Transcript [00:06] Hi everyone, welcome. We're just going [00:07] to wait for a few more people to get on [00:09] and then we'll jump into the [00:10] presentation. Thank you for your [00:12] punctuality. [01:38] Great. Let's get started. Um, hi [01:40] everyone. Thank you for joining us. [01:41] Also, sorry for the confusion about the [01:43] time change. Uh, my name is David Ratz [01:45] and I'm the virtual events coordinator [01:47] for Nefish Benefish. Today's topic is [01:49] going to be the first steps of Aliyah [01:51] planning and we're going to hear from [01:52] our presenter Ami Braun who will cover [01:54] all the first steps for Aliyia. Uh today [01:56] we're joined by our more amazing nephesh [01:58] benef staff mind ze and mala. Please [02:00] note that this webinar will be recorded [02:02] and the presentation will be about 40 [02:04] minutes. Uh there will be time after the [02:06] presentation for Q&A and keep in mind [02:07] that AMI will likely address many of [02:09] your questions during the presentation. [02:10] Also keep in mind that there's about [02:12] five of us and right now uh almost 300 [02:15] of you. So uh your patience is greatly [02:18] appreciated. Um, also a reminder that [02:20] this webinar will be posted on the Neesh [02:23] BFE YouTube probably tomorrow and you'll [02:25] receive a follow-up email with all of [02:27] the links that Ammy is mentioning. Um, [02:29] and so with that, I'm going to pass it [02:31] over to Amy. [02:32] >> Thank you, David. And good afternoon to [02:35] everybody. Thank you so much for joining [02:37] us today. Today we're going to be [02:39] talking about first steps of aliyah [02:41] planning. But first of all, who am I? [02:44] Said my name is Amy Brun, Aliyah adviser [02:46] at Nephesh. I'm an Ole Yashan, a veteran [02:49] Ole from the United States. I made [02:51] aliyah with my family when I was a [02:53] little kid. Made aliyah from the United [02:54] States back in 1983 and have since spent [02:58] my entire life in Israel. I'm married [03:00] with four uh with four little kids and I [03:02] live outside of the Yu Shalam area and [03:05] very happy that you're here to start [03:07] your aliyah journey with me. And as [03:09] we're making our way through, okay, um [03:14] please take into consideration that I'm [03:16] going to be talking for about 20 minutes [03:19] more or less about different uh various [03:21] things that are related to the first [03:23] steps of aliyah as I'm going through [03:25] different things and different topics [03:27] and different aliyah related variables. [03:29] Please feel free um to chat um questions [03:33] um into the chat box. As David said, [03:35] there are other aliyah advisors over [03:37] here that will be answering your [03:38] questions. And also, as mentioned, I [03:40] will be bringing up different links um [03:42] different links that are connected to [03:44] aliyah related topics, of course, that [03:46] we put into the chat. And at the end, [03:48] we're going to have an open Q&A with [03:49] David and myself trying to answer as [03:52] many questions as possible. And as I'm [03:54] saying that, you might be already [03:56] looking at what we're going to be [03:57] talking about today. Today, we're going [03:59] to be talking about the planning. Okay? [04:01] A lot of times when you are thinking [04:03] about your first steps of aliyah, it may [04:05] be slightly overwhelming. Where should I [04:07] start? What is the first thing that I [04:09] should think about? What are the [04:11] questions that I should ask? What are [04:12] the things should I that I should be [04:14] moving forward with and looking into? [04:16] And that is what we're talking about [04:17] over here in the planning. Okay, there's [04:20] also the process itself and that will be [04:23] a webinar that will be taking place next [04:25] week on Sunday and I also encourage you [04:28] to be on that. In the meantime though, [04:31] what are we going to be talking about [04:33] today? So, today we're going to be [04:35] really skimming um over a few of these [04:38] first of these variables and things that [04:41] you should be first thinking about um [04:43] and looking into when I'm talking about [04:45] making aliyah um community. Which [04:48] community should I choose? How do I [04:50] choose? How do I look into this? What [04:52] are the important things to look into [04:54] when I'm thinking of a community? [04:56] Education for your children. So [04:57] important. I'm saying this as an abba of [05:00] four little children. The eldest, my [05:01] eldest is six. And of course, when we [05:03] have little children, that is the center [05:05] or one of the most important variables. [05:07] And how do we choose a school? How does [05:09] it work? How does the system work? Um, [05:12] finances, of course, we need to make [05:14] sure we're on a stable financial ground [05:17] when making aliyah. The health care [05:19] system in Israel is very different than [05:20] that in North America. How does that [05:22] work? Hebrew. We'll get to that one in a [05:24] second, of course. Now, look, each one [05:27] of these topics is a whole it's a there [05:30] are full-on webinars on each one of [05:32] these. There they're a whole world in is [05:34] of themselves. Now, I'm going to be just [05:36] skimming along each one of these topics. [05:38] I very very much want to encourage you. [05:40] This is just a bit of a taste, tip of [05:43] the iceberg to give you, you know, [05:45] really what to start thinking about when [05:46] thinking of aliyah. And after I skim [05:49] about these different variables that I [05:51] just mentioned about aliyah, I want you, [05:53] I encourage you to look on the Nephesh [05:55] Benesh YouTube channel, you're going to [05:57] find webinars on these topics and so [06:00] many more on many many aliyah related [06:02] topics. If you do NBN, if you Google uh [06:06] in the search engine NBN and put in [06:08] communities, education or many of the [06:10] aliyah related topics, you'll find [06:12] indepth um information on these [06:16] different aliyah related topics. This is [06:17] just a teaser to get you thinking um [06:21] about what what what to think about when [06:22] making aliyah Hebrew. I want to start [06:25] with that one over there because it's [06:27] the language of the land. If I would if [06:29] I could, I'd put on the music and the [06:31] music the in the background the song [06:33] called the the Hebrew man. Um that EU [06:37] Banana sings. Um cuz it is so important. [06:40] Everything you do in Israel is in Hebrew [06:42] because that's the daily language. This [06:44] morning I went and got the flu shot. All [06:46] right. at my local Koopa Healthcare. [06:49] We'll talk about how that system works. [06:50] I spoke to them in Hebrew. I had to get [06:52] into my daughter's school this morning [06:54] cuz I ran a short session in my [06:55] daughter's classroom. The security guard [06:57] stopped me at the entrance and was [06:58] asking me, "What are you doing here?" [07:00] Needed, of course, Hebrew for that. [07:02] Trying to sell my car, getting on the [07:03] phone, talking to people in Hebrew. You [07:05] get the idea. Working on your Hebrew is [07:08] so important, and there are so many ways [07:11] to do it. First of all, there are online [07:13] ulans such as Cafe and Hebrew Connect. [07:16] um through nephesh benefish and it's [07:18] also reading you know newspapers in [07:21] Hebrew light hebrew talking to friends [07:24] music on YouTube watching shows in [07:26] Hebrew that helps so much from helping [07:30] with your kids to learn Hebrew to you [07:32] yourselves as adults learning Hebrew and [07:34] getting in as much as you can before you [07:36] make aliyah and of course also after [07:38] your aliyah but at this point right now [07:40] we're still at the before point. [07:41] [snorts] [07:42] So let's now jump in. And when we talk [07:46] about the different variables of aliyah, [07:48] we briefly spoke about Hebrew and now I [07:50] want to speak about communities. And you [07:52] might be saying, "Wow, I'm moving to [07:54] Israel. I don't even know where to [07:56] start." Or maybe you do have where to [07:57] start. And you do have some ideas and [07:59] you're thinking, "What are the important [08:01] variables to think about when choosing [08:03] where to live in Israel?" So here are a [08:06] few um points to ponder. First of all, [08:09] affordability. Of course, real estate is [08:12] expensive. You have city versus town. As [08:16] a general rule, the cities will be more [08:18] expensive. When you look at real estate [08:20] in Tel Aviv, Italia, [08:24] okay, talking about the cities over [08:25] here, Modí, they will more off more of [08:28] more often uh be more expensive than [08:32] living in small isim in small towns that [08:34] are maybe in the more peripheral areas [08:37] of Israel. Want to take that into [08:39] consideration. In addition to that um [08:43] there are areas that are more they have [08:45] more Anglo living over there. Anglo are [08:47] olim from North America. That is a term [08:49] that Israelis use a lot of times. Ang [08:51] that we use in Israel a lot of times. [08:52] Anglo meaning olim from North America. [08:55] When you have a gathering or a center of [08:57] Anglo in different areas and in [09:00] different cities and towns that also [09:02] affects the cost and the cost goes up. [09:05] So that is one thing um that it's [09:07] definitely one thing to look into. [09:09] Another variable to look into when [09:11] you're looking at a community is where [09:12] is it located on a topographical and [09:15] climate level because the topography and [09:18] the climate around Israel changes [09:20] dramatically depending on where you're [09:22] living. So let's say if you want to live [09:23] in the coastal plains Tel Aviv, go north [09:26] from there, Tel Aviv, south from there. [09:28] [snorts] Um it'll be flat, it'll be [09:30] warm, it'll be humid. You want to live [09:32] in the more mountainous region. All [09:34] right, the temperature can change [09:36] slightly. It might be a little drier. [09:38] When I go and walk around Tel Aviv, it's [09:40] very, very flat. In the summer, I feel [09:42] like I need fins to get around over [09:43] there with the humidity. That may be [09:45] something you like more or you like [09:47] less. On the other hand, in the town [09:48] that I live in outside, outside right [09:50] outside of Jerusalem, it's very, very [09:52] hilly. It's hot, but also it's dry. I'm [09:55] just saying this to try and explain the [09:57] some of the differences and things to [09:59] think about before you're moving to [10:00] somewhere if these things are important [10:02] for you. Demographics. U first of all, [10:05] where are you on the religious level? [10:07] Are you secular? Are you dili meaning [10:11] national religious? Are you kared? Are [10:13] you ultraorththodox? When thinking of [10:15] where to move, obviously you also want [10:17] to look and see what are the types of [10:20] the the the religious background of the [10:22] people living where you are moving to. I [10:26] grew up in a small town that was very [10:28] homogeneous regarding all Anglo and all [10:31] the tumi all national religious. Today I [10:34] live in a city which is so diverse. I [10:37] mean from all aspects on the religious [10:39] level you have everything on the Israeli [10:42] background level and imm level you have [10:44] everything you Americans Ethiopians [10:46] full-on Israelis and safari Ashkanazi [10:50] these are things that are very much [10:51] important to look into um age and family [10:55] where are you over there are you single [10:58] are you a family with little children [10:59] are you empty nesters are you retirees [11:02] you also want to look into the type of [11:04] demographics of where you are thinking [11:07] of moving to. Now, Nephesh Benesh has a [11:10] lot of resource resources that will