G-d Bless Our BDS Movement!

My wife and I are in love. We have been living in paradise for the past 9 years and our dream is about to come true.

We are closing in on a deal to buy our portion of the Land of Israel. A beautiful 3-bedroom apartment up north. It didn’t matter that we had no idea how we were going to finance this, we were determined to make it happen.

After speaking to realtors, bankers, lawyers, and friends who made purchases in similar situations, we found out that in Israel, all you need is determination to make anything happen . . . along with some imagination and resourcefulness.

We got a taste for deal making and we like it. We got a whiff of business in Israel and we are hooked. Our new dream now is to pay off our mortgage, and invest in another property, a local business – probably both! We would love to do this from income at work, saving up, a side business, or whatever, G-d Willing, Hashem blesses us with.

We decided that we have absolutely no desire whatsoever to invest a dollar, euro, even grush in anything outside the Land of Israel. There are way too many opportunities here and building prosperity is far too exciting.

This is why we are passionate about the new BDS movement:

Business
Development
Service

Business. Anyone can invest in any type of Israeli venture, and make out really well. There are startups galore. Go to OurCrowd and you pool your money with lots of others to provide venture capital for new business. It was this type of financing that led to the creation of Mobileye, a Jerusalem based company that was acquired by Intel for over $15 billion.

You can also take businesses that have scaled up and invest. You can get a job at a small Israeli company and do everything you can to help them become a large Israeli company. I have been interviewed by so many Heads of Marketing half my age who made it to the top because they were one of the first 10 employees at the company.

I know plenty of Angloim, or Israelis who grew up in English speaking countries, come here will very little money, work for an aspiring company, make it to the top, and now have exit options worth millions. There is such a thing called the self-made, Anglo-Israeli millionaire. Want to know a secret? Most of the people I met who pulled this off are women!

Opportunity abounds for anyone willing to put in the effort.

There is also the opportunity to invest a few hours a day in a side business along with a full-time job. Over months, even years, it can grow into your next opportunity.

Development. Israeli real estate is a high growth market. We are a small country with the largest population growth in the civilized world. Half of our small country is desert. That leaves a very small area of land to produce a huge amount of housing. The law of supply and demand tell you everything you need to know about Israeli home values.

People buy plots of land to see them be bought by developers for 10 times the amount. Others buy apartments and rent them out, or sell them outright. Some join investment groups.

We are building high speed railroads connecting the periphery to the center, boosting the values of homes everywhere. Hi-tech centers are blossoming in Jerusalem, Yokneam up north, Herzilya, and all over the country. Sleeper towns are quickly becoming suburbs of hi-tech employment centers.

Once upon a time settlement of the land required sweat and sacrifice. Today it requires risk and return.

Service. We are a capitalist economy with a large social net. We don’t let people go homeless. We don’t let people get sick without help. Our health care system covers everyone and we have the 9^th longest life expectancy on earth.

We believe in helping the poor, the sick, people with special needs, those who want to excel in life but lack the resources, co-existence with our Arab neighbors, preserving the natural beauty of our Land, and more. NGOs need as much funding from both the private and public sector to extend the work of the government and make us stronger. This is not charity – even if it is tax deductible. It is an investment in the heart of our nation.

Service is also service to G-d and to our fellow Jew. Supporting outreach binds us closer to who we are and our national mission on this earth. Investment in education enables us to feel comfortable as Jews, and happy in our own flesh. There is no greater blessing than increasing Torah, and any investment in this critical venture will bring great returns in this world, and the Next World. This isn’t charity. It’s an investment in the soul of our nation.

My wife and I are proud to be members of the Israel BDS Movement. G-d Willing, all our money will go to our beloved country, and in shining even brighter the light unto the world.

David Ben Horin made Aliyah from New York in 2009. He developed www.abetterlifeinisrael.com, a 5-hour, 20-video series which gives you day to day guidance on How to Enjoy a Better Life in Israel.

Image credits: First Image: 123rf.com Mikhail Mishcenko , Second Image: 123rf.com wrangel