By Emily Goldberg, Editor-in-Chief and Gabriella Gomperts, Features Editor
In a poll conducted by the YU Observer on what Yeshiva University students think about making aliyah, 19.5% of respondents did not answer “yes” to an essential question: “Do you consider yourself a Zionist?” Of these respondents, 15.8% answered that their Zionist identity is “complicated” and 3.7% answered that they are not Zionists.
Demographics
David Pahmer, Director of Data Analytics and Reporting at YU, told the YU Observer that for the spring 2025 semester, there are 751 students enrolled in Stern College for Women (SCW), 492 students enrolled in Yeshiva College (YC), 247 students enrolled in the Sy Syms School of Business (SSSB) on the Beren campus and 672 students enrolled in SSSB on the Wilf campus; additionally, there are 48 students enrolled in the Katz Associate programs, totalling 2,210 students in all.
298 students responded to the YU Observer’s poll, representing 13.4% of the undergraduate YU population.
Of the students who responded, 12 (4%) are true freshmen, 106 (35.6%) are sophomores, 88 (29.5%) are juniors, 82 (27.5%) are seniors and 10 (3.4%) are super seniors. 42.6% are in SCW, 30.9% are in YC, 16.1% are in SSSB on the Wilf campus and 10.4% are in SSSB on the Beren campus. On the Beren campus, 50.3% are in the Rebecca Ivry Department of Judaic Studies and 3% are in the Mechina Pathways Program. On the Wilf campus, 32.2% are in Mazer Yeshiva Programing (MYP), 8.1% are in the Beit Midrash Program (BMP), 5% are in Isaac Breuer College (IBC) and 1.3% are in James Strier School (JSS).
Previous Visits to Israel
90.6% of respondents said that they had visited Israel before the age of 18, 92.6% of respondents said that they spent a year in Israel before coming to YU, either in yeshiva, seminary or a similar type of program and 8.7% of respondents said that the first time they went to Israel was yeshiva or seminary. Of the respondents, only two students (.7%) said that they have never visited Israel.
Making Aliyah
88.3% of respondents said that they have at some point considered making aliyah, while 70.8% said that they are currently considering making aliyah. 36.9% of respondents said that they are considering making aliyah immediately after they graduate YU, and 68.5% of respondents said they are considering making aliyah within five years after they graduate YU.
Regarding how confident students are in their decision to make aliyah, on a scale of one to five, with one being “I 100% don’t want to make aliyah” and five being “I am booking my ticket to Israel right now,” 5.7% answered one, 16.4% answered two, 22.8% answered three, 38.3% answered four and 16.8% answered five.
Reasons Why Students Might Want to Make Aliyah
Students were allowed to choose multiple reasons as to why they have considered making aliyah.
- 70.5% said that they believe Jews should be living in the land of Israel.
- 53.4% said because of the religious environment.
- 45.6% said that their seminary or yeshiva influenced their decision to make aliyah.
- 38.6% said because of their Zionist identity.
- 38.3% said that they love the lifestyle in Israel.
- 37.9% said for community.
- 27.5% said because of their family and/or friends.
- 26.5% said that Oct. 7 influenced their decision to make aliyah.
- 25.5% said because of antisemitism.
- 24.5% said that they always knew that they wanted to make aliyah.
- 5.4% said because they want to enlist in the army or do Sherut Leumi (National Service).
- 5% said because they don’t want to live in their birth country.
- 5% said because of career choices.
- 4% said for political reasons.
Reasons Why Students Might Not Want to Make Aliyah
Students were allowed to choose multiple reasons as to why they don’t want to make aliyah.
- 32.2% said that they don’t want to leave their family and friends.
- 27.5% said because of job opportunities.
- 24.5% said because of the language barrier.
- 24.2% said because of financial reasons.
- 23.8% said because they will have a hard time adapting to Israeli culture.
- 11.7% said because of community.
- 10.4% said because of the religious environment.
- 9.7% said because of family planning.
