Aliyah surges during pandemic

(JNS) - Valerie Greenfeld, 58, immigrated to Israel just before Passover 2021 from Washington D.C., amid widespread travel restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. She began her quarantine immediately after arriving in Israel, which coincided with the first night of Passover. She had her own one-woman Passover seder and though it was a different way to celebrate the holiday than most years, she told JNS that she "felt very connected."

Beginning the aliyah process in 2019, Greenfeld's immigration was delayed because of the pandemic. "It took two years before I had the approval to ma...