Moving to Israel

As the Jewish new year is upon us over here in Israel and throughout the world, we would like to wish all our readers and their families a happy and healthy new year. May the coming year bring only joy and bring more of us back to our homeland in Israel.

To sign off on the year, here is a cute video that was sent to me by Michal Moreno that I thought you might like. It’s a new video by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism and the Municipality of Jerusalem aiming to introduce Jerusalem to new crowds and to keep the city fresh in the minds of people who have already visited and might plan another trip in the future. Please pass it around to whomever you think might enjoy and let’s try to keep the visitors and Olim coming all year long and making the move to Israel.

Have the most wonderful year.

Ari

As someone who is constantly trying to pitch the idea of moving to Israel,  I am always scouring the Internet, searching for stories of Aliyah success (or failure, if the case may be). So today, on an early Sunday morning, you can imagine how happy I am as, while surfing I stumble across a great new blog (well, new for me) of another North American who has made Aliyah recently and sounds like they really are enjoying the experience. I have some reading to do to get to the origins of the blog but some of the posts I’ve read talk about the experience the authors go through leaving their long time homes in Michigan, the challenge of bringing children along to make the adjustment and many other issues that can really hit home for all the Olim and potentially future Olim out there.

I am going to try to get in touch with the owners and try to get some more information to share with you, but for now just know that this blog is a must read. Again, the address is http://shuandnat.blogspot.com/.

Ari

There was a very interesting post today over at Teaneck Talk, a local blog written and maintained by the Orthodox community of Teaneck, NJ (a very well known and popular town in the New York City area). The author of the article writes how, although the area of Teaneck has an exceptionally high rate of Aliyah and people moving to Israel, there has been an equally alarming number of people making Yerida (leaving Israel) and moving to the area while also starting to take up some of the more high profile positions (Shul president, etc.) of the religious community.

The author takes a very hard tone against these practices and even suggests shunning those who move into Teaneck after leaving Israel. It is a very interesting topic and there has been a number of comments posted on the blog (including one by yours truly).

What does everyone think of this? As someone who has dedicated a good part of their life to the Aliyah cause - including this blog - I am very interested to hear what my readers think about the possibility of making certain positions unavailable and, perhaps even shunning, the people who move into an area after making Yerida. I think hearing from everyone would help to shape my opinion as well and I am anxiously looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks.

Ari

People often have “political” discussions when it comes to Israel. This has taken on the generic meaning of referring to the situation in Israel vis a vis the Knesset, Arabs and, most importantly, the security of our country. Generally speaking, the two opposing sides of the argument includes the left and more dovish side that favors concessions and negotiations with our enemies and the right and more hawkish side that, allegedly, backs the use of force and more severe measures (please keep in mind that this an extreme generalization that I am making for the sake of this article; I by no means intend to paint anyone in any particular light).

Without getting into much specifics, I have been decidedly cast on the right side of the argument and recently found myself in a discussion with someone placed squarely on the left. Obviously, many people on both sides of the argument have provided sound, logical reasoning to back up their beliefs over the years and I am not here to argue one side versus the other. However, this particular discussion I had left me deeply disturbed. It was an argument in favor of the left by my friend and coworker that I had never heard before.

It seems the crux of his argument leaning towards the more dovish, concession like approach is that (and I’m paraphrasing) we, as Jews, should start to realize and accept the fact that we have been handed a rough situation and should just, essentially, accept our lot in life as a people who were meant to get the short end of the stick. Now keep in mind that this is a very educated person. He has been through Orthodox Yeshivot/Schools all of his upbringing and is a certified lawyer in the New York City area. Therefore, this is not a case of lack of information or the access to it. This was someone’s genuine opinion on the political situation in Israel and, to an extent, the world.

I found this disturbing as, again, I had never heard such an argument. I always thought that people on the left sincerely believed that their “way” was the best way to fix the various problems. I had never thought that our people actually considered themselves inferior. That we were entitled to anything less than anyone else. I mean, when one goes through the leftist’s arguments that’s the conclusion that can reasonably be made. However, I had never actually heard someone make that explicit assertion.

Then it occurred to me. This is indeed the bottom line of the “dovish” side of the argument. We do feel we deserve less and that is the reason for all of the one sided concessions always provided by Israel to its enemies. Perhaps this lack of self worth is one more reason why people, despite the best of intentions, hold back from ultimately making Aliyah and moving to Israel. If we don’t believe we deserve the land and believe that we should continue to be handled with lower expectations of justice than another people, then why should anyone take up one more challenge and face all the hardships that await us in Israel. Living here, and being Jewish for that matter, are hard enough without having the presumption that we deserve less than anyone else. We are a tiny nation that has survived numerous attempts on our existence throughout time while continually thriving and making a disproportionate contribution to the international (medicine, technology, security, etc.) community. We have nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to apologize for. We deserve an equal amount of justice as anyone else and should fight for it when it is not provided.

