Don't make these 5 mistakes when you're opening a bank account in Israel

Quick, where will your first bank account in Israel be?

One of your first tasks when you step off the plane is opening a bank account so you can start getting sal klitah, the six months of “absorption” money that you’re entitled to when you arrive in Israel.

So that’s why many olim feel rushed into opening their first bank account, and don’t think the process through as much as they should. 

Sure, you can always move your account later, but you might not want to once you have an established line of credit, “standing orders” (הוראות קבע/horaot keva – fixed monthly payments), government deposits or debits, not to mention (hopefully) payroll deposits coming in and out of that account every month.

So you do want to put some thought into opening your account, even if it seems like you don’t have a lot of choices.  When you look back on your aliyah process in five years’ time, these are some of the mistakes you may end up regretting…

1) You didn’t set aside enough time

I’ve opened bank accounts in Canada where I’ve walked in, plunked down ID on the counter, and walked out 15 minutes later with a bank card.  That’s not how it works here. 

Should you change your name when you make aliyah?

For years, I thought this was a no-brainer.  When in Rome, pick a name like the Romans do… or something.

Apparently, I was dead wrong.  It turns out there are a million reasons not to change your name when you make aliyah:

• it will confuse and perhaps anger your family and friends
• people will think you've become more religious (maybe "crazy religious")
• people will think you're turning your back on your old life
• you've built a career and reputation in your name
• you'll have legal problems using the new name
• you'll never adjust to being called something new

Interesting.  Notice that these are the same reasons many people give to not make aliyah in the first place?

Since you're already taking that giant step – or thinking of taking it – it seems a much smaller leap to give yourself a shiny new handle.  Especially one you've chosen yourself, that you'll love hearing every day and seeing on all your shiny new paperwork.

[By the way, the Hebrew words in the image above are “olah chadashah,” which means “new immigrant to Israel” in the feminine form.]

My grandparents’ “aliyah” to Canada

My grandparents were olim, of a sort.  Well, they were immigrants.  Same thing, right? 

Separately, they found a way out of Poland, where they'd grown up as "Wolf" and "Chana Rivka."  When they came to Canada, they morphed into "William" and "Rose."  They named their kids Albert, Charles and Dorothy.

Starting out in a Merkaz Klitah: Pros and Cons.

Now that we’ve been living on our own for a while (two months), many people who meet us are asking the same question:  was it a good idea to start out our lives in Israel living in a Merkaz Klitah?  Was it good for our family?

First, some basic terminology.  A Merkaz Klitah is literally an “absorption centre,” essentially a building run by the Jewish Agency with apartments that are subsidized well below market rates for new olim. 

Who can stay in a MK?

The Jewish Agency has certain criteria that determine whether you stay in a MK:  I think at least one spouse has to be Jewish, and in general, you must be under 50 at the time of your arrival (beat that bullet by less than 3 weeks, as Akiva had his 50th birthday our third week in Israel).  Nobody mentioned that criterion to us, so it may not apply to all of them.

Staying in a MK does NOT depend on your pre-aliyah income, as far as I know, or on how much money you have to spend.  However, different merkazei klitah (the plural) have different rules governing how long you’ll be allowed to spend there, and that may also vary by circumstances.

So the first step, if you want to stay in a Merkaz Klitah, is to get friendly with your aliyah shaliach.  Because they’re run by the Jewish Agency, they have nothing to do with Nefesh b’Nefesh; in fact, we got the impression that NbN was actually slightly trying to discourage us from our plan to go straight into a MK.

(I’m not sure if this is true or not – it was just an impression!)

We mentioned that we wanted an MK and that we had seen the one in Raanana on our pilot trip.  We were very impressed by the multinational makeup of the one we saw in Raanana – but as it turned out, most of the centres in the north are not like that.  Up here, they are mainly Russian, with some other eastern Europeans thrown in for good measure.

However, the MK we stayed in, in Kiryat Yam, is somewhat uniquely over 90% Ethiopian.

Thinking about this retroactively, I believe it’s important to ask, if you’re looking at staying in any Merkaz Klitah, is “who else is going to be living there?” 

Not out of any reasons of racism, but to make sure you go in with reasonable expectations about the types of bonds you’ll be able to form with your fellow olim living there.

Friendships for life?

