Yishai Fleisher

Yishai Fleisher is program director at Arutz Sheva's Israel National Radio and co-founder of Kumah - American's Return to Zion. [http://www.kumah.org/ 1]

Personal Life

Fleisher was born in Haifa, Israel, to Russian Jewish immigrants, and was raised in the United States before embarking on a campaign to promote mass Aliyah that included his own emigration in 2003. He resides in the biblical Jewish community of Beit El with his wife and daughter.

Israel National Radio and Kumah

Fleisher hosts a daily news talk show on Israel National Radio [http://www.israelnationalradio.com/#yishai 2] that deals with Neo-Zionism, Israeli politics and themes in Jewish history and tradition. Fleisher coined the term "Neo-Zionism", an answer to Post-Zionism's claims that the work of the Zionist dream is over. Fleisher argued that a spirit of "Neo-Zionism" has enveloped those who believe the first goal of Zionism - settlement - has been achieved, with the second goal - a Jewish socio-cultural and spiritual revival - still remaining to be achieved.

Fleisher has authored several articles over the years, many of them distributed by Aliyah activists on campuses across North America. Other articles outlined ideas for mass immigration and expressed the historic need for the Jewish people to unite in the Land of Israel. [http://www.kumah.org/eshelnew/classics/ 3]

Kumah's latest creation is the Aliyah Revolution film [http://www.aliyahrevolution.com "Free Your Mind"] which was reviewed in this [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395392223&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Jerusalem Post article]

Fleisher is also a strong advocate for renewing the centrality of Jewish holy sites, including the Tomb of the Patriarchs, the Tomb of Joseph, the Tomb of Rachel, and others to the Jewish people, arguing that the Israel Defense Forces should educate young Israeli soldiers about their connection to the Land of Israel and to Jewish familial history. An address by Fleisher to the Knesset Absorption Committee led to the establishment of [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/126054 International Aliyah Day] in 2008, celebrating the immigration of Jews from around the world to the Land of Israel.

Articles

Fleisher has been widely published on issues pertaining to Israeli politics, Torah values, and ideas for a brighter Jewish and Israeli future. Some of his sometimes-controversial articles are listed below:

*Bikini-Brand or Holy Land? [http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/middleeast/Bikini-Brand_or_Holy_Land$.asp]
* [http://web.israelinsider.com/views/11233.htm Zikaron]
* [http://web.israelinsider.com/views/13013.htm Seeing the Horizon, Not Just the Edge]