help [11:13] you look into this. Um, we have a [11:15] communities uh links about different [11:18] communities all around the country where [11:20] we have different nephesh ulim and [11:22] places where there are a lot of Anglo. I [11:24] very much encourage you to look into the [11:26] communities link that we have at [11:28] Nephesh. Read about these communities. [11:30] Contact them. And when I say contact [11:32] them, I mean the community contacts um [11:35] that we have in a lot of these different [11:37] towns. Many of them former nephew [11:39] Shaleim and they they are you are [11:42] basically a few years ago they were in [11:44] the same place where you are now. They [11:46] made aliyah they have some experience [11:47] where they're living and we encourage [11:49] that you reach out to them and talk to [11:50] them about where they're living and see [11:52] if this is a place that can suit you. Um [11:56] available services that are in these [11:58] places also is something to think about. [12:00] So, let's say if you move to a city, [12:02] you'll have public transportation a lot [12:04] more. You'll have supermarkets a lot [12:06] more. I live in a place with a theater [12:08] and a mall and uh and big supermarkets [12:11] and a lot of public transportation, but [12:13] I also grew up in a small town where [12:14] this was all very lacking because it was [12:16] very small. You also want to think about [12:18] that when you're thinking of where to [12:19] move to. In addition to that, when [12:22] you're moving to place that has more [12:24] Anglo centers and it's Anglooriented, [12:27] meaning there's a lot of OIM over there, [12:30] there are more available services for [12:31] you as new OIM looking into these [12:33] places. The community contacts I already [12:36] mentioned, but we also want to talk [12:38] about um um the school system. You want [12:41] to think about your kids getting into [12:42] schools if you have little kids. And for [12:45] that in the municipality there are [12:47] what's called the kita coordinators. All [12:50] right the coordinators of your your your [12:52] kita your absorption for you to turn to [12:55] them. And if you're going to a place [12:57] where there are more anglo the services [13:00] are more fine-tuned they're more oiled [13:03] um for when you turn to them and they'll [13:05] be able to help you that much more. I do [13:08] want to encourage you in addition to [13:10] looking into the communities link [13:11] there's also a Facebook group called [13:14] Israel communities info for Angloim [13:17] where you can talk to other people on [13:20] Facebook other olim and get um [13:23] information also over over there [13:26] resourcing as I'll also talk about at [13:28] the end is very very important and this [13:32] will lead us also into the education [13:34] system in Israel how does it [13:37] So we have the public education system, [13:41] the public school system which is [13:43] similar to that that's in the United [13:45] States as in there are different [13:47] districts. Okay? When you make aliyah, [13:49] you're going to end up living somewhere. [13:51] You're going to have an address in a [13:53] particular city or town. Um and when [13:56] you're living over there, there are [13:57] there will be schools in your district [13:59] and those school one of those schools [14:01] needs to accept your child. It may not [14:03] be your first choice. It may yes be it [14:05] may not be but a school in the district [14:08] where you are living will accept your [14:10] child at the end of the day. Now in [14:14] addition to that there are also [14:15] semi-private schools. Um they are [14:18] regional and to that you need to try and [14:20] turn to them and get accepted. Um and [14:24] then it's up to them if to accept uh [14:25] your child or not. We have a school [14:27] right outside of where we live. My [14:28] youngest daughter my excuse my eldest [14:30] daughter Hal just studied first grade. [14:33] Very exciting. We had a school right [14:34] across from where we were living that is [14:36] the public um district school and she [14:39] could have been she they need to accept [14:41] her if we would have turned to them. Um [14:43] but at the end of the day we preferred [14:45] to turn to the regional school but as [14:47] much as we knew that she'd get accepted [14:48] to the district school across the street [14:49] from us. We preferred turning to the [14:51] regional school and we had to turn to [14:53] them and request for her to get accepted [14:55] and we were a little nervous till we [14:56] heard that she did get accepted. Okay, [14:58] I'm just using this sort of as examples [15:00] from my daily life, trying to bring it a [15:03] little bit home uh home to you. Now, you [15:06] might be saying, "Okay, Ammy, all is [15:08] nice and good. How how does one register [15:11] to school?" You might be saying to me, [15:13] "We have friends and family in Israel [15:15] and we know that they're registering to [15:17] school in like February, but we are only [15:20] making aliyah in July, August. How does [15:23] that work?" And that's an excellent [15:24] question. Now this is where the [15:28] following variables come into play. I [15:30] started mentioning before what's called [15:32] the municipal clea coordinator. These [15:35] different cities and towns, especially [15:38] where you have olim should have a [15:40] municipal kit or absorption coordinator [15:43] and you should turn to to that [15:45] coordinator, be it in Modí, be it in [15:48] Ranana, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem or anywhere [15:50] that you are hoping to make aliyah to [15:52] and say them, listen, we're planning on [15:54] making aliyah in the summer. This is the [15:56] school these are the schools that we are [15:58] thinking about getting accepted to. [16:00] We're only coming in the summer. We know [16:01] registration is opening soon. How how [16:04] does it work for us to get accepted to [16:05] the school? [16:07] In addition to that, I want to encourage [16:09] you, excuse me, to reach out to the [16:11] school itself directly, maybe to the [16:13] school principal and ask them how it [16:15] works. More often than not, you will [16:17] need to have made aliyah arrived in [16:19] Israel, have an address and have a toad, [16:22] an Israeli ID number or Israeli ID card [16:24] to get accepted to the school. It's not [16:26] always the case, but it's many times the [16:27] case. But again, visa vis the school [16:30] visa visav the municipal kita [16:32] coordinator they are here to help you. [16:36] Now it's important to take into [16:39] consideration um that your children get [16:42] benefits. Now these flow more easily [16:45] when you go to somewhere where there are [16:47] also other olim other angles because [16:50] it's already in flow but your children [16:53] can get 6 hours of Hebrew ulan in school [16:56] and also take into consideration that [16:59] you can always use tutors um to help you [17:02] uh to help your children process forward [17:05] finances very important um regarding [17:09] finances to look into and do your [17:12] homework. before you make aliyah. Now, [17:14] we have [17:16] an an excellent um an a a finance [17:20] company that we work with. It's called [17:22] Blue and White. I strongly recommend [17:24] that you advise with them. You turn to [17:26] them. When I say turn to them, I don't [17:28] mean turn you don't need to call them, [17:29] but look at their information that they [17:31] have online regarding finances in [17:34] Israel. There's already is what we can [17:35] see over here the Olay budget calculator [17:38] that was created by the blue and white [17:40] comp um organization and in it you can [17:44] they can help you figure out um your [17:47] expectations regarding your monthly cost [17:50] or annual daily uh yearly cost of life [17:53] in in Israel. Now let's say there's a [17:56] number over here 34,000 that is for a [17:58] family of six living in Modí. You tell [18:02] them where you're living. You put in all [18:03] the different variables and it can give [18:05] you an expectation. It's what we call in [18:07] Hebrew [18:09] expectation at least more or less of [18:11] what your expenses are going to be. [18:14] You're looking for work in Israel. How [18:16] do you go about looking for work? What [18:18] are the things that you should be [18:19] thinking about? So, first of all, [18:22] obviously networking before you arrive [18:24] is very, very important. Networking, [18:26] interviewing, asking, speaking, doing as [18:29] much as you can before you arrive. take [18:31] into consideration more often than not. [18:33] You won't necessarily find a job before [18:35] arriving because a lot of times um [18:37] employers want to know that you're here [18:39] and meet you in person after you after [18:41] you arrive. But networking is critical [18:43] and also for that we have our employment [18:46] team here at Nephes Ben Nephesh. We very [18:49] much um advise you to reach out to [18:52] employment team. They're not going to [18:53] necessarily land you a job, but they [18:55] will give you tools of how to look for [18:58] work in Israel. We have the NBN job [19:01] board also to look for work over there [19:03] and we try to help as much as we can in [19:05] that respect. Also important to remember [19:08] that in Israel we work we live on the [19:11] shekel and not on the dollar. If you [19:13] have savings that you're planning on [19:14] using United States or transferring that [19:16] are in dollars, take into consideration [19:19] that the exchange rate changes and [19:22] fluctuates. [19:24] Health care. The health care system in [19:26] Israel is different than that in North [19:28] America in the respect that it is a [19:31] private health care system. Excuse me, [19:34] the opposite of what I was saying. It is [19:35] a public health care system. Every [19:38] citizen of the state of Israel is [19:40] connected to the health care system. [19:42] When you make aliyah, you'll be [19:44] connected to the public health care [19:45] system. The governing body above all of [19:48] it uh government body is called the lei [19:52] national insurance and underneath them [19:55] we have four different healthc care [19:56] providers/hmos [19:58] or as we call them in Hebrew kotim [20:01] everybody's going to be asking you [20:03] regarding your health care what koopa [20:04] are you in what kar are you in they're [20:06] asking you what ka what health care [20:08] provider are you in and there are four [20:10] of them kalabi [20:13] um you might be saying that's nice [20:15] sounds Good. How do I choose a koopa? [20:18] So, there are a few variables to think [20:21] about when choosing a koopa. Okay, first [20:24] of all, your location. If you're living [20:26] in a city, all right, [20:29] Tel Aviv, [20:31] etc., etc., chances are you have all [20:34] four of these healthcare providers of [20:35] these kot in that city. But if you're [20:37] living in a small town in a peripheral [20:40] area, you want to find out what kupai is [20:42] over there. And that's the Koopa you [20:43] want to choose because you don't want to [20:45] start traveling far to get to your [20:46] Koopa. You want your Koopa, your [20:48] healthcare provider to be close to you. [20:51] Um, another thing is if you have health [20:55] issues, you want to see uh maybe which [20:57] specialist that you are advised upon [20:59] about or on um to which Koopa is that [21:02] specialist connected to. And that's [21:04] another variable to think about when [21:06] thinking about choosing a Koopa. [21:09] Research and source and resourcing. [21:11] Speak to friends and family in Israel. [21:13] See which kupa they're connected to. [21:15] Which one is user friendly for them as [21:16] olim and that is also an important [21:18] variable to think about. Now once you [21:20] make aliyah and become citizens of the [21:22] state of Israel, you