Rivka and Jorge Paniagua, along with their five children, fulfilled a 12-year-old dream when they made aliyah from Peru’s capital of Lima to Israel’s capital of Jerusalem.
The Fellowship didn’t find the Paniagua family, they found us through recommendations from their Jewish friends. ““They all said that it was the best way to make aliyah, and now I have no doubt in my mind that they were right,” said Rivka.
The Paniagua’s children are aged 7-20. By making aliyah, Rivka hopes to give them a Jewish education in their biblical homeland. In Peru, which is home to only about 2,500 Jews, Jewish communities and education are scarce. Rivka recalls that people aren’t used to seeing a lot of Jews on the streets of Lima.
After their aliyah, the Paniaguas want to play an active role in developing Israeli business and culture. Rivka is a chef and has a new dream after settling in: opening a kosher Peruvian restaurant in Jerusalem.
The family knows it’s perilous to be moving to Israel amid an ongoing war. “We are not afraid, and we are sure that better times are coming,” Rivka explains. “You just can’t let the terrorists cancel your dreams … Our heart is already there, and no war is going to convince us not to do this.”