Aliyah-FAQ

AKA: "How to give your life added meaning, while supporting psychiatric professionals."

Plan for the worst, and pray for the best
Rabbi Yisroel Cohen

Keep laughing, your sanity is at risk
DovBer Eliyahu Finkel

Are we having fun yet?
Ron Aaron

NOTE: The contents of this page are undergoing constant update; please check back every few days for new material.

CAUTION: You might get discouraged from reading this - please don't be! Things will work out, somehow...
If you are looking for my diverey torah, they are over here.

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Introduction

Making "aliyah" (עליה - 'ascending', specifically to Israel) is one of the most important actions you, as a Jew, can take. See my "Aliyah" essay for some reasons why I think that is true.

It is also a major change, and has repercussions in every aspect of your life. Therefore, one should plan for it and prepare oneself as much as possible. This page is an attempt to help give information from the practical perspective of one family which is undergoing this change.

Preparation, Persperation and Panic

Saying "you need to be prepared" is an understatement. In order to successfully "make aliyah", you will first of all have to convince the "Jewish Agency", AKA the "Sochnut", AKA the "Israel Center", that you are permitted to get citizenship under the Israeli "Law of Return". You will need to ensure that all of your paperwork is 100% complete, that you have documents to back up your claims. You may need to provide proof of medical condition. You will need to deal with your hometown government. You will need to deal with family and friends who may oppose your move. You will have to deal with moving your household, with finding employment... and a thousand other things which "normal people" don't have to worry about at all.

Above all else: you have to maintain your sense of humor, and know why you are making aliyah. You will have to have a firm desire to carry through, because - believe me - the obstacles are not insignificant.

Israel is a modern country which inherits from both the former British Empire and the former Ottoman Empire. From the British, the Israeli Government inherits a deep and abiding love of bureaucracy. From the Ottoman Turks, an infuriating indolence. If you think the US (or wherever you are from) has red-tape, just wait! Your patience will be tried over and over, but if you "hang in there" you will attain your goal ... just keep the goal in mind!

In order to make aliyah, you will need:

• proof of Judaism (parent's ketuba; conversion certificate; affidavit from a Rabbi)
• birth certificates for the adults
• passports (and you will need to make a detailed list of all trips to Israel, with copies of the appropriate passport pages with visa stamps)
• completely fill out the Sochnut's paperwork

In our case, I have Israeli citizenship already. It turns out that this makes my children Israeli citizens automatically, so we also needed to:

• apply to "Misrad Hapenim" for Israeli citizenship numbers and
• get Israeli travel documents for the children

What we were not told by anyone, but apparently "everyone knows", is that as a returning resident I had to pay Bituach Leumi six months in advance in order to receive medical coverage upon arrival. Because I did not (and because no one informed me I had to), I must wait 12 months before I can join a kupat cholim. Beware, don't let this happen to you! Ron 06:31, 9 September 2007 (EDT)

Since my wife and I had married in the USA, and had not registered our marriage in Israel, we also had to:

• apply to "Misrad Hapenim" to get our marriage registered

The Sochnut

Abandon hope, all ye who enter here...

The "Sochnut", or "Jewish Agency" is the central agency you will be dealing with as you go through the aliyah process. They are the ones who approve or disapprove your status as an "oleh" (immigrant).

I was quite unprepared for the lackadaisical manner in which they conduct business. After all, the Israeli government has recently made lots of noise about how important aliyah from North America is. I expected the Sochnut to be somewhat efficient, or at least to have ready answers. Alas, my expectations were apparently too high.

The first thing you must do, even before you fill out any paperwork, is get your documents in order. I cannot stress this enough. If you file before your documents are ready, you will have to wait for the Sochnut to determine the documents are not prepared. By the time they get back to you to let you know what you are missing, another precious week or two or three has elapsed. Don't let this happen to you!

You need to get:

• Passport photos for everyone in your party. Get at least six photos, you will need them
• An official (certified) birth certificate for everyone in your party.
• Once you have that, send it off to the appropriate authority to get an "Apostille" for it. Do not think you can skip this step. Official documents without an apostille will not be accepted.
• Official copies of:

• civil marriage and divorce documents (with apostille)
• religious marriage and divorce documents
• conversion certificates

• Parent's ketubot, if you can, or:
• Letter from a Rabbi asserting your Jewishness and that of your mother

N.B.: The second shelichah we have been working with is far more efficient and organized than the first, and does genuinely want to help. She has been quite effective.

Nefesh B'Nefesh

But they that wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.

The organization Nefesh B'Nefesh is a private entity which works with the Sochnut. Its mission is to help encourage and support North American aliyah (as well as from England, apparently). They organize "aliyah flights", where most of the passengers are making aliyah, and the other passengers are officials from the various Israeli governmental agencies. The idea is that when you land in Israel, your official paperwork is mostly done and you can concentrate on other things.

You need to apply for their assistance, and the application is separate from (but related to) the Sochnut's paperwork. They offer two levels of assistance: the first includes financial assistance in addition to whatever the Sochnut provides; the second is everything but the financial assistance.

