Ahead of Yom HaAliyah: Making sure olim are prepared

• Published date: 09 October 2021
• Author: HELENA BAKER
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Truthfully, I had spent a great deal of time imagining everyone else's reaction toward my emigration. And, I had naively assumed that my GCSE Hebrew would allow me to seamlessly navigate Israeli bureaucracy. Although in my defense, I'm not convinced linguistic ability is necessarily the only desired trait when it comes to battling Israeli red tape. What I suppose I had not imagined myself to be was an immigrant – dumped into a new culture, language and society.

In my new found reincarnation as a passionate Zionist, I had forgotten one core truth. I was a foreigner living in a new home.

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I want to be clear: I don't regret my aliyah for a moment. Not for a second. And I haven't from the moment I landed at Ben-Gurion Airport (despite the lack of red carpet, clapping or general joyousness). It remains to be the greatest decision I ever made – and I am both proud and still excited when I use my Israeli passport and see my name sitting side by side with my Israeli citizenship.

However, I assume if you are here, reading this article in The Jerusalem Post, I neither need to convince you of the triumph of Zionism nor of the allure of living in Israel. Specifically not on Yom HaAliyah, which is marked on October 13.

However, I would like to add a level of nuance to the story, especially for those thinking or hoping of making the move. Because, while I truly believe it's a privilege to live in Israel, I also think many olim arrive with unrealistic expectations. Those of us leaving behind lives of relative comfort in the English-speaking world believe we make sacrifices to move here – and should therefore be rewarded. The entire state should regularly be giving us a pat on the back. I disagree.

I think there needs to be far more openness and honesty around the realities of a daily olah: the frustrations, the hardships and the deep-seeded desire to flee our natural olim community, while also finding it immensely challenging to integrate within Israeli society. And, by the way, I'm about to start my sixth ulpan and have an Israeli fiancé.

Yes, you read that correctly. I am living the aliyah dream. After arriving a single olah, after just four months in Israel, I found myself an Israeli boyfriend, whom I will marry in December. Now, of course, this is hugely advantageous, particularly because after just six months in Israel I decided...