Some people have the idea that you will be all buddy-buddy with the other olim in the MK.  I’ve even read this – people forge lifelong friendships in a Merkaz Klitah that they carry with them for the rest of their lives in Israel. 

Based on our experience, I’d say it really depends.  If you happen to find a bunch of likeminded Anglo olim, maybe.  Or if you are a gifted social person who can transcend language barriers, again, maybe.

For us, it was very difficult, though we did make some Spanish-speaking friends from Mexico, which was nice.  But it’s still awkward having them for meals.

I’ll sum up the rest of my thoughts into Pros and Cons, keeping in mind that this is how these things worked out for OUR family.  Your family’s (or your own, if you’re single) experiences could be very, very different.

PROS:

• Simple arrival:  hop in your free sherut from the airport and your apartment will be set up for you when you arrive.
• No complicated paperwork:  you don’t need a bank account, cheques, or even a teudat zehut to move in (yay!).  (It took us over two weeks to get teudot zehut, during which time we couldn’t open a bank account or order cheques; renting an apartment would have been difficult, if not impossible.)
• No buying appliances:  rental apartments here generally don’t come with appliances.  The MK included a fridge, 2-burner stove and a kettle – enough to get us started.
• Utilities – from Day One.  We had gas, water, electricity and everything, all turned on from Day One.  I cannot tell you how nice that was, having wrangled with those utilities a bit now on our own.
• Assistance if needed:  we had a “klitah counsellor,” Valentina, who spoke English, Russian and Hebrew, who guided us through opening bank accounts, setting up our kupat cholim (health clinic), and the kids’ school registrations.
• Short commute to ulpan:  most of the time, the local ulpan is right in the Merkaz Klitah.  If you don’t need ulpan, or want a specialized or advanced non-local ulpan, this would be less of a benefit.
• Services for kids:  depending on the demographics of your MK, they may provide services like homework help for children.
• Social life:  besides meeting other olim in the hallways, many MKs offer seasonal social events, like Chanukah parties and celebrations for other chagim.

CONS:

• The feeling of being “institutionalized.”  You don’t feel independent – because you’re not.  This can be good (someone comes and changes the lightbulbs when they get stuck), or bad (four washing machines for several hundred people).
• Delaying the inevitable.  Sooner or later, you will have to move out and get an apartment.  Hopefully, your MK stay delays it long enough that you have more Hebrew when that time comes.
• Not breaking the ice.  There were two categories of other olim in the MK we stayed in:  black and white.  Sorry, but it’s true.  The Ethiopian community were longterm residents – most had been there a few years or more.  They are also a very close-knit community; it was hard to tell where families began and ended (and perhaps irrelevant).  Since they had their whole social life there around them, they really don’t have much to do with the “levanim” (white people) who come through on a short-term basis.  As for the others – apart from some other Canadians, I think the gap, religiously, language-wise, and in other ways, was just too broad for us to even think about crossing.  And since we were all moving on in a fairly short time – I think everybody also figures why bother.
• Having to move again.  Five or six months is about the longest any MK will let you stay… and that’s just about the same amount of time it takes to get yourself and your kids settled comfortably.  If you hate moving, think a few times about whether you want to incur a second move within your first year here.
• Bringing your lift?  If you arrange for your lift to come to the MK, you will have to pay to move it all again to your “final” home.  We decided not to – so we stored our possessions for a few months back in Toronto, then had them shipped in time to arrive around when we estimated we’d be moving into an apartment.  For us, this worked out perfectly, but think about whether you prefer to pay twice or do without your STUFF for what can be a very long time.
• Neighbourhood.  If you choose a Merkaz Klitah, you won’t necessarily have a ton of choice about what kind of neighbourhood you’ll be living in.  We were hoping to live somewhere we could fit in religiously – sadly, there isn’t a big religious community in Kiryat Yam, so we had a bit of a longer walk to shul than usual for a few months.  You may not have much choice even about what city you move to, depending on availability.

Are you thinking about a Merkaz Klitah?  Did you stay in one and have something you’d like to add?  Share your thoughts and experiences to make this post as helpful as possible to others!

Aliyah: Roseanne, Ethiopians, and the French

Years before we arrived, one of the things I said I would miss the most is French.  Turns out I might not have to give it up after all.

