Israel, and I touched the ground for the first time, it felt like home," she recalled, continuing, "That's not the feeling I have in America. I live there, I have a home there, but it doesn't feel like my home. I'm not really living with my people – Israelis and the Jewish people in Israel. I'm an absolute minority here." She said she doesn't feel she has much in common with the American way of life that places career and money above all else, and that for her, family comes first. "It's important to me to be with people I truly and genuinely love and care about. I want to speak Hebrew, to be with people who share my values," she said. Kahn added that she hopes to make aliyah in early winter or early 2027. The attorney has family in Israel, and her father is originally from Haifa. She said that especially since October 7, she has felt "an intense urge to be in Israel," and that on the day of the attack, she experienced feelings of despair, devastation, and helplessness – a sense that there was nothing she could do. "It was paralyzing. It was so hard to be so far from Israel, knowing what was happening there. That's what really made me start thinking about making aliyah. When the last hostages came home, and I saw the family reunions, it only made everything I believed about Israel feel more solid – that the values of life and family are among the most important things." "You can die in a car accident too" Kahn filed to begin the aliyah process about a week ago, despite the outbreak of war. Her final decision was solidified on the flight back from her last trip on February 25, when the USS Gerald R. Ford was already en route to the Middle East, and the USS Abraham Lincoln was already in position to strike. She didn't attach much significance to this and did not consider waiting for the situation to stabilize. "I want to start living my life the way that will make me happy. And that means being in Israel and building a family in Israel," she added. When I asked Shoshana and Shiri whether they were afraid of Iranian missiles, they gave different answers – but both stressed that it would not stop them from making aliyah. Shoshana said she had "some fear," but expressed confidence in the air defense systems and the bomb shelters. "Israelis are able to get through these things. And in any case, I don't feel safer in America than in Israel," she repeated. Shiri was more resolute: "That's how Americans think, right? Two days before the attack, when I got back to Arizona, people told me, 'How lucky you made it back in time' – and I, for my part, felt a bitter feeling. I would have preferred to be in Israel right now. I'm not afraid of missiles. Any one of us could be killed in a car accident. More than that – I prefer to live a happy life in Israel with the chance that a missile could hit me, than to keep living unhappily the way I do in America." Both said their families and close circles had already accepted the move as a done deal and hadn't tried to change their minds, with a few exceptions who expressed some concern. "Some of my friends are worried and asked me to wait until after the war – but they know I made the decision anyway. My parents are worried too, but they're fairly accepting and supportive," Shoshana said. Shiri Kahn (Photo: Tomy Law Firm, Mesch Clark Rothschild, P.C) "My family has accepted the fact that I've reached a point where I want to do what's good for me, in every sense. They didn't try to talk me out of starting the process. I don't want to miss out on my dreams, and my dream is to live in Israel," Shiri concluded. Minister of Aliyah and Integration Ofir Sofer said, "The Jewish people are watching Israel's strength and the transformation of the Middle East, and choosing to be part of history and the Zionist story. I have no doubt that after the victory and the end of the war, many Jews will choose to make aliyah, as happened after October 7. This aliyah will strengthen social solidarity, the economy, and the State of Israel as a whole. We are prepared and working toward this goal."