While the global economy shakes, aliyah (immigration to Israel) not only continues, but also increases, as the Jerusalem Post mentioned in its business section.

…The LORD your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you (Deuteronomy 30:3 NKJV).

I feel so blessed and encouraged to see the above Scripture coming to pass in these days. Indeed, the ingathering of the Jewish people to Israel is an awesome display of God’s grace and mercy.

It is exciting to be here on the receiving end of aliyah. Not long ago, we saw 650 new olim (immigrants) welcomed in the Land. They came from France, Ethiopia, and Latin America. There were also 12 Jewish refugees from war-torn Kyrgyzstan, who escaped the recent unrest in that country's capital, Bishkek. They were immediately granted citizenship.

Last year, in 2009, we saw the first aliyah rise in a decade. According to Jewish Agency statistics for the first three months of this year, 2010, there has been a 14 percent increase over the same period last year (34% including Ethiopian olim). Significantly, many young Zionists are coming, even without their parents. Some go directly to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces, and others enroll in university.

Over the years, I have been amazed to see how housing has been provided for all the olim. Indeed, several times, Israel has experienced housing challenges. During Operation Solomon in 1991, some 14,000 Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel in about a day. Afterward, one saw many mobile homes across the country to accommodate these newcomers.

Also, think about the jobs that have been necessary to employ the olim. It is obvious that the hand of God is upon aliyah. The Jewish ingathering has been and continues to be a miracle: This small country has absorbed over 3 million immigrants since its independence in 1948!

Still more Jewish people will come, and they will arrive in greater numbers. So we will surely see God do even greater miracles. I am looking forward to those days! I hope that you are too and that believers everywhere will support God’s plan to bring His people home.