Moving to Israel

As common as it is to hear stories of immigrants who struggle after moving to Israel, it’s always refreshing to hear the ones about the Olim who had a dream of making it in Israel, made the dream happen and manage to live out the dream. I was in the mood to hear such a story today when I jumped over to the Jersusalem Post’s Cafe Oleh section and was certainly not disappointed as one of the lead columns, entitled Footloose and fancy-free, was the inspiring and emotional story of Esther Kunda, who is celebrating 60 years since her Aliyah.

The story of how Esther, now 81, and her mother arrived in the tiny, newborn Jewish state from South Africa is a must read for anyone who dreams of making Israel their home but is scared or discouraged by family, friends and finances that they will be leaving behind. Esther faced all that and more and now is happily celebrating 60 years since her immigration.

As Esther says regarding the best thing about Israel: “The most wonderful feeling of being in your own country.”

Read her story and inspire yourself to be the one celebrating your immigration in another 60 years.

Ari

Regular readers of this moving to Israel blog are well aware of what a fan of Tamar Yonah, one of Israel’s most popular English-speaking radio show hosts, I am. I am a regular consumer of all her content and am frequently quoting to her.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the other day she came out with a spectacular blog post that is particularly fitting for my readers. The post is entitled “7 Steps to Help You Make Aliyah” and is, as you might imagine, a great mini-guide to helping with the process of making the move to the Holy Land. The post comes complete with letters from real people at various stages of the (potential) Aliyah process and provides a 7 step plan for making Aliyah “especially if you have family members who are not as into the idea as you are,” as she puts it.

This is a must read for all potential Olim and is, once again, a fantastic piece of writing by Tamar.

Ari