Aliyah

Well, I finally did it. I made Aliyah, I am an Israeli now.

It was much sooner than I thought I would- I had planned to in September, but unfortunately MASA-Tlalim Project 10 Arad was canceled, and I was dropped from the program the day my visa expired.

With no other recourse to legally stay in Israel, and since I was going to make Aliyah anyways, I opted to do it early.

Anyway, the process wasn't so bad. I did all the paperwork in Hungary while I visited family with my girlfriend (I had planned on visiting them between programs, I was to do a second one had not the first been canceled and I dropped). That trip was particularly nice- and the food excellent as always. I swear, if you want to try the best quality food on Earth, do so in Hungary. The name is fitting.

I was assigned a handler, and I barrelled ahead with aliyah. For most this is a process that takes months, sometimes years, but I heckled and hounded, and with the help of my family also doing the same, we managed to shorten the process down to just four weeks.

So, in a way, this blog post is as much about my experiences with the process, as it is what you can expect.

First of course you need to submit your paperwork. I'll provide a link in the post later when I have more time.

Second you need to stay in constant contact with your handler for your aliyah process. They are godsends, and if you do not tap that resource in all likelihood you risk extending the time it takes to make aliyah.

Third, you must go to your appointments. If you are lucky, you will be given appointments within 5 days of being told you have an appointment for aliyah interview, or other services from nefesh b'nefesh. But if you miss this appointment it can take months to get another. That's the worst case, but why risk it?

Fourth- there is an 8 step process after aliyah; receiving your identification card, and then opening a bank account in Israel, then receiving another identification card, opening your national insurance account, ulpan, obtaining a driver's license and figuring out where to work or if you are going to school.

Five- this is where I'm at. Organizing everything so I can do an ulpan, go to school, and work. As someone who speaks Hebrew poorly, an ulpan is necessary for me. Unless you speak Russian in Israel, you need Hebrew or finding a job is next to impossible.

The process really takes as long as you want. Most can do it at a leisurely place back home in their respective countries, but I had only two options when I re-entered Israel from Hungary; either do Aliyah, or go home. And I have a life here.

After going to Jerusalem and officially completing and acquiring my status as an Israeli citizen, my girlfriend Karin took me to Tel Aviv to meet her family. We visited the old British train station there, she told me about her old stomping grounds in the area, where she went to school, where she wants to go to school, and then headed over to the shuuk which was remarkably clean.

She bought candy and we took photos near Jaffo by the beach until we noticed we were covered in some kind of tiny bugs, like sea gnats or something. So itchy, we left.

I later met her family and we ate out where they treated me to an entrecote steak and potato. What was particularly amusing, and really reflective of the Israeli approach to things was that to celebrate me becoming Israeli, they asked for a candle, kind of like a birthday. None of us would have room for desert, so instead they stuck a firework on top of the baked potato and lit it.

Now that was cool.

If you are going to make aliyah, or are making aliyah, try not to stress. It's possible to do this process in as a little a month, but really go at the speed you are comfortable. I have been in Israel for the last 8 months, so I've had time to sort through this. That's what you have to do when it comes to emigrating; you have to have patience even as you work hard to shorten the time you need that patience for.

There will be hardships; my name is Alexander Friedrich Borschel. That's a Macedonian name followed by a German followed by an ancient Dutch name. You try translating it into Hebrew accurately. So I've been called a lot of different things- so you need to really take care to get your name translated accurately.

Additionally, to complicate things on my end, I was born in Germany on an American military base- making me a naturalized American citizen, who as a Jew, can claim citizenship in Israel or because I was born in Germany (still divided at the time, mind you). But this is confusing on documentation, because it says I was born in Germany but am a US born citizen.

Anyhow, best of luck if you are making aliyah. I'll add to this later, so flesh out more details about things that might come up, and ways you can make your own life easier. And pictures, can't forget the pictures.

Photo of Sunrise over the Dead Sea I took 6/3/2016