will remain [21:24] citizens. But parallel to that there is [21:27] another thing that is called residency. [21:30] Okay? In order for you to remain [21:32] connected to the public health care [21:34] system in Israel, Lumi wants to see that [21:37] your center of life is in Israel. They [21:41] [snorts] don't do black and white um [21:43] exactly uh you know how many days are [21:46] you in Israel or outside of Israel for [21:48] residency. It's case by case. Um they're [21:51] littlephic and there's different [21:52] variables, but they want to see how much [21:54] are you in and out of Israel? Are you [21:55] working in and out of Israel? Do you own [21:57] in and out of Israel? Do you have family [21:59] in and out of Israel? They want to see [22:00] at the end of the day that your center [22:02] the center of your life is in Israel. [22:05] And if they deem that it that it's not, [22:07] you can have your residency stripped and [22:10] lose your connection to the healthcare [22:12] system. Nephes is uh here to help you [22:14] with that. Um and a lot more about that. [22:17] I recommend that you watch the webinar [22:19] on and residency. All right. Um, [22:25] as we are starting to sum up, resourcing [22:28] is critical and there is so much [22:30] knowledge at your fingertips. I want to [22:32] circle back to the beginning of the [22:33] webinar where I was talking about just, [22:36] you know, go on to NBN, Google NBN and [22:39] then write an aliyah topic and chances [22:41] are you will find a lot of information [22:43] about the aliyah related topic. The [22:45] YouTube channel has the topics we spoke [22:47] about now that I just barely touched [22:48] upon and so many more aliyah related [22:51] topics. Um, webinars on the YouTube [22:54] channel. They are excellent. Facebook [22:56] groups are so helpful. And if you don't [22:59] have a a Facebook account, I recommend [23:02] opening one up. It's not that you need [23:04] to be on Facebook and start writing and [23:06] get being exposed. Not at all. It's for [23:09] these groups cuz it's so helpful. Making [23:11] aliyah this year, speaking to your peers [23:13] that are also making aliyah. You have [23:15] financial questions, living financially [23:17] smart in Israel and the healthare [23:18] system. the most as you can see navigate [23:20] the Israeli healthcare system. Um, it's [23:23] so helpful. All of these different [23:25] things regarding your networking, you [23:27] have everything at your fingertips. All [23:28] you need to do is a little bit of [23:30] research and it is there. As we're [23:33] summing up over here, um, and then we're [23:36] going to open it up for questions. If [23:39] don't go anywhere cuz we are going to [23:40] open up stuff for questions, but [23:41] something to take with you afterwards. [23:44] What is your next step? What is your [23:45] next step now for aliyah? All right. Is [23:48] it filling out your aliyah application [23:50] and then processing for in that respect? [23:52] Is it working on your next couple of [23:54] documents? Um, is it contacting [23:57] community coordinator, our employment [23:59] team, and so on? There's so many things [24:01] I want to encourage each and every one [24:02] of you to think about your next step [24:05] full on and before you stand up from [24:07] your chair, say to yourself, this is [24:09] what I'm doing next for my aliyah. I'll [24:12] now stop sharing and we'll open it up uh [24:15] for questions. Amazing. Thank you so [24:18] much, Ammy. I wanted to um let people [24:21] know that this is the beginning of our [24:23] webinar series that we'll be doing from [24:24] now basically until March to cover every [24:27] slide that Ammy just talked about has a [24:29] full hourlong presentation. And I [24:31] included the webinar uh link calendar as [24:34] the second thing if you scroll up here [24:36] in our chat. Um I was also including [24:38] while Ammy was talking the budget [24:40] calculator as well as the different uh [24:43] ops and all the different programs. And [24:45] just to remind people that it will be [24:47] you'll receive the recording along with [24:49] all of the links that Ammy mentioned um [24:51] during the presentation. Uh and that [24:54] will probably be sent to you in the next [24:55] couple of days. Um right now we're going [24:58] to just go through some of the questions [25:00] from our Q&A. Uh and so I just some of [25:04] the questions to start off are like how [25:05] would people look for housing? Where are [25:07] some good ways to start with that? Or [25:09] even with the budget calculator, where [25:11] does one start with that? like how would [25:14] someone get started in the process on me [25:15] as they're looking [25:16] >> regarding regarding housing again [25:19] you want to think to yourself um what [25:22] are the different variables that are [25:23] important for you and then and then go [25:25] from there um again I'm going to repeat [25:28] a little bit of what I said and then [25:29] I'll give uh some practical advice where [25:32] do you want to live on a climate level [25:34] demographic level um schools and whatnot [25:38] and from there we have a great link it's [25:41] our our communities link think you [25:43] should go into there and there are a [25:46] couple dozen communities that you can go [25:48] into and literally there's a tremendous [25:50] amount of information over there from [25:52] information about the communities about [25:54] the towns um community contact [25:57] information over there where you can [25:58] speak I always tell my my when I speak [26:00] to them when they're de debating where [26:01] to live we sort of like you know uh [26:03] narrow it down a little bit cuz again [26:05] every is a little different but um uh if [26:09] it be you know um a family with you know [26:11] small children or let's say retirees. We [26:14] talk about certain communities that [26:15] might be good for them or certain [26:16] communities that might be