Rabbi Elyse Goldstein and her family spent Pesach in Israel, as she told us in this paper before they left. One of the reasons for her joy about a Jerusalem Passover is how easy it is to celebrate the holiday there, not least because of the availability of kosher-for-Pesach food, including the chocolate cake that one of her sons so adores.

Her testimony may be good news for tourism, but it is problematic for Zionism when she writes: “In Jerusalem… well it almost makes you want to live there. At least for the week of Pesach.”

Nowadays, Jews come only for a week or two. Last year, more left Israel for good than came to live there.

I am not suggesting that Rabbi Goldstein and her family should move to Israel. Their absence would be a great loss for Canadian Jewry. But her stance illustrates the most serious challenge Zionism is facing today. For what is Zionism without aliyah?

Though Israelis on average have more children than Jews in the Diaspora and their risk of assimilation is smaller, the highest birthrate is among the haredim and the Arabs. Neither are Zionists.

Soon, we are told, some 40 per cent of the population of Israel will be non-Jewish. The very Jewishness of the state is, therefore, at risk – and with it the Zionist dream.

There are no more Jews from oppressed countries waiting to come. Even aliyah from the former Soviet Union has dried up. Many of those who first came have finally settled in other countries, including Canada. Some have even returned home.

The only potential source of aliyah is Jews from the West. But they are not coming other than to eat chocolate cake on Pesach and similar activities. Even the overwhelming majority of those who are clearly committed to the Jewish state only make excursions to it.

In response, the government of Israel is trying to find novel ways of attracting Diaspora Jews, including aliyah fairs and even financial inducements. Of late, serious consideration has been given to accepting “partial aliyah” by people such as my wife and I, who divide our time between Israel and another country.

Ironically, there are many non-Jews who yearn to be Israelis. They include workers from the Philippines, Thailand, Romania and elsewhere who have been in Israel for years. They married in Israel, have Hebrew-speaking children and now want to stay for good. And then there are the refugees from Africa – notably Darfur and Eritrea – who risk their lives to reach Israel. For them, Israel is the Promised Land, even when they can’t afford chocolate cake.

Though there are cogent humanitarian reasons for taking them in, they are not likely to fulfil the Zionist dream.