Batya asks this week on her Israel blog Shiloh Musings, “From where will the next wave of immigrants come?”  I’m going to spoil her surprise – the answer is France. 

She’s not alone in thinking that:  this Tablet Magazine article blames the 63% increase in French aliyah in 2013 – up to 3,120 – on economic malaise in Europe and rising antisemitism in France.

Most and Least Favoured

3,120 olim – and exactly one of them has made it into my ulpan, by the way.  As favoured Western olim, they most likely have ideas about where they’d like to settle.  And the Krayot are not where they’re going to end up.

Meanwhile, stories like this one about nearly 4,000 Ethiopian Jews who have appealed to come in since Ethiopian aliyah was officially closed last year receive significantly less attention.

Up around here, we get a lot more of the Ethiopian olim, and those from the Former Soviet Union (a flood which doesn’t seem to be stopping) than those from France or the United States.  Not necessarily because the region appeals to them for any particular reason – just that they don’t have as much choice.

That article answered some of the questions that I had about the incoming Ethiopian olim, anyway… like, where are they coming from and why are they still arriving? 

The Klitah Machine

It is heartbreaking, sometimes, watching these Ethiopian families struggle to manage here.  The parents are often illiterate – both Akiva and I have been approached in the grocery store to interpret packages or prices for Ethiopian shoppers. 

But the Klitah (absorption) machine eventually works its magic on all of us, some more quickly than others, and it is also very, very nice seeing how well some of the second generation are getting along. 

One of my students is “Ethiopian,” but even her mother speaks Hebrew like a native – way better than I do, that’s for sure. 

I figure she must have arrived as a child, like Knesset member Pnina Tamano-Shata, who has railed against a system which doesn’t let her donate blood in Israel because she’s from Ethiopia – even though she’s lived here since she was 3.

“I am good enough to serve the state and in the Knesset,” Tamano-Shata told Ynet. “But for some reason to give blood I am not good enough. This is insulting.”

I disagree with her that this is racism; I suspect bureaucratic idiocy.  I’m not saying there isn’t racism here, or that it isn’t blatant, but I don’t think this is a country that would waste precious donated blood for anything other than the most idiotic reasons.

And there is no denying that, racism or not, Ethiopian Jews – at least those who have survived a generation or two – have reached a reasonable level of success here.  Again, the Klitah machine, chugging along, turning out Israelis (mainly through its school system and the army).

…And Celebrity Aliyah

However, without any involvement in those two primary means of Klitah, it remains to be seen how well the government will manage to absorb Roseanne Barr if she goes ahead with her hinted plans to make aliyah in 2014. 

Will she get sent to the north, like us and the Ethiopians?  Or find her way to some shiny American community full of sculptures and treed roundabouts in the merkaz (centre of the country)?

Okay, it doesn’t remain to be seen… we know which she’ll pick, and it won’t be Haifa.

Nevertheless, it makes me happy that the Knesset is considering a bill to make the 10th of Nissan “Yom Haaliyah,” a national holiday celebrating immigration to Israel.

"Yom HaAliyah is a chance for Israel to reach out to all Jews throughout the world and say that Israel is not a place for them to just consider living in; this is their Home… with this new national holiday, the Jewish People can celebrate Israel as the country to come to by choice, not just as a refuge from adversity.”

Our stories are all so different, but ultimately, this country draws us in and slowly, slowly, knits us into a people again.  It may be a Disneyfied oversimplification, but I believe with all my heart that it not only will happen, it is happening here every single day.

And I feel so honoured to be a part of it.

New Apartment – Video Tour

From an email to my family / friends back in Toronto, mainly unedited…

So tonight is our last night in the Merkaz Klitah (absorption centre).  Here we are at the 6 month mark (nearly) and the next step of our adventure is beginning.

Yes, the apartment is tiny, but it is clean, if not spacious.  Still, I made these videos after dark and it all looks a bit grimy because of the bare-bulb lighting and cardboard boxes everywhere.

This video tour is presented by our 3 wonderful tour guides, each (kind of) more gracious than the next.  As always, the screaming and squabbling you have come to enjoy from our videos has not been edited out here.

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Remember, if you're ever bored or sleepless or thinking you'd like to
follow our adventures, I'm STILL blogging at...
http://aliyahland.blogspot.com

Plus, my newest (ad)venture, for fun and super-slight profit...
http://WriteKidsBooks.org

We are thinking of you and miss you all.

