Getting approval, saying goodbye to family and friends, and stepping off the plane is only half the battle in making Aliyah. The other half is creating a new life here for yourself and your family. One of the first things you’ll need to do is find a place to live. It is preferable to know where you’ll be living beforehand, especially if you’re bringing a lift (shipping container). But if you don’t know where you’ll be living pre-Aliyah, don’t panic. My husband and I thought we knew where we would be living and well, things changed (for the better). We stayed at an Airbnb in Jerusalem for a couple of weeks while we scoured yad2 for apartments in Yehuda & Shomron. My parents did the same thing when they made Aliyah and put their lift in storage (expensive, not ideal). That said, here are some things to look for in a community:
On May 10, 2021 Hamas launched rockets from Gaza to Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh. While alarmed and praying for the people living and celebrating Yom Yerushalayim in Jerusalem, I wasn’t too concerned because I assumed the Iron Dome would prevent any rockets from hitting populated areas.
After we got married and everything settled down, we decided it was time to apply for our Israeli passports. The process was relatively easy. I didn’t expect that I would be able to apply for and order my passport at the same appointment I had made to change my name legally here in Israel.
Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day) is widely celebrated outside of Israel. I remember going to school as a child and seeing Israeli flags everywhere, watching Israeli movies during class, and then singing “David Melech Yisrael” in our parade through the streets of Dallas. It was a day where everyone would dress up in blue and white (instead of our school uniform), eat falafel, and participate in Israeli dancing. We were proud Jews and proud of our country. And yet, we were content living 11,244 miles away.
It’s no secret to those in the Aliyah community that there is a large number of failed Aliyot- olim chadashim who move back to their country of origin. This phenomenon is known as yeridah, lit. descent. It is difficult to know the exact statistics of this phenomenon, as neither the government of Israel nor the Jewish Agency for Israel conduct population studies to investigate failed Aliyot. Regardless, we know it’s a big problem.
