People don’t like to hear it, but we weren’t able to thrive in the US. I’m $40,000 in debt from one year of college (at a state school! Not private!) And had been working 2 full-time jobs just to get by with no chance of going back. I moved here for the education benefits. I’m under 27, so I can get my bachelor’s paid for here, and the other financial support I receive as a new immigrant is more help than I’ve ever gotten from anyone since I was 17. Even with corona happening, this is the only path I had forward. Plus the healthcare. I hadn’t seen a doctor in 5 years in the states because I couldn’t afford insurance, and made too much money for medicare/Obamacare. I was above the poverty line because of my two jobs, but once you factored in rent, car insurance, food, debt payments, etc., I didn’t have enough for the $100/mo plus deductibles and copays and the time off to see a doctor.

When did you make Aliyah?

I made Aliyah in 1983 with my 5 children.

My name’s Natan Bessner. I’m 23, and I made aliyah in August 2015 from Montreal after spending a year at a yeshiva in Jerusalem. That summer Operation Protective Edge broke out, and the disconnect upset me. I decided to return to Israel ASAP. Growing up I went to a Zionist school, took part in Bnei Akiva, and my parents always fostered the importance of the Jewish State. All of these reinforced my need to get back.

I grew up on the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. After finishing school I was hungry for adventure, I wanted to learn more about Judaism as well as live on my own. I packed a bag at 19 and went on a gap year program in Israel, fully expecting to come back to Cape Town to start uni at the end of my gap year.

Continue reading Your Story: Jason Marx →

What made you decide to make Aliyah?
In 9th grade, I watched the documentary Beneath the Helmet. Two of the soldiers were chayalim bodedim (lone soldiers), and I fell in love with the idea of moving to Israel and volunteering to serve in the IDF.

Continue reading Your Story: Andrew Fowler →