Eli’s Aliyah Tips
Youth Aliyah
Dear Eli,
Q. I am a 17 year old American senior in high school. I just came back from a Young Judaea summer program and I am now seriously thinking about making Aliyah after high school. I would be delighted if you would send me as much information as possible on the Absorption Center, army service, chayal boded, and anything else that pertains to a young American immigrant.
A. Dear Oleh,
Making aliyah is a big step and one which should be taken slowly with a lot of prethought. Sometimes it is easier to make aliyah at a relatively young age. On the other hand you will have to serve in the army for 2 1/2 years which can sometimes be difficult for someone who has not grown up with the idea and whose hebrew may be minimal.
Much of this information directly from our web site. You would be well advised to have a long talk with one of our shlichim in your area. As far as the army goes there is an IDF site but as you can well understand there is a limit to the information we can put on the web.
You may want to consider coming as a tourist and studying Hebrew on a Kibbutz Ulpan before you make a final move. This way you can have a better idea what is happening in Israel and the options available to you while at the same time learning Hebrew.
Two last tips - Include your family in you decision making process and try to meet people like you who are considering making aliyah. Both will make the process easier.
Eli Birnbaum is a counseling psychologist who has been working with Olim for the past 20 years. He presently serves as Director of Internet for the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization. Eli also is also the founder and moderator of the Tachlis Aliyah Forum one of the first (almost 10 years old ) Jewish discussion groups on-line, which has helped literally thousands of Olim over the years.
Eli’s E-Mail address: birnbaum@wzo.org.il
Jewish Agency website: http://www.jafi.org.il
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