Welcome to Israel

My aliyah first became real for me when I went grocery shopping. The supermarket looked just like the one back home: bright lights, wide aisles, shelves stocked with Israeli versions of American products. But then I started looking for something ordinary that apparently did not exist in Israel: solid white tuna.

Sure, there’s chunk light tuna, in oil or in water. You can even find familiar American brands. But good luck if you’re looking for some good old white albacore.

Welcome to Israel.

 

Toto, I Don’t Think We’re in Teaneck Anymore

Yes, Israel is different. It’s a different culture, with different food, different bureaucracy and different people whose families came from just about everywhere. There are definitely more Jews here. (And yes, they’re different, too.)

That alone changes the rhythm of life. Friday afternoon feels different. The country slows down for Shabbat. Supermarkets become slightly frantic before holidays. Your bus driver may wish you a Shabbat shalom. Jewish holidays aren’t something your employer accommodates. They’re on the national calendar.

 

Your House Probably Shrunk

Then there is housing.

American olim sometimes arrive with expectations formed by suburban American life: large kitchens, generous closets, basements, garages and enough storage space to keep appliances nobody has used since 1997.

Israeli apartments tend to be smaller. Most of them don’t have decent storage. Or closets! Electric outlets are halfway up the wall instead of near the baseboards. If you bring the contents of a three-bedroom American house into a three-bedroom Israeli apartment, you may discover that your lift has arrived, but your walls have not expanded to accommodate it.

The solution isn’t necessarily a bigger apartment, but less stuff, which is not a bad solution.

 

To Every Fruit There Is a Season

Food is another adjustment. Instead of assuming that every fruit should be available year-round, you begin noticing seasons. Oranges arrive. Then come strawberries, cherries and watermelons. And when something is in season, Israelis consume it as though the government has announced that it will disappear forever on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, you discover Israeli cheeses, breads, salads, spices, pastries and produce you may never have paid attention to before. You may still miss your favorite American cereal, but you’ll survive. And yes, they always have bananas.

 

There’s Still Plenty of American Flavor

Aliyah doesn’t mean you have to renounce your former life at Ben Gurion Airport. Israel has plenty of American flavor. There are English-speaking communities, American-style restaurants, imported foods, English-language cultural events, sports broadcasts and stores catering specifically to Anglo tastes. Online shopping has made the world considerably smaller. (Amazon delivers here, but it takes longer.) And there are enough Americans here who speak English if you really want to.

Thanksgiving dinners happen (often on Shabbat night). Super Bowl parties happen. American barbecues happen. People even argue about American politics here, because apparently aliyah cannot cure everything. So yes, you can keep pieces of your American life.

The problem begins when you expect Israel to reproduce it.

 

‘Better Than America?’

Is Israel better than America? Sometimes. Israel does offer things that America does not: extraordinary community connections, children growing up surrounded by Jewish history and culture and the intimacy of a small country where strangers will simultaneously criticize your parenting and help you carry your stroller up the stairs. But Israel also has traffic, bureaucracy, high prices, small apartments, political arguments, intolerance and people who regard standing in line as more of a philosophical suggestion than a rule – among other faults.

Every country has advantages and flaws. too. The goal of aliyah shouldn’t be convincing yourself that everything Israeli is wonderful and everything American was terrible. That isn’t realistic—and it isn’t necessary. The better question is: Where can I build the life that matters most to me?

 

Don’t Recreate. Rebuild!

Instead of asking, “How can I recreate my American life in Israel?” ask: “How can I create a good Israeli life that still includes the parts of my American identity that matter to me?” Keep Thanksgiving. Keep MLB, NFL, NBA and even NHL. (And remember to open a VPN account for your computer!) Bring your favorite recipes. Bring the traditions that mean something to you, but leave some room for something new.

Your Israeli life doesn’t have to be a copy of your American one. It probably shouldn’t be. It will be smaller in some ways, bigger in others, occasionally more frustrating and sometimes wonderfully surprising. Ultimately, the goal isn’t to prove that Israel is better than America. The goal is to find a place where you can live your best life. So make Israel work for you. Because aliyah isn’t about recreating the life you left behind. It’s about building the life you came here to live.

And learning to live with chunk light tuna.

Olim Paveway can’t guarantee that your favorite American product will be on the supermarket shelf, make your Israeli apartment bigger or convince every Israeli service technician that “between 8 and 12” is not actually an appointment time. But we can help you navigate the differences, find the resources you need, solve problems that can be solved and adjust to the ones that can’t.

Visit the Paveway site at https://olimpaveway.com and click on the Olim Navigator™ link to create a personal olim profile and streamline your aliyah process.