Chicago immigrant heads to Beersheba

A 26-year-old Chicago woman who immigrated to Israel Tuesday morning said she plans to move straight to Beersheba, despite rockets fall all over Israel’s south.

The new arrival, Becky Kupchan, was one of 64 new olim — ranging in age from 8 months to 91 years — who moved to Israel from the United States Tuesday morning.

The immigrants, who hail from from Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Virginia, will be moving to Beit Shemesh, Givat Shmuel, Hadera, Jerusalem, Karmiel, Modiin, Nes Tziona, Ra’anana, Ramat Beit Shemesh, Ramat Gan, and Tel Aviv.

Kupchan, however, chose Beersheba, the capital of southern Israel.

“Although the security situation in Israel is very tense right now, and in Beersheba, where I’m about to move, rockets are falling, I am not afraid and I trust the Israeli government and the IDF,” said Kupchan. “I’m a Jew and I’ve always dreamed about making aliyah to Israel, my home — and at home you always feel safe.”

New olah Becky Kupchan showing her Teudat Zehut (Israeli citizenship card) after her arrival in Israel on Tuesday, July 8, 2014.

Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, who co-founded the Nefesh B’Nefesh organization with whose aid Kupchan made aliyah, said, “The Olim who’ve chosen to make Aliya to Israel during these challenging days are real heroes, and each one of them fills our heart with pride and great inspiration. Becky from Chicago, who has chosen to live in the city of Beersheba in the South, is one of them and we will do whatever we can to assist her in her new home in the State of Israel.”

A group photo of the 64 olim who arrived in Israel Tuesday, July 8, 2014, after the commencement of Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip. (photo credit: Sasson Tiram/Nefesh B’Nefesh)