Besides this, their web site has a huge amount of helpful information, and it is updated quite often. Their staff are friendly, and available to answer questions about anything related to aliyah, even if you are not otherwise using their services. I highly recommend contacting them.

Your local Rabbi

In order to prove you are Jewish, you may need a letter from a Rabbi who knows you, and can vouch for you. Being a regular at synagogue is helpful in this regard; but what if you aren't, or never attend anywhere? How can you prove you are Jewish? Well, in such a case you would have to show that your parents were Jewish (by means of their ketubah). If you can't provide that or any other documentation, I don't know what you would be able to do... the Law of Return requires one have at least one grandparent be Jewish, and the Sochnut requires some sort of proof.

Your parents

Your parents will be able to give you a copy of their ketubah, if necessary for providing proof of your Jewishness. However, they may or may not be happy about it. In our case, my mother is quite unhappy about our impending move, whereas my wife's parents are neutral about it. You will need to think about how to present your decision to move to what many consider a "dangerous place" in a way that ameliorates their fears.

Our Aliyah diary

• 14 JUN 2006 - Sent in completed forms and check to the Sochnut
• 10 JUL 2006 - Shelichah from the Sochnut speaks to me (phone interview). She informs me that since I have Israeli citizenship, my daughters are Israeli citizens - so I need to contact the consulate and get identity numbers for my daughters, before the "tik" can continue processing.
• 10 JUL 2006 - Contact the consulate via email, they let me know what forms to fill out. I fill them out and start the process...
• 05 SEP 2006 - Attempt to contact consulate and find out why I don't yet have any documents from them.
• 09 NOV 2006 - Shelichah informs me she will open my "tik" even though I haven't yet got the numbers she needs; she asks for several documents, which I send her via email.
• 13 DEC 2006 - Finally receive the documents from the consulate. Note that it took five months!
• 14 DEC 2006 - Inform Shelichah about the numbers, and she tells me she will start processing our "tik"
• 18 DEC 2006 - Ask Shelichah what our status is (no answer).
• 20 DEC 2006 - Our check to the Sochnut was cashed
• 08 JAN 2007 - Shelichah asks what we were able to settle with the consulate (note I already informed her three weeks ago).
• 16 JAN 2007 - There is now a brand-new Shelichah, who informs me she does not have all the documents I sent in November. Why she waited until now to inform me is unclear. I send all 34 pages via fax, and confirm she received them.
• 18 JAN 2007 - Shelichah informs me she needs yet other documents (which I don't have). In this case, she needs my birth certificate (with apostille) and that of my wife (from Argentina), as well. In addition, the "travel log" was not filled out correctly and I need to redo it. Why it took until now to tell me that, when we submitted the travel log in June, is again a mystery.
• 30 JAN 2007 - After several email queries, a fax and a phone call, the Shelichah informs us that we do indeed need the documents she asked us for, and wishes us "good luck". I wonder at the import of that last word (בהצלחה)
• 05 FEB 2007 - My brother-in-law faxed my wife's Argentine birth certificate with "apostille", and I faxed it to the shelicha. She said she can now send our tik to Israel for final approval, and we should have an answer within a few weeks. Yeah!
• 21 MAR 2007 - In response to an email I sent the shelicha, asking for an update - she informs me she got a decision last week but didn't want to tell me so I wouldn't get upset (because she had already appealed the decision). Apparently, they decided we would be "Olim with reduced benefits", meaning we would basically get nothing - no "absorption basket", no flight to Israel, nothing. She says the appeal is scheduled for Monday, and I should know Tuesday.
• 27 MAR 2007 - The shelicha informs us we have been approved as an "Oleh family" (משפחת עולים), with full rights! We are ecstatic, but now the hard work begins.

• Send out emails to NBN and the aliyah bekehilah coordinator in Maaleh Adumim, to inform them that we are approved and need to get things moving quickly.
• Got estimate from movers. It turns out less than I was expecting, which is a good thing

• 28 MAR 2007 - Have our realtor look at our house and start getting it ready to be put on the market.
• 03 MAY 2007 - Informed of our NBN flight (30 July, our first choice!). Now we need to get into gear.
• 05 MAY 2007 - Put house on market
• 07 MAY 2007 - Send request for "aliyah visa" to the Consulate in San Francisco, after having received the paperwork from the Sochnut. Why they require four original duplicate forms instead of four copies of one original, is a good question.
• 08 JUN 2007 - Received passport with visa
• 10 JUN 2007 - Emailed NBN passport page w/ visa
• 31 JUL 2007 - We land in Israel! The flight was full of immigrants, and there was a welcoming ceremony at the airport which was truly emotional.
• 31 JUL 2007 - We arrive at our rented house, after being shuttled in an overstuffed cab in the oppressive heat for an hour. The house proves to be absolutely unprepared for us - dirty, leaking air conditioning and plumbing, and abysmally empty (no closets at all, which is normal for rented places here). After so many hours of flight and so much preparation, we were not prepared to see the place in such a condition.
• AUGUST 2007 - We spend almost all our spare time in one or another government office. The Sochnut, the Misrad Hapenim, NBN and Bituach Leumi all messed up our documents in one way or another. It has taken almost a full month to get things sorted out. B"H, our lift arrived and so we at least have our stuff.