good for the [26:17] other and then we go over some names of [26:19] communities and then I I tell them I [26:21] want you to read about these communities [26:22] and then contact these communities. All [26:24] right, the community contacts are also [26:26] so critical and so helpful. In addition [26:28] to that, at Neph Benefish, we also have [26:30] a communities expert. His name is Ellie [26:33] Bialik. You can also schedule a zoom [26:36] session with him and advise with him [26:37] specifically about communities. So first [26:39] of all thinking to yourself what are the [26:41] important variables reading about the [26:44] the information about the communities on [26:45] the nefesh website contacting the [26:48] community contacts you can also um [26:51] schedule an appointment with our [26:53] communities expert and you can find that [26:54] on the nefes benefic website those are [26:57] um so I would say some of the basic [26:59] variables to start running forward with [27:01] when you're looking for a community um [27:05] regarding finances as in well can you [27:08] clarify the question a little bit more [27:09] please. [27:10] >> Sure. Just to even get started with the [27:13] blue and white finance calculator like [27:15] what is it look like? How does it help? [27:17] Like what's the process for that? [27:19] >> It'll help you. It'll help you do what [27:20] we call basically you're going to put in [27:23] where you're going to be living. Okay? [27:24] How many people you are in your family? [27:27] Um and let's say how much you're making [27:29] or how much you a lot of the different [27:31] numbers that you have right now. And [27:32] it'll tell you what your expenses are. [27:35] If you're living, if you write, I'm [27:36] living in Modin. I have a couple with [27:38] four kids and I'm planning on moving to [27:40] Modí. It'll tell you this is more or [27:42] less the amount of money that you will [27:45] that your monthly your annual or your [27:47] monthly cost will be. Um if you are mo [27:50] now Modin is an expensive city or if you [27:52] say you're moving to peripheral area up [27:54] to the upper GI for example. All right. [27:56] And you are empty nesters. I had a [27:58] couple um empty nesters that recently [28:00] moved to Kibbut Cababri which is on the [28:02] border with Lebanon in the upper [28:03] Galilee. their and I'm sure if they [28:06] would have filled out the budget [28:07] calculator um their monthly cost would [28:10] have been much much much lower as [28:12] opposed to that family of six living in [28:13] Modí which a they have four kids b [28:16] they're living in Modin which is in the [28:17] center of the country so you put in the [28:19] variables of where you're hoping to you [28:21] can also compare you can say wait I want [28:22] to live let's see how much my cost is [28:24] I'll go super expensive Tel Aviv three [28:26] kids living in Tel how much does that [28:28] cost now and it'll give you a number [28:30] then now you say no you know what let's [28:32] go see how much a list cost in a teeny [28:34] little town in the middle of the [28:35] negative desert. Totally peripheral area [28:37] and you can get and it'll tell you how [28:39] much your expected monthly um costs will [28:42] be and you can see the difference over [28:43] there of how much it'll uh how much life [28:47] will cost in these different places. I [28:48] hope I was able to answer the question. [28:50] >> Amazing. We also have a question just [28:52] about like some aliyah benefits. If you [28:55] could go over just a few of the general [28:56] aliyah benefits, what they look like and [28:58] stuff like that. [28:59] >> Sure. There are variety of benefits. Um, [29:01] some of the classics are what's called [29:03] salita. Upon arrival in Israel, you get [29:05] over the first six months spread out [29:07] into six different installments what's [29:08] called salita, a certain amount of [29:10] money. I'm not going to get into numbers [29:12] because it simply depends how many [29:13] people you are. If you're a single, it's [29:14] one thing. Married couple with no kids, [29:16] another. And then for every additional [29:17] kid, there's more. But you get a certain [29:19] amount of money straight into your bank [29:21] account spread out six, seven [29:22] installments of your first six, seven [29:23] months in Israel. That's um that's one [29:26] thing. If you're a university student, [29:28] you can get a tuition benefit if it's [29:31] according to certain criteria. You get a [29:33] rent benefit when your salar runs out. [29:36] You get a city tax benefit also uh [29:38] within your first couple of years for 12 [29:40] months. If you want to buy a car, um you [29:43] get a benefit on the car as long as it's [29:45] a new car and you buy within your first [29:47] 3 years of making aliyah. Regarding [29:49] lifts, you need to pay for your lift. Uh [29:51] but you get a tax benefit when it um [29:54] upon its arrival. Those are just some of [29:56] the benefits and there are of course [29:58] more. [30:01] >> Amazing. We have some questions also [30:03] about um like disabilities and special [30:05] needs. Uh where could people find [30:07] resources about that? [30:09] >> So disabilities and special needs um [30:12] that um a there is an excellent webinar. [30:16] There are a couple webinars that I [30:18] encourage you that you uh watch. They [30:21] are run by our expert Miriam Neon um and [30:24] Kana Zivebec if I'm saying her name [30:27] correctly. Um I want you to look on the [30:30] YouTube channel and you will find [30:31] webinars over there and especially it's [30:33] also for underage 21 and over age 21. [30:38] They are very good. They are very [30:39] thorough and I very much encourage you [30:41] watch these webinars. It's on the Nefish [30:43] YouTube channel. [30:47] Amazing. [30:50] Um, Ze, did you want to add anything [30:52] else? [30:54] >> Um, yes. Thank you, David. Um, so, um, [30:58] I'm with the post Alia