8 Weeks in Israel
It has been 8 weeks since I arrived in Israel. 8 weeks feels like a significant length of time that I have been here. Here’s the more stunning thing. Even though I still identify myself publicly as a new Oleh (immigrant to Israel) the truth is that I no longer feel like a new Oleh. I am currently waiting to meet someone who has arrived after me and be able to assist them with my knowledge/experience. So here goes. The good and the bad at this point. It is not all milk and honey.
Settling into a new country in which I am not nearly fluent in the language, has been harder than I imagined. That may speak more to my naivety than to the measure of difficulty. How could it not be hard. I am grateful to have my dog Jerry with for guidance.
Jerry knows that the secret of life is to enjoy what is in front of him and not to stress about the little stuff. Jerry has become a “leash dog” after 5 years of living as a “beach dog”. He doesn’t complain. He simply reminds me whenever it feels like time for another walk. Yet the one time we were able to go to the beach he didn’t hesitate and simply threw himself into the Mediterranean and had a great day of it.
I meet and talk to new people every day on our walks and at the dog park. Jerry makes new friends easily. I pay attention when I hear a phrase in Hebrew and quickly write it down to try to remember and then learn it. Through that method I have learned that a different response to “boker tov” (good morning) in Hebrew is “boker or”. Boker or (בוֹקֶר אוֹר) is a Hebrew phrase meaning “morning light” or “bright morning”. It is used as a polite, poetic, or, in some contexts, an expected response to the greeting “boker tov” (good morning), signifying a wish for a day filled with light and goodness.
The best early advice I was given was to try to take care of problems one at a time and to celebrate each accomplishment.
It was harder than I expected to open an Israeli bank account and then to get some of my money transferred from my American bank to my new Israeli bank. (I mean really? Why was it so hard to convince my old bank that it was me trying to wire money to myself). Applying for my permanent Israeli (biometric) ID card involved going online every morning to see which offices in the country had opening and then going to my map to see how far away that office was …. Logging on to the website to check on availability of appointments of course means putting in my new Israeli ID number and my new Israeli phone number and then waiting for a text message with the code authenticating that it is really me trying to find an office less than an hour away where I can apply for my permanent ID. Through it all I try my best to not argue about the details that seemed unreasonable in a country where bureaucracy has been elevated to an art form.
I have finally found a long-term apartment to rent, and I am very happy about it. Now I am just waiting for a small backlog to clear. There is someone I don’t know who is waiting for her new apartment to be ready so she can move out of where she is. The current tenant in the apartment that I am waiting to move into is waiting for the other person to move out of her apartment and of course I am waiting on both of them so that I can move.
My opinions might of course change (I am after all only here for 8 weeks) but in general everything seems more expensive than what I was paying back in Oregon and I have yet to find any consumer items that are cheaper and better than what I am used to. On the other hand, of course, there is medical care which is free in Israel and as a senior citizen I have a card that entitles me to free bus and train rides. The train system is especially nice here. But the bottom line remains that I get to experience living in a Jewish state in Israel. As they used to say in the American Express commercials, that is priceless.
My next big project will be trying to buy a used car to get me around. I had a rental car for a few weeks but recently gave it back to save on costs. I am hoping to find a used Toyota Corola Hybrid from a dealer who will sell it with a warranty. I want to be able to take Jerry back to the beach at least once a week and I want to be able to take short trips to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. I am also looking forward to taking a vacation down to Eilat which is a resort town on the southernmost tip of Israel (on the Red Sea) and yet only a 4.5-hour drive from where I am living in Northern Israel. Someone tried to talk to me recently about the process of getting an Israeli driver’s license and I asked how long I am allowed to drive on my old American license. I still have ten months to worry about that, so I choose not to worry about it yet. My more immediate task will be getting insurance on my car when I buy it.
And of course, my “stuff” is in a container boat right now probably getting close to the straights where the Houthis have just destroyed two cargo ships. When I FINALLY get my stuff delivered and am settled into my new apartment it will definitely be a time to celebrate again. Believe me when I say I am looking forward to sleeping again in my own (real) bed and having my stereo system and listening to my music collection through my stereo system.
If it sounds like I am complaining, that is not my intent. I am trying to acknowledge that it has been difficult, but the truth is that every day I remain grateful. Grateful to be here in a Jewish homeland and of course grateful to those who came before me and built this country. Grateful to the kindness of almost everyone I meet (except for other drivers on the hwy but that is another story). In the market and at the train station I use the phrase אני לא מדבר עברית (Ani lo medaber ivrit) which means I don’t speak Hebrew. I say it with such confidence that I wonder if people suspect that I am lying.
I am grateful for the generosity of the Israeli government which provides a variety of small benefits (that all add up) to make the transition easier. I have an advisor from Nefesh b’Nefesh who calls me every few weeks to check in on my transition and tries to answer questions that have come up in the interim.
I was recently giving advice to a tourist who was nervous about taking a train from to Jerusalem (it required a transfer) and my advice to him was to realize it is the exact opposite of taking a train in NYC. Strangers are happy when you reach out for help.
There is an election coming up (it is fascinating that nobody knows for certain when it will happen only that it will be before November 2026). I have started attending meet and greets with representatives of the center/left parties. They are generally house parties in which the representative of the party gives a speech and then answers questions. I am excited to have a vote and get to participate in the election of the next government.
The primary electoral issue (as best as I can tell at the moment) involve questions about the Haredi (ultra-orthodox) who do not serve in the military and who simultaneously get a disproportionate share of civil benefits. The slogan that I keep hearing is that those who don’t want the responsibility of serving the country shouldn’t get the benefits of citizenship. But when asked specifically if those benefits (to be denied) will include access to the free health care the answer is of course not. Health care is a right not a benefit.
War with Iran is presumed to be imminent. I’ve spoken with a few people who are frightened but the general attitude that I hear is that it is inevitable and it will be good to get it over with finally.
more to come of course.
Thank you for reading this. If you enjoyed it, I’d appreciate if you would share it with other friends who might be interested. As always. I’d love to hear back from you. Write me at: adrchildlaw@hotmail.com