Just over a week ago, I left my home
and job in London, and moved to set up a new life in Jerusalem, Israel.
I haven’t had a chance to call or write to all the people
back home that I would like to, so in the meantime thought I’d try to keep a
blog to update people occasionally on how things are going. Please do
call/e-mail/snail-mail/text/FB/etc with any comments and just to say ‘hi’!
Kite Festival at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem
So to the news:
On August 13th I flew out with 71 other new
immigrants to make aliyah on a chartered “Red Carpet” flight from Luton.
For those who haven’t been through this process, it is an
incredible service offered by the Israeli government to new immigrants. You
meet a few times with representatives in London where they start the
immigration paperwork. They then give you a one-way ticket for £30 with an
extended baggage allowance of 60kg. You fly out with a group of other new
immigrants, and they put us all up in a hotel in Jerusalem. For the people
who have never had Israeli citizenship (i.e. not me), they gave an envelope
with some cash on arrival to get through the first week, and a telephone simcard, pre-charged with 200 shekels (NIS). Then at the hotel comes the
best part of the entire deal – they filled a hall with all the organisations
you need to get in touch with: banks, phone companies, health insurance
companies, shipping companies etc. They each have a stall, and you simply go
from place to place, signing up for all the services you need. Then they give
you a lift to wherever you want in the country to start your new life.
Of course there were some things that still needed doing and
I have been spending these first two weeks going from office to office, filling
our forms for HR, Occupational Health, the army, etc. Each time I start the
conversation with a slightly apologetic explanation that I am a new immigrant
to the country, and so don’t really understand the system. The response I
received from everyone were perhaps surprising: “Thank you”, “Mazel Tov”, “Well
done”, “Besha’ah Tovah” (“in a good time”, a sort of blessing that the timing
of my arrival will be good for me), “we need people like you”.
It just got me thinking. I know that there is always a place
to be cynical about any country’s motivation for anything it does, but it does
suggest a certain attitude towards immigration. I just remembered all the
comments I heard in England about immigrants: “taking our jobs”, “changing the
culture of Britain”, “burden on social services”, etc. Does Israel, with its
lower rate of inflation, higher interest rates, and I believe higher rate of
economic growth at the moment, have the right idea?
Now, you can’t come to Israel without being somehow affected
by Middle East politics, but this time it seems to be happening quicker than I
expected.
I was discussing with Ron, (my sister’s Israeli fiancé)
about bringing over my savings from England, and he said in all seriousness
that he expects the security situation with Iran to deteriorate soon and that now
many not be the best time.
The following evening around the Friday night dinner table,
Sue (a close family friend) asked me if I had picked up my gas mask yet, and
told me where I can get one.
I also have a friend in the army who told me, without my giving
away any details, that they too are preparing in case the worst should happen.
There is no panic, and not even much fear. Just a sense from
people that things are heading in a certain direction and that we mould our
lives around this reality. For my part, I feel that I have come at a time when
perhaps Israel needs help, and may be able to play my small part.
In the meantime I will collect my gas mask next week, and
hope that I won’t be needing it and that I did indeed make aliyah “Besha’ah
Tovah”.
