Q: I live in Lakewood, NJ, USA. Could you recommend shippers to Israel (I have my whole house to ship). How can I get information from other people who have used them? Should I ask them for references?

A: Ah, the joys of picking a shipper... This somewhat scary experience is very similar to any other major purchase you will make.
Ask friends for recommendations. Check on aliya-related web sites such as those belonging to Nefesh b'Nefesh (www.nbn.org.il) or Tehilla (www.tehilla.com) or the Jewish Agency (www.jafi.org.il). You can certainly open the Yellow Pages or search on the Internet for more options.
But, and especially with the Yellow Page or Internet options, you will want to talk to people who have used those movers. You want to make sure a mover you are considering has international experience. The difference between handling a domestic move and an international move is huge. Differences include the proper way to pack and load to handling the paper work to making sure your things are properly delivered here in Israel.
Your next question about how to find customers who have used these movers is critical. I would not put much faith in calling someone the mover suggests. He or she will only give you names of "successful moves." A better place to find more objective reviewers are on discussion forums such as the Janglo forum on Yahoo (groups.yahoo.com/group/janglo).
You can ask for feedback at a forum such as this and be assured of a range of unfiltered information.
In terms of recommendations - there are many in the New York area who specialize in the aliya market. At the same time, you can also consider Israeli shippers as well.
Of course, (disclosure time) I am biased since I live in Israel and in fact, about 80% of my business is based on handling people moving to Israel. With internet and telephone availability, working with an Israeli company greatly increases the universe of experienced shippers agents. Working with an Israeli company offers a number of advantages including the fact that you are helping the Israeli economy.
If you use an Israeli company, they will be able to arrange full door-to-door service from Lakewood to Israel and if you have a problem in Israel (where 90+% of the problems happen) your solution will be a local phone call away and in the same time zone.