- 7.7% said because Jews have a crucial role to play in the diaspora.
- 6.7% said because of political reasons and the Israeli government.
- 4.4% said they want to live in their birth country or somewhere that is not Israel.
- 3.4% said because of Oct. 7.
- .7% said because they don’t think Jews should be living in Israel right now.
Student Perspectives
When it comes to whether students believe they should be living in the land of Israel or not, the perspectives generally came down to two views: those who believe Jews should be living in their ancestral homeland and those who do not, especially at the expense of the Palestinians.
Ruben Prawer (YC ‘25) believes that Jews have an intimate connection with the land of Israel. “It’s a clear axiom and assumption of the Torah that the goal is for us to build the ideal society in the land of Israel,” Prawer told the YU Observer. “I see the values of Jewish sovereignty and autonomy in the land of Israel as deeply in line with the ratzon haTorah (will of the Torah) and what Hashem wants from us, as well as a tremendous fulfillment of our national aspirations as a people.”
Prawer added that it’s important for Jews to live in a place where they feel totally connected to other Jews as a reinforcement of their identity. “Outside of Israel, putting antisemitism aside, we are just like fish out of water. We are not in our element. In Israel, everyone around you is in the same boat, is going through the same experience, is part of the same collective,” he said. “It is a Jewish society where being Jewish is not at odds with the environment around you, but the environment around you actually supports your Jewish identity.”
Noam Miller (YC ‘25) also told the YU Observer, “Living in Israel versus living outside of it is like being in the playing field versus the bleachers of Jewish history.”
Nissim Farhy (YC ‘26) does not believe that all Jews should strive to make aliyah, and while he has felt the desire to make aliyah in the past, practical and safety issues have changed his mind. He said that he is primarily concerned that the country is moving towards the far right and that the Palestinian problem is far from reaching a moral solution.
“The issues that Israel faces demographically, politically and socially seem insurmountable,” he told the YU Observer. “Given these issues I cannot in good conscience to myself or family live in a land that appears to have a single trajectory.”
Farhy also said that the Jewish people in the diaspora have historically played an essential role in propagating Jewish development, and therefore, Jews should continue living in the diaspora in order to fulfill this goal. “As time passed, the role of the diasporic Jew became more apparent to me,” he said. “Perhaps the primary non biblical Jewish text is the Talmud Bavli – a text written to mimic the Yerushalmi.”
He continued, “It appears that there is something in the diasporic tradition, in the tension of the wandering Jew, that creates an Abaye and Rava, a Maimonides and Rosh and a Rav Soloveichik and Rav Lichtenstein.”
Yita Khanin (SCW ‘25) believes that Jews have an inherent cultural, historical and religious connection to the land of Israel, but in a multicultural country, this world view can’t be imposed politically. “Jews have every right to live in the land of Israel, but so do Palestinians, and incoming Jews can make aliyah, only not at the expense of Palestinians losing their homes,” she told the YU Observer.
Khanin herself has not considered making aliyah. “I don’t have any specific reason not to, if it is opportunistic for me to get citizenship just like in any other country then I would apply, but there is no additional sentiment to Israel in regards to a political state,” she said. She emphasized that she recognizes Israel’s right to exist, but she has issues with how it was established and how it’s currently operating.
Zach Goldenstein (YC ‘26) has never been to Israel, yet has still contemplated making aliyah. “I have considered making aliyah because it is a mitzvah to live in Israel and the future of Jewry is in Israel and we should all yearn to live there,” he told the YU Observer. “I would not make aliyah because all my family lives here, I am comfortable in America, and for other practical and economic reasons it might be better to live in America.”
Goldenstein feels a strong connection to the land of Israel despite never being there. “Some people treat Israel like going to Florida for vacation but I feel like I have a constant yearning to go, and there is something special about the unknown,” he said. “I feel like since I’ve never been there in some ways it is more special.”
Photo Caption: A picture of southern Israel from YU’s 2023 solidarity trip
Photo Credit: Yeshiva University