Zionism 2.0

Thinking back to Israel education growing up, the curriculum taught about how Zionism represented a longing for the establishment of a home for the Jewish people in Israel. Once that goal had been reached, Zionism became about building the Jewish state. Circa 1948, immigrants from around the world came to Israel, started planting trees, draining swamps and establishing towns and cities. As history progressed, Zionism became about the kibbutz movement, picking oranges and planting the seeds for future generations in our homeland.

Today’s Zionism is a little different. It is about being part of the start-up nation. There is nothing quite like fulfilling an aliyah dream by coming to Israel and joining a start-up or high-tech company, and being part of turning Israel into a better, stronger global tech power.

In the last month, as many as six different Israeli start-ups went public, with a total value of more than $37 billion. There are countless angel investors looking to Israel, and more and more Israeli companies are turning into Unicorns, a term coined in 2013 to describe start-ups with a value exceeding $1 billion.

Recent research published in Globes, a leading Israeli financial publication, found that tech companies were going above and beyond to fill vacant jobs requiring native English speakers. One company even went as far as putting up billboards on the Ayalon, Tel Aviv’s main highway, advertising jobs in English. There has never been a better time to be part of the start-up nation. With the economy almost back at full capacity after the successful vaccine rollout in Israel, companies are looking to fill these positions locally in order to keep these jobs in Israel.

There is a huge need for global professionals to be a part of these companies with a focus on English as their mother tongue, and this is where the olim (immigrants) community is the perfect answer. Companies are looking for sales development representatives, account executives, customer success managers and other sales professionals. Even people with little experience can receive on-the-job training or enroll in courses to scale up their skills in order to fill the open positions.

Recently, Nefesh B’Nefesh partnered with SalesClass, a company focused on helping immigrants pivot their careers and acquire the skills needed to enter the high-tech world. Even more surprisingly, some people don’t even need this pivot. With the rise of telemedicine and ed tech, even physical therapists, musicians and teachers are making their way into the tech world based on years of experience in their respective fields.

Olim not only offer their native language, but also the experience of working in companies overseas, which helps add a global element to the companies they join, infusing a diverse point of view, an international standard of service as well as an understanding of the culture of the countries they originated from – adding comprehensive cultural value to the companies they join.

These opportunities offer good benefits, high salaries and work environments that meet the expectations of many olim who are often hesitant about the move. The time is now; there are more jobs than the candidates can fill, and the possibilities are endless.

At the end of the day, any job that someone chooses to pursue in Israel will ultimately help boost the local economy, and each immigrant is fulfilling their part to build and develop the State of Israel. Anyone’s dream of aliyah should not be held back by the assumption that there is a lack of professional opportunity. There are so many options available, all one needs to do is open their mind and submit their resume.