Only when we begin to understand this and truly believe it will it be easier for us to make those hard and challenging decisions, including one of the hardest of all: to pick ourselves up and move to Israel, our rightful homeland.

Ari

While I am always trying to promote moving to Israel, there are sometimes easier sales pitches to present than others. After the last three days, I have my latest.

My family and I (along with two other families) just completed a short trip where we stayed at the Arbel Holiday Homes, located in Moshav Arbel near the sea of Galilee and Tiberias. The reason I say that the recap of this trip will serve as a great sales pitch for a move to Israel is more than just the fantastic time we had while away. The fact that we were able to make a one and a half hour drive from our home in the city to such a beautiful, tropical paradise is really nothing short of astounding. We enjoyed the modern city of Tiberias and the breath taking view of the Kineret. It was the feeling of being transported to a different country while still being a shouting distance from home.

Not many countries in the world provide this. Israel is a tiny land that fits in the state of New Jersey and yet is so full of beauty and history that the relatively short drive we took quickly brought us from one historical landmark to another. What other countries can make such claims? We went from the ancient city of Jerusalem with all its nostalgia to the waters of the Kineret and the views of a lifetime. When living in Israel there is no need to fly half way around the world to “get away” and see something different. Just get on the highway and be amazed and awed from stop to stop. Truly a humbling experience.

With the summer time winding down and the final vacations of the season being planned, there are lots of people wondering where to take their family (and/or themselves) for that last getaway. Please contact me for ideas and suggestions as I would love to share my travel experiences with you so you too can see the beauty that our little country holds.

 Ari

Two more really outstanding articles were published this week comparing the situation in Russia/Georgia to Israel/Palestinians. They can be viewed here and here and were written by Steven Plaut and Jack Engelhard, respectively.

While there is great content coming out regarding Israel on a regular basis, I found these two articles to be exceptional as they took a very major, current event and, in plain terms, compared it to Israel as they explained the diproportionate analysis (among other things) being to assigned to each. The general message by both is a clear biased against Israel whenever they are involved in the news while things are usually covered in a dramatically different light while almost anyone else is involved.

Again, two great Israel related reads that really hit home with what is going on today around the world.

Ari

As this blog is a platform for encouraging people to move to Israel I thought I would share with you today a site that attempts to be THE resource on the subject. However, let me advise from the begining that it will be a somewhat biased analysis as the site is one of great signficance to me - it is mine and it was the inspiration for the creation of this blog which has been so successful over the course of the last few months and has, hopefully, helped to provide one more “friend” when making the very impactful move of leaving your lives and relocating to Israel.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the site was originally set up to find people the best prices when shipping to or from Israel. It was created by myself and a former college roommate of mine, Ronen Levy, who have both made Aliyah in the last decade and who both experienced tremendous headaches when we were attempting to ship our (and our families’) belongings overseas.

The process that we kept finding when researching for good shipping companies was becoming all too familiar. We’d look at a company and go to the phone book or website where we would be prompted to fill out a form or call a representative. This is where the troubles usually started. Filling out a form would often take you to a page that let you know that the company was researching your data and would get back to you. Fair enough. However, when you’d finally speak to an agent the information would often be inaccurate or you’d be given a message that there could be no quotes until they came to your home and assesed the complete situation. Obviously, this delayed the process even further and then you multiply this process by all of the companies you’d like estimates from.

The troubles would get worse when, after agreeing to a price and selecting your agency, the stuff was sent only to be discovered when we were in the country that the price was actually different then from the one we had been quoted. Now here you are in a new country with your possesions being stored and you in obvious need of them. Hardly an ideal bargaining position to be in. In both of our cases and in others we’ve heard about over the years, this story, or similar variances thereof, have been common occurrences. After comparing notes of our stories the idea for http://www.shippingconsolidators.com was born.

We established a system where a person comes to our site and fills out a form with their moving information, just as described above. In our case, however, we then receive the form and personally take the information to find you the best shipping price from good, reliable companies. A few days later the visitor is sent an email giving them an approximate estimation of what their move will cost. While it is mentioned in the emails that these approximations are just those - approximations - and there will always be factors that will be needed to be determined by the shipping companies in person, the price given gives users an extremely reliable number that they can use as a guide in all future negotiations with other companies. In addition, the price estimate comes much faster than a visit from an agent would take and therefore the general price will already be established and budgetary issues can begin to be considered and implemented.

After the launch of the site and the positive feedback we received, we were informed that there are tons of other needs for Olim that begged to be addressed and that they were not getting answers to the vast number of questions they had. That’s when we decided to expand the site, establish the blog and turn them into true, complete resources for anyone moving to Israel that answers all questions while providing easy access to us where we can answer your questions directly and personally if the answers were not given on the site.