team, uh, [31:00] everyone. So, there may be some time [31:02] before we'll, uh, talk more regularly. [31:05] Though uh please have in mind that [31:07] whenever someone has a special needs or [31:10] disability, things could be different [31:12] between countries and can be um [31:16] regulated differently. So it is very [31:19] important that you um that you discuss [31:23] specifically your needs when you have an [31:24] AI advisor when you start the process so [31:27] you could get the most accurate [31:29] information per your um individual [31:33] situation as early on as possible so you [31:36] could plan accordingly. I want to [31:38] piggyback also on what Zev said and that [31:40] is is usually if you don't have special [31:43] needs um we nephesh benefish really and [31:46] the Jewish agency are processing aliyah [31:49] starting 12 months in advance when there [31:52] is a special needs issue over here um we [31:55] encourage along with the Jewish agency [31:58] to start the process even 18 months in [32:00] advance because it's a longer process [32:02] more variables in play over here so if [32:04] you do you have a family with [32:07] um special needs either child or adult [32:10] to encourage you starting to process [32:11] earlier. [32:14] >> Uh we have some questions about just [32:16] like retiring in Israel. What's [32:18] lifestyle here? If you could cover just [32:20] like general about that. [32:23] >> Uh of a lot of retirees um a lot of olim [32:27] that are coming here to retire. I would [32:29] say that um it's important to find areas [32:33] in Israel and communities where you have [32:35] more retirees. Okay. Um to look into [32:39] that. Um [snorts] so I was just um I was [32:42] just talking to a couple earlier today [32:44] who are hoping to move to they're 75 and [32:46] 77 years old. Um and they bought a place [32:50] in Ashkalon. I'm not necessarily [32:51] encouraging to move to there. I had this [32:53] conversation a few hours ago and they're [32:55] looking into the community over there [32:57] where there are other retirees and [32:58] connecting. They happen to be somewhere [33:01] on the religious spectrum looking into [33:03] the synagogue over there to connect to [33:05] the community over there. I think it's [33:07] very important that you plan your daily [33:09] life in Israel and don't just arrive and [33:11] are like okay wait what am I supposed to [33:13] do now? So think about what you see your [33:16] daily life like. Um is it connecting to [33:19] a community of other retirees over here? [33:20] Do you know the retirees? I mean, if [33:23] not, it's something to look into [33:25] regarding where are their retaryi [33:26] communities in Israel? Um, are you [33:29] coming to raise a retari because you [33:30] have children and grandchildren over [33:32] here? Are you going to be living next to [33:34] them? If you're living next to them, is [33:36] it just an area where you have, you [33:38] know, younger couples with children or [33:40] are there also other retaries over there [33:42] that can impact your decision if to move [33:44] next to your children, grandchildren or [33:47] to move to somewhere else where you also [33:49] have empty nesters such as yourself and [33:51] then also spend time with your children [33:52] and grandchildren or live next to your [33:54] children and grandchildren. Um [33:58] I think um that's a very general answer [34:01] that I gave right now. if there's more, [34:02] you know, specific questions about that [34:04] I can try and answer. [34:07] >> We have a question about like what it [34:09] looks like for military requirements for [34:11] kids. Um, and maybe a general overview [34:14] about that. [34:17] >> There's what's called age of arrival in [34:19] Israel. Um, [34:21] it's a little complicated. Um, and it's [34:23] a bit of a lot to get into everything [34:25] right now, so I'll I'm trying to [34:27] generalize it as best I can. But if [34:30] someone is in Israel ages between the [34:33] ages of 18 to 21 and if they're in [34:36] Israel for over 4 months really doing [34:39] nothing or not much or not in an [34:41] organized program and then later on make [34:43] aliyah whether if it's up till age 21 or [34:47] even after age 21 the army will see [34:50] what's called their age of arrivals [34:51] between ages 18 to 21 and they will have [34:54] an army obligation whether they're [34:55] before age 21 or already after as long [34:58] as they're not married or married with [34:59] the child. If you come to Israel and [35:01] you're here, let's say for example, um, [35:04] on an organized program recognized by [35:06] MASAF for up to a year um, between the [35:08] ages of 18 to 21, that has no impact on [35:11] you regarding the army. But if you stay [35:13] beyond that, then you can have an army [35:16] obligation if later on you do decide to [35:20] make aliyah. Regular army obligation, if [35:22] I remember correctly, is 2 years and 8 [35:24] months and then you have reserve duty. [35:26] If you make aliyah after age 21 and you [35:30] don't have a retroactive um army [35:32] obligation because you were here over an [35:34] extended period of time of ages 18 to [35:36] 21, you just come to here any between [35:38] ages 22 to 27 and you want to serve. You [35:41] can volunteer depending on your age that [35:43] affects um how long you're in the army [35:46] for. [35:48] That's very much in brief. There are a [35:50] lot of more smaller different um uh [35:53] instructions and rules and laws [35:55] regarding a having an army obligation. [35:58] Um but that's really in a nutshell. [36:02] >> Great. Thank you. Um [36:05] also in regards to like how people [36:09] should look for community, I know that [36:11] we kind of covered it and touched upon [36:12] it, but we're getting a few questions [36:14] about like what's the best ways to kind [36:16] of look for community when you're first [36:17] starting out. [36:20] I would say um I'm going to go back to [36:24] really what I said before. Um