How to survive the Israeli jungle: The 'coachers' who help new olim

If it's not always easy for native-born Israelis—who also find themselves battling Israeli government bureaucracy, landlords and even the owner of the local kiosk—imagine how new immigrants feel when they encounter the day-today difficulties of life in Israel.

  But life in Israel is not all problems; it also includes a lot of solutions. To the immigrants' aid come the coachers, a new startup offering help to the new Israelis from the moment they get off the plane. Lara Itzhaki and her brother Rafi recently founded the company Olim Advisors with a simple mission statement: "Making aliyah isn't easy. As olim, we know this first-hand. We are here to make your aliyah easier."

New olim arrive in Israel (Photo: Sason Tiram)

An oleh (olim in plural) is a new immigrant arriving in Israel, while making aliyah is the act of immigrating to Israel. Itzhaki, who made aliyah in 2010, says that when her brother decided he wanted to move to Israel as well, her husband helped by organizing a lot of things for him in advance, which made the absorption process much easier. "I realized that if there was a company that took care of the basic necessities for olim, it would make it much easier on them in the first few months," she explains.

"Families come here, and there are so many things they need to take care of: housing, schools, and even finding a doctor who speaks English," Itzhaki says.

"We accompany them for six months. In addition to the concrete support of accompanying them to government offices, helping them buy necessities, and advising them when they sign contracts, we also try to provide them with emotional support. Some of the new immigrants deal with a lot of distress, mostly in the first few months. We send them to businesses that support olim and give them discounts, and in general try to put them in touch with the right people."

American olim first arrive in Israel (Photo: Amnon Meranda)

Itzhaki's company offers several different packages, with the most basic one costing $499 per person, while the premium package, which includes support and help in almost all fields, costs $799. A third medical-only package costs $1,849 and includes help in navigating the Israeli medical system. What challenges do new immigrants face, particularly in their first few days in Israel?"It's mostly cultural differences and the language barrier: how to go to the grocery store, how to read a letter. The services here are different, the culture is different. The Israelis are very warm but very different to the Americans, and you need to learn how to navigate that. Sometimes people land here without knowing how much difficulty they are going to face." The ones most familiar with the kind of difficulties new immigrants face are the olim organizations. Most of the founders and employees of these organizations have experienced the long road towards becoming an Israeli themselves. One such organization, Keep Olim, recently started a "university" for new immigrants, where courses are given at a nominal price. One of these courses is taught by Sharon Aizen. Aizen, an expert in consequential thinking, explains that "the course for olim came to be after we've analyzed their problems—being away from family, the difficulties they face and their struggles in rejoining the work force—and decided to give them the tools to create a better life here in Israel. We wanted to help them stop being victims and take charge, to see how to overcome the difficulties."

Participants in a workshop for new olim

"There are quite a few olim who have left Israel because of an unsuccessful absorption experience and personal problems, and this could have been avoided. We often lose talented and wonderful people, and our goal is to stop people from leaving," she continues. Life in Israel is not easy. Perhaps we should concede that not everyone can adjust to the Israeli mentality?"While there are undoubtedly challenges, everyone can succeed in my opinion. It depends very much on a person's desire and determination. If there is a willingness to learn the tools and use them, then I believe anything is possible," she says optimistically. "In a workshop we did with the olim we gave them initial tools to change directions. We examined people's individual cases and saw where their difficulties lie. A lot of their issues came from misinterpreting a situation, which puts them into behavioral 'loops.' We need to show them how to change their behavior, give them direction."

Does it take long for a change to happen?

 

"Some tips can be implemented on day one. For example, we worked with one participant about her professional image and the fact she feels undervalued despite her skills. The process we went through during the workshop helped her recognize her strengths and, at the same time, turn a disadvantage into an advantage. The language barrier, for example, could become a significant advantage in work places that look for native English speakers for interaction with other countries and clients abroad. Up to that moment, that participant settled for minimum wage jobs, while abroad she had managed a successful company.

"She's not the only one. There are many olim who, when they come to Israel, settle professionally and their self-confidence plummets. The goal is to give them back what they already had to begin with and give them the tools to use their skills to their advantage." LiAmi Lawrence, the founder and director of Keep Olim, says Aizen's course was born of an understanding of the kind of distress new immigrants experience. "After the 'high' of making aliyah, there is a crash; and this is where we come in. It's a wakeup call for the olim—you're already in Israel, so what are you going to do now? Give up the dream, or fight and succeed? "The course is part of a series of activities we organize, among them is also emotional support offered at a subsidized price, and social activities to host and absorb olim. So far, we've done several courses and the more resources we get, the more we can offer and aid olim."

