Aliyah from the US a no-brainer? Think, and think again!

Yes, Israel is home, the nation-state of the Jewish people. But it’s not a surreal ideal place. If you come here, blinded by your new love, you’re bound to leave very bitterly. And that doesn’t need to happen like that.

You need to come here open-eyed. Like every place, living in Israel has its ups and downs. The Sages tell us that acquiring (living in) Israel (like Heaven) takes hardship. On top of that, Israel is a very intense place.

I get it why US aliyah skyrockets. The new wave of racism and anti-Semitism. The government that let half a million Americans die for no reason. The lack of national solidarity and financial insecurity.

But when you come here, you’ll learn that the US was not even as ideal as you always thought. That is difficult because you still miss it. The Sunday. The ease to understand the news, the language. The familiar foods, songs, culture. Here, everything is different if not upside-down.

Here you will need to wake up to reality and deal with being a foreigner in your own country. It takes time and much effort to make new friends and integrate. But there is more. You need to thoroughly say goodbye to your old life while you’re still there, against getting homesick. Your comfort, everything familiar, memory lane, people, places, seasons.

If you said farewell well enough and are ready to fight for a new and good existence, you’ll have a great life here. You’ll never look back. But don’t just pack up and leave, assuming the Land will take care of you.

Yes, there is much social security here, but there is also endless red tape before you get what you need. Yes, people are generally good-hearted here, but they’re often also under-slept, overworked, overburdened, and impatient. They may lack room for formalities and courteousness. It’s more real, less fake, more honest, but can be a rude awakening too.

There is no gun violence here and little bank robbery. If a man makes a woman feel as much as uncomfortable, he’s already done a sex crime. But many people cut corners, don’t keep commitments (I forgot?), or even lie to your face — it’s the Middle East, remember? It’s nice to miss Christmas but for the anti-religious, the Jewish Holidays are in their face.

There is racism but much less. Many Jews have offspring marrying Jews of different ethnicity. Most Israelis are not so uptight about who’s a Jew and who’s a Muslim, as long as they don’t intermarry. Especially in healthcare, Jews and Muslims work (or are sick) side-by-side. Empathy with Gay people is high but there is no marriage equality (yet).

Boredom is a rare commodity here, reserved for jobs and army duty. Everything’s always in flux. Rules change while you study them. (Nobody knows them anyway.) Just when you thought you knew Israel, you meet a different era, area, or community where everything is different.

You’ll have less time, less money, less comfort. But, meanwhile, the best meaningful life. You’ll find like-minded people everywhere — and people who disagree with you 24/7. You will have lots to love and laugh about — and cry about. Entitlement works differently here (it mostly doesn’t). But Shabbat is nowhere sweeter. Seeing the Jewish People fully coming alive in front of your eyes is something you will never take for granted.

In every group, place, community, you’ll find amazing and horrible people. In Hebrew: Yesh veyesh. And some amazing people can be horrible on certain subjects, and vice versa.

Israel has crime, prostitution, hatred, stupidity, social injustice, etc. We have sexism and racism and classism, and abuse of the elderly. Some awareness may be better here (sexism, racism, corona), while on other subjects, it could be less (environment). Yet, pockets of ignorance you could find everywhere, and many people think in stereotypes and don’t even know it. Heaven and perfection are not of this world. But, when you know all that and have said adieu to the country that claimed to be yours for so long, then, do come and live here happily ever after.

About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1