Moving to Israel

Nothing makes person who writes about and encourages moving to Israel happier than successful Aliyah stories and that’s why The Jerusalem Post’s Cafe Oleh section is such a great way for me to start my day. It is always inspiring to hear new stories of Olim who start over here in Israel and today was a great example with the progress of Simon Asher of London.

Simeon, who came here with his wife Galina and sons Gideon, 6, and Benjamin, 4, nearly three years ago, is a successful osteopath and left a booming practice in London to which he still returns for one week a month, and opened a new practice in Ra’anana which has really taken off. He grew up in London and until 23 was not religiously observant. He found religion through Lubavitch, just before he met Galina and they married in 1994. After 10 years of marriage, Gideon was born and two years later, Benjamin. On a visit here in 2007, they had dinner with friends and in the taxi on the way back they looked at each other and said “Let’s do it.” Looking back on the decision, Asher says, “You can’t really explain it if your heart brings you here.”

“When we think of our Aliyah, it’s been literally that, a going up and a wonderful experience that has surpassed all expectations,” says Asher. “Israelis don’t appreciate what they’ve got here, because they didn’t choose to live here the way we did. Living in England you are obsessed with news about Israel, and being here you have released yourself from that whole narrative. Israel only really makes sense when you’re here.”

Obviously, everyone has different experiences when making Aliyah and some are smoother than others. However, when reading the JPost’s Cafe Oleh section it makes for a great feeling for the rest of us Olim (and potential Olim) to see others in similar situations who manage to overcome their fear and apprehension to make Aliyah and moving to Israel a reality. It is a daily must read for many of my visitors and comes highly recommended by this North American Oleh.

Ari

When I and many of my fellow Olim move to Israel one of the tougher things to acclimate to is the loss of so many of the non-Jewish “holidays” that we grow accustomed to celebrating. I often hear how it is so hard to be away and miss the fun loving, carefree days of Thanksgiving, New Years, etc.

However, as this time of year rolls around all you have to do is walk the streets of Israel and be reminded that this is the ultimate place to celebrate and enjoy the true holidays that Hashem has gift wrapped for us. Starting today, as you go about your business in the Holy Land, you will hear many people repeat the phrase “Mi-she’nikhnas Adar marbim be-simcha” – “When Adar arrives, we increase joy.”

In other words the month of Adar has arrived and it is time to be happy and warm our hearts with memories of the some of the incredible miracles that Hashem has blessed us with throughout time. These are the true holidays of the Jewish year and these are truly the times to celebrate. We must always remember what in this world is truly important and, as an Oleh from North America, I can tell you that it is infinitely easier to remember and appreciate all the real blessings that G-d has bestowed upon us here in Israel, where the truly meaningful holidays are felt in the air for the entire “holiday season.”

Looking forward to a wonderful Adar and may everyone raise their level of joy to unprecedented heights as we bask in Hashem’s love for us.

Ari

I’ve been writing this moving to Israel blog for some time now and, as my regular readers know, I am always trying to recommend any similar content I find on the Internet. Therefore, I was thrilled when a reader sent in information about their own Aliyah blog.

“Esther’s Aliyah Experience” is written by Esther Cohen, who made Aliyah one and a half years ago and chronicles her experiences as a new immigrant from North America. She recently started her own Wine Tour Company called “My Israel Wine Tours” (www.myisraelwinetours.com) and the blog is a great read for people like me who love reading about the Aliyah experience.

Check it out, let me know what you think and please always contact me when you see something you think might be of interest to our readers.

Ari

As many of the audience of this moving to Israel blog is from North America, I thought it would be interesting to point out the investigative report released this week by the Center for Near East Policy Research (NEPR) that U.S. assistance to the fledgling Palestinian Authority military puts Israel in a precarious position despite congressional limits on aid to the PA. The Congress had intended the limits to prevent the aid from undermining Israel’s security.

Journalist David Bedein, head of the Jerusalem branch of the NEPR, reports that the U.S. gives Fatah-affiliated PA forces training and military equipment, while at the same time the Fatah-led PA attempts to reconcile with Hamas, which the U.S. recognizes as a terrorist organization.

One risk of America’s heavy involvement in building up PA troops is that the situation could lead to an open attempt to limit Israel’s counterterror options, Bedein said. “Let’s say that Israel wants to go after [Fatah] terrorists – there will be a sort of American veto, because the terrorists are affiliated with the Americans… This has extremely serious implications.”

This should be very disturbing to all of us, particularly we American born Israelis who have a vested interest in all the joint ventures of the U.S. and Israel.

The full NEPR report will be available to the general public on the Israel Behind the News website on Wednesday so everyone is urged to check it out.

Ari

As this is a blog about Aliyah and moving to Israel and I myself am an Oleh from the United States, I tend to focus frequently in my posts about immigration from North America. It is important to remember, however, that Aliyah is happening from all over the world and, in that vain, I refer you to an interesting piece over at Haaretz that takes a look at Aliyah from Russia twenty years after they opened its doors to mass emigration.