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Can 'Jewishness' be proven with a simple saliva test?

A group of experts on genetics and Halacha (Jewish religious law), who are studying the so-called "Jewish gene," are claiming that the gene can help prove one's "Jewishness" in line with Jewish religious law.

"This could be a significant breakthrough," explained Rabbi Yosef Carmel, head of the Gazit rabbinical court and the Eretz Hemdah Institute for Advanced Jewish Studies. According to Carmel, "Using a simple sample of saliva can save a long and difficult conversion process."

Any person who wishes to be recognized as a Jew—for example, in order to get married in the State of Israel, which can only be done through the Chief Rabbinate—is required to prove their Jewish roots. In Jewish religious law, only those born to Jewish mothers are considered Jewish. Those who wish to be recognized as Jews have to provide proof of Judaism several generations back in the form of documents—such as birth and marriage certificates.

Emigrants from the former Soviet Union have to present documents to prove their Jewish roots (File photo: Tali Farkash)

This can be a problem for over 400,000 people, particularly immigrants and especially those from the former Soviet Union, who don't have the necessary documents.

People who cannot prove their Jewish roots are considered as "undefined," with applicants having to undergo a long and tedious conversion process that quite a few wish to avoid and many do not complete.

Currently, the Eretz Hemdah institute is preparing an article to be submitted to the Chief Rabbinate detailing a Halachic-scientific breakthrough that claims anyone whose Judaism can be proven genetically is legally (in the Jewish legal sense, that is) Jewish.

"In recent years, (researchers) in Israel and in the world have been studying mitochondrial DNA—structures within the cells—that a person receives only from his or her mother," explained Rabbi Dov Popper, an adviser at the Puah Institute, an Israel-based international organization that helps Jewish couples with fertility problems.

"We can find the gene with a simple blood or saliva test. As soon as you find the mitochondrial gene in a person, this serves as a considerable piece of evidence in proving his Jewish roots," Rabbi Popper went on to say.

"If the gene research is accepted by the Chief Rabbinate, this would be a significant change" for the hundreds of thousands who are considered "undefined," Rabbi Carmel said. 

The breakthrough will be presented at a special conference held by the Puah Institute in Jerusalem on June 6.

"We began researching this because of the issue of egg donation and the ramifications that would have on the Jewishness of the newborn baby," explained Rabbi Menachem Burstein, the head of the Puah Institute.

"However, it's important to note this (discovery) would not have practical use until it's approved by the Chief Rabbinate," he added.

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Elderly Jewish man brutally attacked in LA

Rabbi Perkovsky, an elderly Jew who returned from his morning prayers on Monday, was savagely beaten by an unknown attacker in broad daylight on a main street in Los Angeles. According to ABC7, which reported the incident, the police are still investigating, though residents in the area are convinced that the attack was a hate crime, targeting Perkovsky for being Jewish.

Security footage shows Perkovsky dressed in ultra-Orthodox clothing walking down the street, as another person approaches and begins to push him. The second man repeatedly punches and punches him several times even after Perkovsky falls to the ground.

The attacker was captured leaving the place slowly and almost casually, while Petrovsky lay wounded and stunned, writhing in pain, until a passerby comes to help him. On another security camera, the attacker was seen walking away and lifting his finger to the sky.

Police officer Aaron Shapiro told ABC7 that the neighborhood a normally very calm. "It is definitely a shock." The Los Angeles Police Department announced that Perkovsky, who was suffering from a split lip, would be fine. The LAPD added that they had brought on the violent attack was, though it was clearly not a robbery.

Shapiro added that there is currently no evidence at the moment that this the attack was a hate crime, though investigators are still are still working on the case. Since yesterday, police cars have been roaming around the neighborhood looking for the assailant.

However, the victim's acquaintances describe him as a good grandfather beloved by his community, and attribute the attack to a hate crime because of his faith. "He never hit a fly," said his neighbor, adding that he was beating for no reason "apart from being a Jew."

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Poland school honors 87 Jewish girls expelled under Nazis

A school in Poland unveiled a plaque Tuesday that commemorates 87 Jewish girls who were expelled in 1939 during the Nazi occupation of the country.

The event in Krakow is one in a growing number of efforts by teachers and children to commemorate the Jews who lived in Poland before the Holocaust, which was perpetrated by Nazi Germany largely in occupied Poland.

March of the Living in Poland (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

The event was held to mark the 125th anniversary of the founding of the No. 2 middle school in Krakow, which before World War II was an all-girls school.