I'll [36:27] [snorts] tell you how I looked for [36:28] community. All right. I'm I have four [36:30] little kids. Um I'm very Israeli. I [36:33] speak fluent English, but I've been [36:34] living here for 43 years. I'm 48 years [36:36] old and my wife is a third generation [36:38] Israeli. Um but I also wanted some [36:40] English. It's very important for my [36:42] children to be exposed to different [36:44] cultures and to know English at the end [36:46] of the day. Um, so we were looking [36:50] and we also had to take um budget into [36:53] consideration. So let's say we lived in [36:55] Jerusalem for many years after we for [36:56] several years after we got married, but [36:58] we knew we couldn't afford it. So we had [36:59] to look for something at least a little [37:01] bit more peripheral. Um, I admit I [37:03] didn't want something Angloheavy because [37:04] at the day I'm Israeli. My my wife is [37:06] very Israeli. So we were looking for a [37:08] place that's Israeli but also with some [37:11] kind of diversity. So we started looking [37:14] out of Jerusalem to see what there is. [37:16] what is a little bit less expensive um [37:18] than Jerusalem, a little bit more [37:20] affordable. Regarding the demographics, [37:23] I'll my wife for my wife is it was very [37:25] important to live literally in a [37:26] building but in a neighborhood where [37:27] it's not just young couples with kids. [37:30] She wanted our kids to also see um [37:33] retirees to be connected to people from [37:36] all walks of life and also mostly [37:39] Israeli but also Anglo but also people [37:42] from all different ages. And we ended up [37:44] really choosing a place which is [37:46] affordable to us outside of the city. We [37:48] live in a smaller city outside of [37:50] Jerusalem, very very diverse like I said [37:53] before mostly Israeli but also some also [37:57] some English speaking and so we did our [37:59] research according to that. If your [38:01] question is how do you start the [38:02] research? You start the research really [38:05] in my opinion by going into the [38:07] communities links um the communities [38:09] link that we have looking at the [38:11] different communities in them. There are [38:13] also links to to real estate Madlin [38:16] Madlin and Yadstein where you can see [38:19] prices literally in these communities. [38:21] If you're looking into or Zikov or Tel a [38:25] Viv or Katyat [38:28] that's a hot spot form you can literally [38:31] see prices over there. Okay. Now in [38:32] addition to that in the community [38:34] contacts in each community it also [38:37] breaks down over there to okay this [38:39] couple are retirees. This couple are [38:42] national religious and have three little [38:44] kids. This couple are secular and have [38:46] one kid. And you can literally speak to [38:48] people that you feel related to where [38:51] you are in life um regarding regarding [38:54] that community. So there's just a few [38:56] little um a few um uh I hope I was able [38:58] to help with the answer that I gave from [39:00] my own personal experience and a little [39:02] bit of the tools that NBN gives. [39:07] >> Amazing. Um, any other tips you would [39:09] give someone who's starting out in the [39:11] process? Miguel, [39:15] >> take a step forward, okay? Or fill out [39:17] the application. And once you fill out [39:19] the application, you'll be connected by [39:21] you'll be contacted by Nefesh Benefish. [39:23] And that's already moving forward. Um, [39:27] that's one thing, making that connection [39:28] with Nefish Benefish. Another thing if [39:30] you're able to come on a pilot trip some [39:32] of my lim come on pilot trips and it's [39:34] very very helpful when you're talking [39:36] about looking for communities and also [39:38] looking for work some of my come on a [39:41] let's say they want to some are telling [39:43] me we're planning on coming in June July [39:45] August in the summer but we're coming in [39:48] November December for a week or for 2 [39:50] weeks to spend time in Israel if you're [39:52] able to come to Israel now when you come [39:54] to Israel don't go to the Hilton in Tel [39:55] Aviv [39:57] book Airbnbs in two or three communities [39:59] ities that you're thinking of possibly [40:02] living over there. Speak to the [40:03] community contacts before get connected [40:05] to them. Rent an Airbnb for two 2 3 4 [40:08] days, however long you have time for in [40:10] two or three two or three two or three [40:12] of these communities. Meet up with the [40:14] community contacts. Um that's one thing [40:17] if you're able to come and go on to [40:19] these Facebook groups, start asking, [40:21] start advising on these Facebook groups. [40:23] Start working on your documents. All [40:24] right? Some documents are timesensitive. [40:26] you may want to hold back, but all of [40:27] your other documents, let's get moving [40:29] on it. And we Neph Benefish can help you [40:31] with that if you have if you have [40:32] questions about that or or challenges. [40:40] >> Great. Thank you. Um I think the the [40:43] rest of the questions we will direct [40:46] people towards um emailing aliyah [40:49] nvpn.org. [40:50] If you have any specific questions, [40:52] that's where we're going to direct you [40:53] towards. Um, we're also just going to [40:56] remind everybody that this is the [40:58] beginning of our webinar season. So, the [41:00] link that I have at the top shows you [41:02] all the webinars that we have going on [41:03] that are going to cover finances that [41:06] will cover communities, education, you [41:08] name it, will all be there, healthcare [41:09] as well. Um, and also reminder that all [41:13] the links that Ammy mentioned, we will [41:14] also share with you in a follow-up [41:16] email. Um, and so with that, I'm going [41:20] to wish everybody a good rest of their [41:22] day and a good evening and thank the [41:24] Nephesh team. Thank you. [41:28] Have a great night everyone.