(saying goodbye to friends at the Merkaz Klitah… mischievous inquisitive little friends who asked 1000 times if we were coming back and where we were going, but still don’t quite seem to understand the concept…)

Slight change of plans

No, we’re still coming!  Or going (depending on where you are and how you look at it).  But it looks like we may have a slightly different (short-term) destination.

Nefesh b’Nefesh have expanded the “Go North” region to include Haifa and its “krayot” – a bunch of suburbs that are all called “Kiryat” Something (= Something-town). 

And although we were planning to go straight to the Merkaz Klitah (absorption centre) in Karmiel, at the last minute, we were offered a place in the Merkaz Klitah in Kiryat Yam, one of these krayot.  And while the Karmiel MK offered us only a couple of weeks – eek!  during which time we’d have to scramble to find a home – the one in Kiryat Yam has said we could stay longer; from 2 to 5 months.

Actually, to be very honest, these events happened in the reverse order:  we were offered the place in Kiryat Yam, we considered it (and checked with Nefesh b’Nefesh to be sure!) and ultimately said no because it wasn’t in the Go North region.   Then I got an email saying they had expanded the Go North region, so I emailed the Jewish Agency back saying, “yes, please!” to Kiryat Yam.

Downsides:

1. It’s not Karmiel, and it’s not a town we would probably consider living in.
2. No religious schools nearby – the kids will have to travel daily to Kiryat Shmuel, another of the krayot, about 20-30 minutes’ walk away.
3. Not our ultimate destination – this will probably mean transferring schools mid-year.

Upsides:

1. Ulpan onsite – however, they only offer level alef (the first level), so I may have to travel to another ulpan, unless I am also at the alef level, which may indeed be the case.  I’m not saying my Hebrew is so great, just that it’s better than Ted’s, so if he’s alef… well, maybe I’m alef-and-a-half.
2. Other resources onsite  - and hopefully, assistance with some of the mundanities of day-to-day life
3. Reduced rent – the downside of this is losing part of the first-year rent subsidy that is part of your sal haklitah (immigrant benefits)
4. Meeting other immigrants – the downside of this is that, from what I understand, most of the olim here are from Ethiopia, which isn’t a downside in and of itself, simply that they will have had a very different experience from ours.
5. The train!  Is nearby!  I love this one.  Easy to get to Yerushalayim and other parts of the country, easy for Elisheva and others to find us.
6. The city!  Is nearby!  I love this, too.  I am a city girl, through and through, and I’ve been sad about leaving big city life behind.  Haifa isn’t Toronto, and Kiryat Yam isn’t Haifa, but it’s a whole lot more exiting than most of the small towns in Northern Israel.  Not saying I don’t still want to end up there, but there it is... while we’re getting our sea legs, it may be reassuring.
7. Employment -  shamefully, I forgot to mention this when I first posted last night.  Parnassah (earning a living) is important.  No matter where we end up living in the north, Haifa is a centre of employment and it will be handy to be there for a number of reasons.

(downtown Haifa at night)

Here’s a view of the Merkaz Klitah from a distance:

It’s right on the Mediterranean, which sounds pretty deluxe to my Canadian ears, but I’ve heard that Kiryat Yam is the most run-down of the krayot.  Also, nothing about life in a merkaz klitah is “deluxe” anything. 

And finally, “situated right on the Mediterranean” means that the air will contain a shockingly high percentage of that healthful Mediterranean water – exactly the kind of humidity I had hoped to avoid.  (Right now, the temperatures are in the high 20s, with a humidity around 60-some-odd percent.)

Still – we think and hope and pray that it will be a good thing.

The view next door (beyond the palm trees is the Mediterranean):

Meanwhile, looking up the Merkaz Klitah in Google StreetView, I happened to notice a little drama playing out in front of the main gate…

These people are getting out of some sort of car with a shopping cart full of suitcases – all their earthly possessions, or at least, whatever didn’t fit into their lift.

Cruising slowly past on the Google camera-car…

I don’t know who these people are, and this little drama played itself out, according to Google, in October 2011.  I hope by now he/she/they have found a happy “forever home” in the holy land.

Im yirtzeh Hashem by us!