Comments on: Surviving Aliyah – A-musings from an Olah-not-so-Chadesha

By: Dave Wailer

Dave Wailer — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 01:34:49 +0000

Rolene I can almost smell the cheesecake, and I remember the Joke well from the 1960's Where the Israeli primeminister exchanged good wishes between his feigele and the Americans presididents lady bird, in those days there were only 2.5 Million presidents. "The words next year in Jerusalem" have rung true for 5 million more and this has been a true miricle Aliyah. Thank you you for the great read.

By: Irwin Blank

Irwin Blank — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 13:13:06 +0000

Michael, I merely stated that the IDF is not "hysterically inept" and even when it has made errors on the battlefield or in the area of intelligence, it has, more often than not, swiftly recovered. As far as revolving credit cards are concerned, I haven't seen any. If there are, kindly FB a pm to me.

By: Michael Brand

Michael Brand — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 11:29:16 +0000

Irwin Blank, great piece but I would like to correct you on 2 items. 1)The army is not as organized as you think and it is a miracle that we have been as successful as we have been. 2)there are real credit cards with revolving credit like in the States.

By: Irwin Blank

Irwin Blank — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 09:33:26 +0000

Rolene, "hatzlacha(success) on making it through 2 years in this tiny, outrageously contradictory, hysterically inept(except for the IDF), bureaucratic bombast, supermarket checkers who sit and eat while you attempt to pack your own groceries, and the unmitigated gall of a system that calls a debit card a credit card. Israel can be exasperatingly arduous yet, at the same time, be an absolute delightful and thoughtful place to live. My first bit of advice to any potential immigrant is to find someone you know who has already made aliyah to tell you the truth behind the misconceptions(alright, downright lies) that many aliyah shlichim(representatives) will fill you with. Rolene, you and I shared many a phone conversation before you arrived here and I hope that I was helpful and not a complete nudge.
Yes, getting used to the way things are done here is a challenge for those of us from more enlightened societies. No, don;t get me wrong, Israel is as hi-tech and ultra-modern as any Western republic can be, but remember that this country is only 64 years old and it still has quite a few kinks that need to be worked out. What you'll find here is a combination of British steadfastness(disguised as sheer Israeli chutzpah), Eastern European bureaucracy(with innumerable forms, documents and papers filed flat on top of each other) and Middle Eastern sloth(when everything closes at 1PM and everyone takes a "hafsaka' (break) till 4 PM. And, of course, the overriding dictum when everything begins to fall apart around you, the ineffable refrain, "yihyeh b'seder"("it will be okay).
However, there is one thing that Rolene touched upon that makes everything else fade into the background. Sure, we argue(the national pastime) and we will fight for every shekel, push our way on line and remember that the turn signal on our cars is for decorative purposes only, but we actually do care for each other immensely in times of not only national danger, but everyday mishaps. I was walking to the bank one morning and the pavement was a bit slippery from a night rainfall and I slid down a sloped ramp and really hurt my knees to the point where the blood was evident on my pant leg. There was a truck unloading up the street and two men, whom I never met before, rushed to my side to see if I was alright, a passing woman with a baby carriage gave me some eater from a bottle in her bag and raised my pant leg, as I lay there and cleaned the blood with one of those baby wipes that mothers always seem to carry. The security guard from the store where the guys were unloading the truck, came out to see what was happening, approached me, and offered his car to take me to the 24 hour emergency center. When the 2 men helped me to my feet, I had not known that one of them had already called a cab on his cellphone to come and get me to take me wherever, The taxi driver, put me in the cab and brought me home, as I requested, took no money and gave me his card, that if I needed a ride to the hospital or the doctor later, to call him and he would come and get me.
I know this sounds almost unbelievable, but every word is true and I would swear so in any court anywhere, Oh yes, the 2 men from the truck, were Arabs, as was the cab driver.
Israel is a place full of mystery, wonder, aggravation and endless controversy, everything from where the borders should be to demonstrating against the high price of cottage cheese, but mostly, it is about love of the land, the people and the very free, independent and spirit of the place. Rolene, your family and mine are truly blessed to have been born in a time of Jewish independence and the ability to live here and grow. I'd love for another few million of our people to realize how lucky we are.

By: Irwin Blank

Irwin Blank — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 09:33:26 +0000