Last Updated on November 16, 2021
My Disappointing Aliyah
By: Tcvia Rosenberg
Do you know what you are getting into?
As Jews, many of us dream of Aliyah and making the Holy Land our home. And when we begin the process, we’re filled with hope, excitement and joy. When my husband and I got the call to go to the Israeli Embassy to get our passports stamped, we could hardly stand it! I think we could have made it from Barcelona to Madrid (where we lived at the time) without taking a train or airplane. We had enough adrenaline between the two of us to propel us for miles.
Arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport was the highlight of the year. We were received by very nice people who welcomed us with open arms. However, the reality of life in Israel was soon to begin. We got into the taxi that was to take us to our absorption center. The driver grunted when we said hello and asked as to where we were going. After many hours on the road we arrived at our “new accommodations” which resembled camp barracks rather than apartments. Nobody bothered to tell us that we would need to bring blankets, pillows, pots and pans or other necessities. We were told that everything would be provided while we resided at said lovely place. Facing your first night in the heart of the desert in the month of March is not the way to begin your new life in Israel. It was so cold you could see your breath when you spoke.
Believe it or not the bureaucratic part of our Aliyah process was relatively smooth. We came across very nice people who made everything seem easy. But again, real life awaited outside the government buildings. For some reason people in this country tend to believe that because you are not fluent in Hebrew you must have an intelligence deficiency. They don’t realize it’s just a language challenge. So while they quote someone five shekels for a kilo of peppers, they charge you seven shekels for the same item. And let’s talk about getting your cable or telephone services connected. First, get ready to deal with people who don’t care about providing good customer service and will try to cheat you any which way they can. While we were told by a certain company that the deposit would be 250 Shekels, they withdrew 500 U.S Dollars from our bank account. And have you ever tried to get errors such as this one straightened out? It’s perhaps easier to obtain peace in the Middle East. We have been here for over two years and we are still fighting with out Kupat Holim who has withdrawn dollars rather than shekels from our credit card, and thus we are paid for more than 2 years. However, they still demand payment! You might ask why did you give them your American bank account? I could give you a long list of reasons but it’s sufficient to say that dealing with banks in Israel is like trusting Bonnie and Clyde to hold your money. The only difference is that these two old western outlaws will cheat you with a smile while the Israeli bank managers will scream at you for just sitting at their desk. And did you know that asking for an insurance quote is the same as entering into a contract? We found out the hard way. After asking for the rates to insure the contents of our rental apartment, we received a bill and soon thereafter a letter from a lawyer. In America and in Europe, asking for a quote means you are shopping around for the best price.
We did however try to make lemonade out of lemons and integrate as best as we could. So we began to look into opening a business. Nobody told us that you needed co-signers just to go to the bathroom. My husband and I came to Israel and left our families behind in the United States, so nobody would co-sign on a lease, much less on a loan. And who in their right mind co-signs on a loan in today’s economy? So there went that dream. We contacted the Ministry of Culture as we were told that writers and artists enjoy certain benefits in Israel. After going through writing tests and interviews they awarded us high accolades and made us promises that as you can guess they never kept. With the demise of our second dream, as professionals, we decided to look for jobs. Talk about a shock! They want you to work for peanuts! Now I understand why the internet is filled with new and old Olim selling off their stuff as their planning on returning to their homes.
As American Jews we found this beautiful country to be stressful and surprisingly unfriendly. We found our Ulpan teachers to hold resentment towards us for being Americans and we faced discrimination, something we never thought could happen to us here. To make Aliyah you need to be the “ right Jew.” You must be extremely religious, speak Hebrew perfectly, be willing to scream and be screamed at and have lots of family waiting for you to give you moral support.
The one good thing I can say is that medical and hospital care is wonderful. It’s too bad my husband had to get so stressed out with life in Israel that he had to experience congestive heart failure to find the good of making Aliyah.
