The Wimpfheimers are moving out. Or, more accurately, moving up, which is the actual translation of "aliyah," the Hebrew word for migration to Israel. The young couple and their children feel secure about their move to the unpredictable Middle Eastern landscape.

At a time when violence in Israel dominates the news and the US State Department issues warnings and advisories against traveling to Israel, the Wimpfheimers join a small but steady trickle of American Jews who are leaving their established comfort and making their way to Israel.

Last year, about 1,400 North Americans resettled in Israel, joining a historic movement that began 3,300 years ago during the exodus from Egypt to Israel, continued through the centuries, and intensified after Israel was declared a state in 1948.

The Israeli "Law of Return" grants Israeli citizenship to any willing Jewish person. To encourage aliyah, Israel provides free airline tickets as well as financial assistance for new emigres. American Jews who make aliyah can keep their U.S. citizenship, as the Wimpfheimers plan to do.

The Wimpfheimers say that their move to a small country the size of New Jersey fulfills their lifelong dream and spiritual destiny. This despite the flow of bad news in the past ten months and terrorist attacks that have killed over 100 Israelis, including two Americans, and knowing that their children will serve in the Israeli army when they reach 18.

Despite the challenges, the couple's resolve remains as strong and everlasting as the Western Wall. "Our co-workers think we're crazy for even considering it, "Jan said. Orit, a physician, acknowledges that the news from Israel is not pleasant. "But politics is cyclical, and there are better times and worse times. We will take precautions and hope for the best." They are moving to Bet Shemesh in the center of Israel, which is relatively safe. They will, however, avoid certain roads, and may get shatterproof car windows to protect against thrown rocks.

The Wimpfheimers began planning their move months ago, sold their home and furniture, packed boxes, coached their children in Hebrew, and purchased new electrical appliances for Israeli use. Jan will commute a half-hour each day to his job at a Tel Aviv law firm, just as he commuted to a law firm in Manhattan. Orit will remain home initially, but even when she begins working, both will make a fraction of what they would make in the US.

But money is secondary, they say. They yearn for Israel as the Holy Land where King David walked, the Holy Temple was built, and where Jews have lived over 3,000 years. Most important, they believe it is the land G-d promised to Abraham and his descendants in the Torah.

Although most Americans view the United States as the ultimate promised land, the Wimpfheimers, with their middle class upbringing, Ivy League education and unlimited career opportunities, say they experience a feeling of belonging in Israel they never felt in America. In Israel "everyone is more caring and empathetic. Every Jew in Israel feels a bond and connection," said Jan.

"Praying is much more meaningful at the world's holiest spot," she said.

Israel is mentioned repeatedly in many of those prayers.

They will depart from Newark International Airport with 24 suitcases, headed for their new community of 40,000, situated between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. So many former New Jerseyans have settled there, real estate agents have nicknamed the region "Little Teaneck," Orit said. "The people who go are committed and idealistic," Jan said. "They are going because they feel at home there and believe it's the place to be."

Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, the oldest pro-Israel group in the US, said that now is the ideal time to make aliyah. The Wimpfheimers deny that their move is politically motivated, but Klein believes that aliyah sends a strong political message. "An effective anti-terrorist act is for American Jewish families to pick up and move to Israel," Klein said.

The Wimpfheimers say they continue to love America and will miss it even as they pursue life in a new land. "I still get the chills when I sing 'The Star-Spangled Banner," said Jan. "We love it here, and it's hard to leave, but life is more meaningful for us and the children when you live in the land of your own heritage," said Jan Wimpfheimer, father of six who wears a knitted kippah.

The Wimpfheimers eagerly look forward to live where Jews are not a minority, where they are not the odd man out during the holidays, where Purim is not just a Jewish Halloween, and Rosh Hashanah is really the New Year.

Despite the security situation, Aliya continues. According to Jewish Agency figures, 41,224 new immigrants (32,660 from the FSU) arrived since the start of the Oslo war. These statistics show over 1,000 immigrants chose to settle in Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza). The most popular townships in Yesha are Kochav Hashachar, Hinanit, Eli, Gedid, Beit Yatir, Shavei Shomron. A group of 43 immigrants from Mexico arrived this week to Kochav Ya'akov, north of Jerusalem. Rafael Dagan who immigrated from France last week and settled in Kochav Hashachar loves his town." It is a beautiful place -as if we're living in Paris. This is the Land of Israel and we have come to live here." "We feared that the unrest would adversely affect Aliyah, but we were pleasantly surprised," said Akiva Werber, North American Aliyah official. "The immigrants are motivated by ideological considerations and their strong attachment to Israel." Last year, 12,050 immigrants came from North America and an additional 550 North Americans changed their status to immigrant in Israel. Many North American immigrants are well-educated professionals with enterprising spirit.