The author, Tracy Levy, takes a look at some of the reasons that Russian immigration to Israel has stagnated since 1989 and gives some interesting feedback on where the movement may headed in the future. A great read, especially for we Aliyah addicts.

Ari

Times were that people moving to Israel were considered to be taking on a financial burden and sacrificing many of the luxuries of the Diaspora. Now it seems to be that people are continuing to make Aliyah, not just for spiritual and idealistic reasons but for financial gain as well - an unheard of concept not long ago.

Arutz Sheva reports how the Israeli economy has become a draw for North American immigrants in the face of the economic downturn abroad. In speaking on the subject Danny Oberman, executive vice president of operations at Nefesh B’Nefesh, describes some of the examples of economic advantages in living in Israel including a wider job market for recent university graduates, families with young children being able to find more affordable Jewish or college education in Israel than back in the U.S. and Canada, cheaper health insurance rates and more.

While the financial challenges of living in Israel still, and always will, exist, it’s good to see some of the financial incentives of making Aliyah catching up to the spiritual ones.

Looking forward to seeing you all here.

Ari

While constantly searching for Aliyah facts and figures I remember that sometimes the best way of getting the whole moving to Israel overview is by looking at some basic, raw numbers. With that in mind I wanted to point out to everyone this fantastic summary of the Aliyah numbers for 2008 courtesy of an article found at the Support Association for Zionism (SAZ).

While serving as a terrific guide for viewing the past year in Aliyah, it is also important to note what the report says. With the exceptions of North America, South Africa and Oceania, Aliyah was down in all other locations compared to 2007 while also being a 22% overall decrease compared to the number that arrived during the same period last year.

These are discouraging numbers so let’s continue to spread the word to all our brothers and sisters: we want you to come home now!

May Hashem soon bring the day where all the Jewish people are back where they belong.

 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

Nefesh B’Nefesh has brought in its first batch of new Olim of the summer. As reported by Pinchas Sanderson of Arutz Sheva:

Nefesh B’Nefesh welcomed its first summer aliyah flight at Ben Gurion International Airport on Thursday. The flight brought 220 new immigrants from North America to Israel. It was the first of thirteen flights expected to bring more than 2,000 new immigrants over the course of the summer. Tracey Levy, formerly of Houston, Texas, who arrived on the flight, is the organization’s 15,000th new immigrant.

As a blogger who writes about the significance of Aliyah and moving to Israel, I have to say that Nefesh B’Nefesh continues to amaze me. To think that there is an organization that has built itself up in these few years on the premise of helping and enabling people to drop everything and come to Israel is truly awe inspiring. Although my own personal Aliyah was a bit before Nefesh B’Nefesh came into being, I have many friends who I can without doubt say would not be living (and thriving) here without it. I also take pride in knowing co-founder Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, who I grew up with. Although we haven’t had much contact since we were kids, it’s still great to see a fellow native of the Highland Park/Edison, NJ area have such a phenominal infulence on helping people with the life altering move. I know for the two of us, life was very nice in the NY/NJ area and, as I’ve written in the past, there are a myriad of reasons that people are able to uproot and leave these pleasant lives behind. While they’re too numerous to mention here, it goes without saying that financial issues are often one of the top concerns potential Olim have. This obstacle, along with many others (including information, advice, etc.), is one that Nefesh B’Nefesh has done an absolutely extraordinary job of tackling and easing the burden on people.

I would encourage everyone to check out Nefesh B’Nefeshs’ web site and, particularly if you’re thinking of making Aliyah, give them a shout.

Ari

I came across a great blog today by another North American who has just moved to Israel and will be spending the coming year in Hebrew University. Andy Ratto keeps this regularly updated diary of his daily happenings in the country.

I always feel these are the best types of blogs to share with my readers (being a moving to Israel blog) as they seem to take Olim just like me (and many of you) and put real life stories of their day to day lives on display through their eyes to let others somewhat live out the Aliyah experience for themselves. So real life, in fact, that they don’t always work out. Many people have negative experiences when first making Aliyah and many more do not end up staying at all. This is good. I don’t think I would be doing a service to my audience, even though I try to promote moving to Israel, by just blindly painting every one’s move in a positive light. It is not easy just as it is not easy moving from another part of the world to anywhere. That being said, I think it’s pretty safe to say that the vast majority of people who move to Israel find it to be a positive, life altering experience and an extremely high percentage of Olim continue to make Israel their home on a permanent basis.

Andy’s story, I would say, is yet to have played out as he appears to be just begining his time in the country. He states his early views on some of the things he’s seen so far and I am extremely excited to follow along throughout the year and see how it goes. Again, I think this and other blogs like it are very good reading for new and potential Olim to see the absorption process in action.

 Ari Strauch