It’s been nine months since I made Aliyah to Israel. הנני Hineni “I am here”.
On arrival I had a long list of “steps” I needed to accomplish and tried to celebrate each one as an accomplishment. Even the small ones like opening a bank account took longer than I imagined and some of the bigger ones made me almost cry from frustration. The extraordinary Israeli bureaucracy (a thing of wonder that apparently traces back to the time the British ruled the region) coupled with a language that was basically foreign to me was almost overwhelming. But I persevered.
Today there are only three remaining things on my initial task list.
- I need to get my Israeli driver’s license. Amazingly, the bureaucracy promises to give me an Israeli driver’s license based only on the length of time I previously had a valid United States license (with no new driving test) but….. first I had to navigate a strange web site to get an electronic application. Then, when the web site would not load on my computer, I was given a phone number and a code number to call for assistance. When I called the number it (wonderfully) gave me the option of hitting #2 for English so I did. Then it gave me (in English) an option to hit # 4 for technical support so I did that too. All good so far. Then someone answered who spoke only Hebrew and of course spoke it fast and did not understand anything that I said in English.
I persevered and had a friend call the same number the next day and stood by while she went through the same steps and then listened as she argued furiously in Hebrew that there must be someone there who could answer my question in English and finally, she was promised that if I went home and waited someone would call in 3 hours. I was skeptical but willing to try. I suspected that maybe the person made the promise just to get off the phone with my friend but nonetheless I went home and waited.
Amazingly someone called and wonderfully and patiently walked me through my computer challenges and got me into the application where I was asked two somewhat bizarre questions. I was asked to list every medicine that I am currently prescribed and then to tell if I ever had cancer and if so what kind. Of course, I then had to find “documentation” of my prescriptions and my cancer diagnosis which I then had to upload into the system. Now I am waiting for someone someplace in some unknown health board to review my application and determine that none of my medications or my prior cancer diagnosis interferes with my ability to drive a car safely. Nobody seems to have any idea how long this next step will take.
2. I need to get my Israeli passport. Apparently, this will be relatively easy and straightforward (HA !!!) but cannot be done until I’ve been a citizen for 12 months. If by chance I want to leave the country in the interim before I get my Israeli passport (and after I’ve been living here for 12 months) I’ve been told that I should leave the country just using my US passport but that I will have to get a special letter from some office explaining the reason for leaving the country or else it’ll be an exhausting process getting back in.
But the biggest one is coming up in 4 weeks.
On October 28 I will get to vote in my first Israeli election. This is one of the things I have been most looking forward to since deciding to make Aliyah. I get to participate in electing the next Israeli government. Expect to hear more about this in subsequent posts.
I have not yet decided who I will be voting for. I do have a pretty good idea of how the Israeli electoral system works and what I am looking for when I choose which party to vote for.
Number One of course I want to end the premiership of Benjamin Netanyahu and I will only vote for a party that has pledged not to join a coalition (under any circumstances) that includes either Netanyahu or the right-wing extremists Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir. Number Two I want a party committed to returning Israel to the promise of its Declaration of Independence which in May, 1948 pledged to promote the development of a country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; “based on the precepts of liberty, justice, and peace taught by the Hebrew Prophets; that will uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens, without distinction of race, creed, or sex; (that) will guarantee full freedom of conscience, worship, education, and culture;” Imagine my pride and joy if I get to be part of putting Israel back on that original noble path.
Next week I am signed up to attend a house party for one of the candidates that I am considering. I am planning to spend the next month inviting people that I know to coffee or a beer to discuss their choices as I make my final decision.
The September weather has been beautiful. I still take walks with Jerry in the nature reserve every morning but now the sun rises in the middle of my walk, and it is no longer too hot when I start our evening walk. I’ve been told that October is even nicer.
All is well. My “fasting” blood sugar level has final dropped out of the pre-diabetes range and presumably the 2 hours a day of walking with Jerry has played a role.
I have paid my next year’s membership in the conservative (Masorti) congregation that I attend and have purchased a small plaque to honor the memory of my parents. Now each time I enter the synagogue I go over to their plaque and say hello.
הנני Hineni “I am here”