The best thing about everything mentioned above is the price - it’s free. There is no charge whatsoever. We do it all just as a way to promote moving to Israel and that is the only pay we hope for - more Olim. I say this not to brag but to further try and bring the site to everyones attention so they can use its vast amount of resources and save hours of trouble and hassles that we had to go through that are no longer necessary for you.

Overall the site has grown in popularity and we are thrilled with that. However, we need to get the word out more! With Aliyah and moving to Israel as important, if not more so, than ever, every little bit helps. Any resource or friendly advice that can be transferred over to potential Olim and possibly tip the scales in favor of them making the move is crucial. We need Olim. We need Jews to come home. Please spread the word about the site to anyone who is even thinking about moving to Israel and, if that includes you, please squeeze every amount of information you can get out of the site to use to your advantage. Whether you’re looking to ship to Israel, find a job in Israel, need to know your army obligation to Israel, want to see pictures of Israel or are just curious about anything even remotely connected with Israel, the site is here for you.

I hope you can forgive me for taking todays post for a little self plugging but, again, we cannot lose site of the ultimate goal of our blog and site: the encouragement and helping of people to come home to Israel. Enjoy the site and hope to see you keep coming back again and again.

 Ari

As the fast of the 9th of Av dawns upon the Jewish people, many will focus on the many terrible events that took place on this date throughout time. The First and Second Temples were destroyed, Spain ordered the expulsion of all Jews by the 9th of Av in 1492, World War 1 began and many other horrible events occurred on this date.

However, here in Israel, one of the horrors that are still being felt from this date is from just 3 short years ago when the 9th of Av was the last legal day for Jews in Gush Katif before they were expelled a few days later in what is referred to as the “disengagement.” As this article and many others like it correctly put it, the expulsion seems to have taken Israel to where many people predicted it would: disaster and despair.

In addition to the messages sent that terror pays and that with some intimidation Jews will give in, the results have included rockets being fired from these very communities where Jews once thrived with regular training for more terror happening daily. This does not even begin to touch on the staggering statistics reported in the article mentioned above of the psychological and physical devastation suffered by the expellees.

As we focus on another passing of the 9th of Av and ponder some of the catastrophes that have befallen the Jewish people over the centuries, let us think about the disaster of the expulsion of 2005 and let us make sure that, while the Almighty has designated this date as a day of calamities to be faced by our people, we will at the very least take it upon ourselves to avoid such horrors that are brought on by us on our own people. Such terrors as the expulsion should never happen again and let us hope that we will shortly all be reunited in the land of Israel without fear of more 9th of Av happenings.

Ari

In attempting to be THE moving to Israel blog on the Internet, we are constantly seeking to provide our readers with tips and advice on making Aliyah. Another, less publicized adjustment for new immigrants in Israel is the move within the country itself. As Olim are often unsettled upon relocation, moving to several places until a permanent home is found is extremely common. Yesterday I found myself is such a situation as I moved my family across the city to my second home since making Aliyah and thought I would share a bit of my experience to you.

We moved from our home in the German Colony Jerusalem to the neighboring community of Old Katamon just a few blocks away. As someone who has moved a reasonable amount of times over the years back in America, I was prepared for the grind of the day. However, looking back on the day, I can say that I was pleasantly surprised with how it went. The moving company showed up at about 8:00 a.m. and worked efficiently from there on out. They were out of our old apartment by about 12:30 p.m. and had all of our stuff moved in to our new place by 3:30 p.m. The company seemed to be proffesional throughout and was accomodating with any requests made of them.

Now, this is not to say that any moving company should feel the right to act in any way other than the above. However, reality is that not all companies do. I have had very bad experiences with my moves in America and it would be nice if this was a general indication of company practice here in Israel. Unfortunately, my wife dealt with all the arranging and everything was paid in cash so I do not know off hand the contact information of the company to link to them. However, I will get it and post it in a future post to let everyone thinking about moving a chance to test them out.

Making Aliyah is always tough and making a move within Israel is just another challenge that many Olim face within their first few years in the country. As we always are trying to dole out information when first moving to Israel, please never hesitate to post a comment here or to contact me directly for ANY answers or advice you may seek regarding the move within Israel as well.

 Ari

As a blog that encourages and (hopefully) contributes to the moving to Israel and Aliyah process, we are always searching the Internet for content that does just that. In searching, today I came across a video that is an aboslute must-see for our audience. The video, written, produced and acted out by Yehezkel Laing, can be viewed here.

These are some tough times that the country is going through and, therefore, this video comes along at the perfect time as it promotes Israel while also being laugh-out-loud funny. If there’s anything better than encouraging Aliyah, it’s encouraging it while making you smile. This is a great piece by Yehezkel and I hope to see lots more content from him in the future (which I will be sure to pass along).

Enjoy the video. You will not be dissapointed.

Ari