Their parents fled Iran decades ago to build a comfortable life in the United States. Now, eight families from the tight-knit Persian Jewish community in Great Neck, N.Y., are leaving that life behind to build their futures in Israel.
The Persian Jewish community in Great Neck has long been pro-Israel, but it has been uncommon for its members to move to Israel. Families built their lives around generations of relatives living nearby, creating a close-knit community that provides many of the comforts and institutions of Jewish life, according to Jordan Karmily, 42.
“It’s a bit of an earthquake in our community, because people don’t leave,” he told JNS.
Karmily was born and raised in Great Neck and has lived there his entire life. He and his wife, Joyce, 37, have six daughters, ages 2 to 14.
His family and others in Great Neck trace their roots to Mashhad, Iran. His parents’ generation came to the United States some 50 years ago, before the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and built what has become a community of more than 7,000 people.
Karmily described the community as traditional, practicing, affluent and “very, very, very tight-knit.”
Great Neck “has everything a community offers,” he said.
His parents, siblings and cousins live within walking distance. For years, Karmily and others had discussed moving to Israel, but the idea remained more of a dream than a concrete plan.
“It was always a topic of conversation,” he said. “Like most life plans or big life plans or ideals, we kind of just keep it at arm’s distance.”
That began to change after Oct. 7, 2023. Karmily said he became consumed by the events unfolding in Israel and found it difficult to focus on his life in New York while Israelis were facing rocket attacks.
“Oct. 7 definitely kicked a nerve,” he told JNS. “I felt like I was missing out on everything that was going on.”
The families also received assistance from Nefesh B’Nefesh, which helped take the prospective immigrants on a pilot trip to Israel. They visited schools and met with municipal officials, giving them a chance to experience the practical realities of living in the Jewish state.
Karmiliy said that the trip helped turn the idea of immigration into something more tangible.
The families immigrated with the assistance of Nefesh B’Nefesh, in cooperation with the Israeli Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael and Jewish National Fund-USA.
The families are also maintaining the community structure that has been central to their lives in New York, Karmily told JNS.
They rented homes in the same neighborhood, plan to send their children to the same schools and will pray at the same synagogue.
“We’re approaching this as a community project,” he said.
Raising his six daughters in Israel is a central part of the decision.
“I never had a dream of retiring in Israel. I wanted to raise a family there,” he told JNS. “I wanted my future offspring, God willing, to be planted in Israel.”
He acknowledged that Israel is not perfect and that the move will come with challenges, but said that he believes it offers something he wants for his children.
“Everybody loves Israel, supports Israel, contributes money to Israel,” he said. “When it comes to moving, it’s a weird conflict for a lot of people, because you support it but you don’t want people to actually move there.”
Still, Karmily believes the move by eight families could be the beginning of a larger shift.
“I have no doubt that in years, with more families moving and more waves coming, it’s gonna become the thing,” he told JNS.
Karmily hopes other Persian Jewish families in Great Neck who have considered immigration will see that it is possible.
“If it’s really an ideal, more than Israel needs money, more than Israel needs to be supported from afar,” he said. “I think the Jewish people, they need us.”
“We lack nothing here,” he said. “We have community, we have our family, we have parks and schools and it’s safe and everything is good.”
“But it’s not where we’re supposed to be,” he told JNS.
Chaim Broyde, mayor of Ra’anana, welcomed the families and praised their decision.
“We warmly welcome the new families joining our community and are deeply moved by this inspiring step, which embodies Zionism and faith,” he told JNS. “Raanana is proud to be one of Israel’s leading cities in the absorption of new immigrants, serving as a home to olim from dozens of countries and bringing together diverse communities.”
“We embrace the new olim and are committed to providing them and their children with the support they need to integrate, thrive and feel at home in Raanana,” he said. “I wish the families a smooth transition into their new lives and assure them that we will be there to support them every step of the way.”
Looking ahead, Karmily hopes his children will understand that their parents made a deliberate choice to build their family in Israel.
“As long as they know that there was someone in their lineage, one of their parents, grandparents, who didn’t need to move but chose to move,” he said.
Ultimately, he believes the moment for Jews to return to Israel should not be viewed as something that will happen only in some distant future.
“It’s time for the Jews to come home,” he said. “Those days that we waited for and prayed for have come, and we just need to open our eyes and hear the call.”
