How does the quality of life in Israel compare to other countries?
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Olim have a host of questions before making Aliyah. Is life in Israel good? Is Israel a safe place to live? Is it expensive? What is the overall quality of life in Israel?
Anglo olim make Aliyah for many different reasons. At the root of this there is a religious or Zionist desire to live in the Jewish State of Israel.
We hear South African olim saying that Israel is much safer. Olim form the UK enjoy Israel’s climate. Some say that the cost of decent healthcare in the USA is prohibitively expensive and Israel’s national health appeals to them.
There are many indices by which quality of life is measured; cost of living, purchasing power, property prices, healthcare and pollution to name but a few.
Numbeo is a website that collects cost-of-living information from thousands of readers around the world which they update and publish on a monthly basis. Recently they shared their 2021 mid-year quality of life results for 83 countries, with us.
Switzerland ranked number 1 coming in with 188.36
Denmark came in second with 186.25
Australia ranked 5th with 178.41
New Zealand came in 9th, beating the USA.
The USA came in at no. 16 with 163.60
Surprisingly Canada only ranked 22nd with 157.25
The UK follows right behind in 23rd place with 156.94
Ireland in 28th place
South Africa ranked 39th
At the bottom of the list were Bangladesh, Iran and Nigeria with 64.54, 63.60, and 54.71 respectively.
Where does Israel rank?
So where does Israel rank and what are the indices?
Well, a little below Ireland and before South Africa, Israel ranks in 35th place in the Numbeo quality of life survey results.
Israel Quality of Life Index
Quality of Life
Purchasing Power
Safety
Healthcare
Cost of Living
Property price to income ratio
Traffic Commute Time
Pollution
Climate
143.65
65.91
68.53
73.93
84.77
12.87
35.59
58.13
94.01
Some notes on the results: Quality of Life Index (higher is better) is an estimation of overall quality of life by using an empirical formula which takes into account purchasing power index (higher is better), pollution index (lower is better), house price to income ratio (lower is better), cost of living index (lower is better), safety index (higher is better), health care index (higher is better), traffic commute time index (lower is better) and climate index (higher is better).
Learn new Hebrew words and phrases. Baking terms with Hebrew, English and transliterations.
We know the feeling when you want to make renowned baker, Karin Goren’s chocolate soufflé or bake Shemo’s apple strudel but have no idea what the recipe says. Reading local recipes is impossible if you have limited Hebrew skills. This comprehensive list of Hebrew, English and transliterated baking terms is a trusty aide for when you pull out those mixing bowls!
At 00.001 on the 7th January, Israel’s red list – travel ban countries – was lifted and is no longer.
Israelis can now travel to any country that will accept them. Special permission from the Exceptions Committee is NO longer required. Great news for all of us who have been waiting patiently to see our families.
On Wednesday more than 16,000 cases of Omicron were diagnosed and the number is expected to double every few days. Therefore, travel restrictions are no longer preventing infection.
Hybrid, manual or automatic – how many cars are there on Israel’s roads?
According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics as at December 2020 approximately 3,689,300 vehicles were registered in Israel, of which 3,173,300 are private vehicles. There was 2.5% increase over 2019 in the total number of vehicles registered and a 2.9% increase in private vehicles registered.
Approximately 316,000 vehicles were registered and 227,000 were removed so that the number of active vehicles increased by 89,000 – a considerable drop over the 2019 figure.
If you think there isn’t, there actually is plenty of English theater in Israel.
Center Stage – Raanana
Olim, Daniella and Grant Crankshaw (ex-South Africans) recently opened Center Stage in Ra’anana. It’s Israel’s first professional English language theater. It’s a unique and vibrant performance space that aims to bring English-language theater into the mainstream of Israeli culture. At Center Stage you can enjoy the latest drama, musical theater and reviews, stand up comedians, festivals, workshops, youth theater and more. Center Stage is a creative hub, an exciting cultural center for actors, theater professionals, audiences and the community. We look forward to welcoming you through our doors. www.centerstageisrael.com
The Stage – Tel Aviv
The Stage is Tel Aviv’s is another home to performing arts in English. They describe themselves as “a volunteer-based community dedicated to creating a platform for anyone to turn their artistic ambition, small or large, into reality”
Their activities and performing arts events in Tel Aviv consist of large and small productions and performances, community events and workshops.
LOGON – Light Opera Group of the Negev
The Light Opera Group of the Negev (LOGON) is a non-profit organization comprising an enthusiastic group of amateur singers and actors bent on producing a performance equal to that of professional companies. The group was formed in 1981. Not only in the Negev, LOGON now performs in all major cities in Israel. Gilber & Sullivan, Fiddler on the Roof, The Sound of Music and the Merry Widow are just some of their past productions.
In the early 1980’s veteran Haifa Olim and the late Ed Cogan and his wife Rose established the Haifa English Theater.
Since 2006, they perform at Beit Hagefen, the Arab-Jewish Cultural Center in Haifa.
Over their 40 years their productions have included Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, Fools by Neil Simon,The Bear by Anton Chekhov to name but a few.
You can look forward to 2 or 3 productions annually.
Contact: h.e.theatre@gmail.com for information on auditions, workshops and performances.
English Theater in Jerusalem
Encore, established in 2006, escribes themselves as an educational theater company that presents the classics of the musical stage as well as lesser-known and original works. Part of their mission is to encourage young people to go to the theatre.
Past performances have included: The Pirates of Penzance, The King and I, the Mikado and the Gondoliers.
Theater in the Rough is a group of committed, community-minded actors and theater-makers, amateur and professionals, dedicated to bringing quality, affordable theatrical experiences to the Jerusalem audience. They say “It’s theater for the people, by the people”.
