The Fellowship follows up with Jewish families who have made aliyah to their biblical homeland of Israel to see how they are settling and if they require any assistance. It’s during this time, and when we assist them with making aliyah, we learn their story and their dreams of coming to live in the Holy Land. For lots of people, it’s to start a better life free from anti-Semitic persecution. But for some, like Dario and Licila Flaumenbaum and their family, there doesn’t have to be anything wrong with their current home or living conditions. For them, it’s a matter of wanting a Jewish upbringing and being able to reach their full potential as Jews.
Dario and Licila, along with their children Benjamin and Sarah, had a comfortable and stable life within the Jewish community of Argentina. Dario worked construction while Licila took care of the children. On his visits to Israel, Dario described each one bringing on a stronger feeling of connection to the Holy Land.
“People often ask us: ‘Why leave, if you have everything here?’ The answer is: we are not leaving because something is wrong. We are going to Israel because of what is right. We feel it is where we can reach our full potential, and above all, where our children can grow up fully Jewish. In Argentina, the greatest danger for Jews is not always anti-Semitism, but assimilation. That is what we want to prevent,” said Dario.
Licila also said the tragedy of October 7 was felt by them. It hadn’t deterred them from making aliyah; rather, it had motivated them to do so even more. Despite the terror threat and more than two years of war in Gaza, Dario and Licila were more certain than ever that Israel was where they were meant to be.
“We are deeply grateful for the support of The Fellowship,” says Dario. “Aliyah has so many challenges—financial, logistical, emotional. The help we receive makes the process easier and reminds us that we are not alone. For us, aliyah is not about leaving something behind. It is about moving forward. We are choosing Israel, we are choosing our people, we are choosing our future.”
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession” (Deuteronomy 7:6).
