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Eli: Fulfilling a Longing to Come Home

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Eli, 25, grew up in the former Soviet Union (FSU). Though his parents were not religious, they instilled in him a strong love of Israel. "My parents would talk about Israel whenever it was mentioned in the news," he says. "Hearing about this foreign country that was the homeland of the Jewish people was very intriguing to me."

It wasn't until Eli entered a Jewish high school, however, that this curiosity about Israel turned into a deeper commitment to his Jewish faith. Eli says that switching to a Jewish school was "one of the best decisions I've ever made. You could say I fell in love with Judaism."

Eli continued to be involved with the Jewish community in the former Soviet Union, and even worked for a time at the Israeli Embassy. But he could not shake the feeling that his home was not in the FSU, where he was constantly surrounded by anti-Semitism. "I just read the other day about a rabbi who was beaten up while walking on the street," he says. "It's just not the place for someone who is proud of his Judaism and wants to practice his faith and live his life in peace."

Eli's dream of one day living in his biblical homeland came true with the help of The Fellowship's On Wings of Eagles program, which not only funded his move to Israel, but his resettlement as well. Now this bright young man can be a full, productive member of Israeli society, and give back to the Jewish nation he longed for and is now privileged to call home.

Eli will forever be grateful to the Fellowship donors for their support. "I want to thank you all for making it possible for so many Jews to come home to Israel," he says. You too can help Jews from around the world realize their dream of living in their biblical homeland by donating to On Wings Of Eagles today