Their main project is Shakespeare plays presented free & outdoors. Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream were some of their past productions
Bet Hillel was established in 1985. The Beit Hillel Theater Workshop at Hebrew University presents various theater formats; drama and comedy, musical comedy, concert tributes, operetta, and Holocaust presentations.
Some of their past productions include: Fiddler on the Roof, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, Phantom of the Opera, Guys and Dolls, The Diary of Anne Frank, Brighton Beach Memoirs and A Chorus Line. They say “Over 1000 student thespians have performed in Hillel Theater Workshop productions”.
Starcatcher was founded in Jerusalem in 2013 by a group of friends who came together for the joy of making art. Their goal is to provide high-quality English language theater.
A Chorus Line, Little Shop of Horrors and Singing in the Rain are amongst their past productions and soon Chicago.
They all have websites and you some offer online booking.
I started eating falafel in South Africa when I was about ten years old. My grandmother made her one and only trip to Israel in the early ’70s and she brought back ready made falafel mix. Back in those days we were totally fascinated by this Israeli/Middle Eastern food and its flavor combinations but our falafel meals were always disappointing; the pita would fall apart and the hummus and tahina would leak.
Fast forward some 15 years – I’ve made Aliyah and have since eaten many falafels. I would prefer to make my own but have no idea how – all I manage to do is buy the ready mix in my local Israeli supermarket.
We devour many ready mixes over the years (regular Friday lunch). Sometimes I add sesame seeds for variation.
30 years into my Aliyah, ready mix falafel is still a staple until one day my daughter tells me she came across a recipe and “it’s so easy, mom!”
Indeed, it was incredibly easy and it was delicious. No falafel I had ever eaten before or after, compares. Good bye ready mix!
Ingredients
500g dry chickpeas (a.k.a garbanzo beans) soaked for 24 hours.
Do NOT substitute canned chickpeas, they are used to prepare hummus!
If the mixture is too runny add chickpea flour until you get the desired and workable consistency.
If your mixture is too dry and does not bind, beat one egg and add it to the mixture.
I freeze my mixture (with the egg). I fill a large, 300ml, firmly packed, coffee mug with the mixture to the brim and then pack the mixture into zip lock bags. The coffee mug measure is enough for 2 large appetites’ or 3 slightly smaller ones.
If I am feeling industrious, I roast chili peppers (and freeze them too) and add about 3 tsp to the falafel mixture instead of cayenne pepper.
Do not despair – the parsley and coriander turn the mixture into a shade of pale green.
Falafel are best served with a chopped salad of tomatoes and cucumbers, cabbage pickled in lemon juice, matbucha and lots of minced, roasted garlic paste. Hummus and tahina are mandatory. Some insist that Amba (a piquant mango sauce) is a must. Some say adding lettuce is sacrilegious while others enjoy their falafel with hard-boiled eggs, grilled eggplant or potato. The combinations are endless.
A cheap dinner! 1kg of chickpeas – around 15 shekels worth – yielded 10 meals (2 – 3 ppl/meal). After I pack the falafel mixture in Ziploc bags, I flatten it with a rolling pin for easy and even freezing
Now that covid regulations allow us to, it is absolutely the best time to go to the cinema and it’s within easy reach of English speakers.
There is nothing worse than a badly dubbed movie, but no worries, in Israel, movies have subtitles. English movies are screened in their original language and subtitled in Hebrew.
If you wish to see a foreign movie, take note if it is advertised with English or Hebrew subtitles
The double benefit of Hebrew subtitles is that without even realizing it, you learn Hebrew and your Hebrew reading skills improve.
Aliyah: The Craziest Decision I Ever Made — And I love it
By: Moshe
A few months ago, I left my family, friends, my whole world for that matter, back in America: not knowing what to expect as a Jew, as an oleh chadash or as a black man. I didn’t have the highest of expectations for Israel — I can’t lie. I rationalized my uneasiness by thinking about the fact that I was fulfilling my lifelong Zionist goal of living in Israel. I had hopes to marry a Jewish woman, raise kids, grow old and die in Israel. I left behind every sense of “normality,” and not to much surprise, I’ve been met with many difficulties and equally as many wins along the way.
This is an all-too-common story for most olim my age (25-years-old). Fortunately for myself I was realistic in coming to Israel. I was able to manage my expectations by telling myself that I would have sad days, good days, long days and a number of restless nights.
All of that brings me to today.
I can honestly say, I have gained a fonder appreciation for the State of Israel at this point in my life. Here’s why: the country as a whole took a chance on me, paid me to relocate, not much, but it was enough to help me got on my feet. After one month, I found a job working with one of Israel’s leading public relations firms in the high tech industry. I have been able to immerse myself deeply into Israeli culture and music by meeting local bands, playing with them and learning where their inspiration comes from. This for me has been life-changing.
As I close in on 120 days in Israel, I can already say that I have a had an easier Aliyah process / transition to the country than most. I do however still have a lot to learn. I have the tendency to be ethnocentric and say certain things are “weird,” as they aren’t quite the western way of doing things. Things like taking off work just to go to the bank or taking a sick day and realizing that I wouldn’t be paid for it, really confused me.
I had to stop, think, and manage my expectations.
It is my hope to eventually move past that and see Israel for what it really is, one of the youngest yet oldest startup nations in the world, a place so rich in culture, delicious food, beautiful scenery, history and of course, women, a country littered with racism, yet making serious strides at ridding itself of this. I love Israel and all it imperfections, and I encourage anyone making Aliyah to do it, it’s the experience of a lifetime, and you know what they say: ״If not now, when?”
Instructional video: Paying your Israel water bill online – a step-by-step guide.
It’s now easier than ever to pay your bi-monthly Israel water bill online. Follow these step-by-step instructions and get the job done easily and effectively.
