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! 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 in Israel 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 for 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

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

My 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.