First of all, if you're still in the States (or your home country, wherever it may be), you should contact your local Jewish Agency For Israel, you can find them easily online, and get your Aliyah packet. In it, includes all the rules about making Aliyah, and all the benefits a new immigrant receives upon his arrival to Israel, but the most important thing is paperwork you need to fill out. This doesn't happen overnight. There is a lot information that you need to provide, and it's basically an application for immigration, which then gets sent to Israel, and it can take up to 6 months to receive an answer. I got my answer within 2 months. Regardless, you should be ready to set aside a few months for the process. From the moment I first got my application, filled it out, got my answer and prepared myself in general for moving to Israel, 15 months had passed. Also, the Jewish Agency, as I recall, is not operational during hours that most Americans are accustomed to, they operate as if they're in Israel, and since they're apart of the Israeli government, it makes sense. Israeli government offices are open to the public from 8am to 12pm, Sunday through Thursday. Some branches may even be closed on Sunday, since it is a non working day in the States. So make sure you manage your time!
Next important thing to consider. The army, or Israel Defence Forces (IDF). By law, every Israeli citizen must enlist to the armed forces at the age of 18 and is required to serve for 2 or 3 years, depending on your sex (female or male, respectively). When I made Aliyah in July of '04, the law regarding new immigrants stated that females over the age of 18 and males over the age of 35 can choose whether or not to enlist. Two months later, the law changed. Female immigrants must be over the age of 21 in order to choose if they want to serve. I'm not an expert on Israeli laws, but this is something you should look into if you're serious about coming to Israel.
Okay, so you've been accepted for immigration to Israel, you've made your decision about the army, and you're on your way to Israel! Yay!! Now, once you get here, you'll have two choices. You can stay in what they call an Absorption Center (or Merkaz Klita in Hebrew) which is kind of like living in a dormitory. It's a bunch of small apartments, and they assign you to a room with roommates (if you're alone, if you come with your family, you get your own apartment) and the rent is very very cheap, in fact the monthly stipend the government gives you (one of the benefits I mentioned earlier) should cover most or all of the rent. Or you can find your own accommodations, e.g. hotel, hostel, friends/family (if you have them here) until you find yourself an apartment. I was unaware that the Merkaz Klita was available to me, and ended up staying in a hotel for a week with my mom until we found an apartment.
Next, you're going to have to get an ID card, basic health insurance (by law, every citizen must have the most basic type of health insurance available), a bank account (so the government can send you your monthly stipend), and a cell phone (don't bother with a land line, more than likely you'll be spending more time outside your home anyway, and for some reason Israelis never leave voice mails). Now, this all sounds pretty easy, but the bureaucratic system in Israel is pretty slow. Like I said before, government offices are only open from 8am-12pm, Sun-Thurs. GO EARLY! You'll have to go to the Misrad HaPnim to get your ID card, and you can't do anything else without it, so do that first! Then, get your bank account started, once you have your bank account, I suggest you get a cell phone next, then the health insurance. Mostly everything in Israel is set up on an automatic payment, meaning your monthly bills are taken directly from your bank account for things such as cell phones, or whatever type of service that sends a monthly bill. If you don't set this up, you'll get your bill in the mail and you'll either have to wait in line at your bank or the post office (which can take up to an hour or more) to pay it. You cannot simply write a check and send it in the mail. It took me nearly 2 months to get those 4 things accomplished (well actually 5, I went to get my driver's license too, which takes place at the Misrad HaRishooie), I went about things in a different order than I just mentioned and ended up wasting so much time because I didn't have exactly what I needed. I was also really jet lagged for the first week, so it was nearly impossible for me to get anywhere before noon. The following is a list of the major banks, cell phone companies, and health insurance agencies in Israel.
Banks
- Bank HaPoalim
- Bank Leumi
- Bank Mercantile
Cell Phone
- Orange
- Pelephone
- Cellcom
Health Insurance
- Maccabi
- Clalit
- Leumit
The last important thing that any person who wants to move to Israel should know, concerns learning Hebrew. I suggest that you begin Hebrew lessons (Ulpan) as soon as possible. There are at least two types of Ulpan (that I know of, there are probably more), one is a three month long program, and the other is 5 months long. I did the 5 month program. It was 5 days a week, from 8am-1pm. At the end of the program, if you have at least 80% attendance, and you pass the final exam (which isn't difficult, they have an excellent system for teaching new immigrants Hebrew) you'll receive a certificate of completion, without it, you may have a difficult time getting a job or getting accepted to educational institutions.
If you plan on studying in Israel, you'll need to contact the Jewish Agency for Israel, in the city of where you want to study in order to get your scholarship. You may have to be accepted to a school first, I can't remember exactly in which order I did it, applying to school first or registering as an immigrant student first.
I hope my experiences with making Aliyah are helpful, and good luck!
