Time for a new column to be launched, we thinks! Welcome to the world of Scott, originally from the US, who describes how he made Aliyah in almost record breaking time, and what it’s really like living in the Holy Land for a newbie…stick around, this could get interesting!
I hated Hebrew school. I’m only ever at Temple for weddings or Bar Mitzvahs. I never spent a teenage summer in Israel, and Birthright Israel didn’t even exist until I was in my 30s.
So, will somebody please tell me what I’m doing, living in Israel?
I had never even been here until last winter. I first set foot inside the Holy Land on December 25, 2008. The conflict in Gaza erupted the next day. By the time I left on January 9 (with a job offer), I was convinced I wanted to stay here. I filed my Aliyah application the same day Barack Obama was inaugurated and arrived here an Oleh Chadash on March 1, 2009.
As my mom says – “But why, Scott? Why??”
I’ll try and break it down for you. First & foremost, it was all the Jews! I’m from New York City, where there’s a couple hundred thousand of us. But we’re not predominant. On my first day here, looking down from an upper level at a packed Dizengoff Center, teeming with Jews doing last minute shopping before Shabbat, all the storefronts emblazoned with Hebrew signage, I almost fell to my knees overcome with emotion.
Then there was the Gaza conflict I mentioned. Emails from friends and family in the U.S. poured in, asking me if I was OK. Life in Tel Aviv felt safe (and peaceful), but war was in the air (and all the TV screens, hovered over by hungry crowds in packed cafes). I read every update on NYTimes.com, and in Benny Morris’ op-ed piece, “Why Israel Feels Threatened,” I learned for the first time that if current demographic trends persist, Israel may no longer be a majority Jewish state by the year 2040. I felt a clear, simple inner directive: more Jews have to come here!
From there, the reasons to move cascaded: I was getting laid off from my job in New York and had received an offer from a friend to consult in Israel for his startup nonprofit (a wonderful cause that would also expand my skill set). I wasn’t married, didn’t have children, hadn’t traveled the world, didn’t own my apartment, had been in New York almost two decades and was feeling the “seventeen year itch,” and besides all that, the economy there was tanking. I was able to feel a window in New York closing and one opening for me in Tel Aviv. And I went for it.
Was there any fallout? Next week, I’ll discuss how I deal with missing friends & family in the U.S. and if I ever get homesick. Stick around, bvakesha.