Lital Be'er, director of Yad Vashem's Reference and Information Services, said her researchers worked for nearly two years at the school's request to determine the fate of the 87 girls. She said 21 were killed in the Holocaust and 24 survived, but the fate of the others could not be determined. The task of tracking down girls was made especially difficult due to the fact that many of them changed their names more than once, first taking on Hebrew names if they settled in Israel, and then changing surnames again upon marriage. It was not clear if any of the girls are still alive. The research project began nearly two years ago when principal Gabriela Olszowska contacted Yad Vashem after finding a trove of records that included a list of the 87 Jewish girls expelled on December 9, 1939, following orders from the German Nazi authorities. Be'er said Yad Vashem gets a lot of requests to do private research for individuals, and is usually not able to accommodate most of them, but gave special attention to this case. "I was very moved by the principal's initiative to research the girls and commemorate them," Beer said. "We want to embrace those initiatives as much as we can." Zvia Fried, who conducted much of the research for Yad Vashem, took part in the ceremony, saying by phone from Krakow that it was "very moving" and included prayers led by a rabbi and a Roman Catholic priest.

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New York enclave with Nazi roots agrees to change policies

A New York enclave with a history of Nazi affiliation in the 1930s has agreed to change its policies that limited home ownership to people of German descent.

The German American Settlement League has settled a discrimination case brought by New York state. The enclave in Yaphank, on eastern Long Island, has agreed to replace its leadership and comply with all state and federal housing laws.

Illustration: Reuters

Although an attorney for the group did not respond to email requests for a comment, one board member said the community welcomes people of all ethnicities. News accounts recall a groundswell of Nazism in the enclave in the years before the start of World War II. Streets were named after Adolf Hitler and other Nazis. Those names were changed long ago.

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Caricature in Norway equates circumcision with pedophilia

Norway's fourth-largest newspaper has recently published a caricature depicting supporters of circumcision for Jews and Muslims as pedophiles.

The offensive caricature appeared in The Dagbladet, the second largest tabloid in the country that has a circulation of approximately 75,000 copies a day.

The caricature depicts a man wearing a kippah (skullcap) and a bearded man standing next to him, both holding signs reading 'Yes to circumcision' and 'Religious freedom.' A third man, wearing a ratty coat, tells them: "I know what you mean. I, too, am told by an invisible man to fiddle with children's penises."

(Photo: the Dagbladet)

The Israeli Embassy in Norway sent a strong condemnation to the newspaper.

The ambassador in Oslo, Rafi Schutz, said: "This is a disgraceful caricature that represents a fanatical religion of false liberalism that shows zero tolerance for opinions and beliefs different from those who believe themselves to be enlightened."

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Fire destroys historic Manhattan synagogue

A raging fire broke out on Sunday night at a 19th Century synagogue on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

 

The fire broke out around 7:00 pm local time at the historic 167-years-old Congregation Beth Hamedrash Hagadol synagogue, according to NBC New York.

Photo: EPA

Videos uploaded to social media showed heavy flames raging from the top of the building, which appeared to be severely damaged.

The intensity of the flames prevented firefighters from entering the synagogue, and so they were forced to battle the fire from the outside . The roof of the synagogue collapsed during the event.

Photo: Reuters

“We could see smoke from our roof on 10th street and 1st avenue,” Lower East Side resident Robbie Swain, 21, told the New York Post. “It was bad, dude—insane. Never seen anything like this before,” added the 21-year-old.

Photo: EPA

“When it was going, it looked like a giant brick oven (inside). I swear to you, like straight up everything inside was on fire, fire 150 feet up,” said 36-year-old Danny Agnew, also speaking with the New York Post. “I thought the whole thing was going to collapse. The fire was almost as tall as the building behind it—not smoke, straight up fire.”

Photo: EPA

There were no reports of injuries, nor was it immediately clear what sparked the fire. The cause of the fire is being investigated, and a search of the grounds around the synagogue will be done Monday, according to NBC New York.

According to the the New York Times, yhe abandoned building, which was built in 1850, once housed the city’s oldest Jewish Orthodox congregation.

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Jewish graves desecrated in Roman cemetary

Italian media reported Friday that vandals desecrated at least 70 graves in the Roman cemetery—the city's main cemetery—and that many of these graves are Jewish graves.

The four were documented in security cameras entering a side entrance. Police reportedly recongnized details that could help detect and capture them.

One of the desecared tombstones (Photo: EPA)

Photo: EPA

The Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported that the investigators are now trying to understand whether the vandals had planned in advance to focus on desecrating graves in the Jewish part of the cemetery and whether their motive was anti-Semitic. The four also sowed destruction in other parts of the cemetery, desecrating Christian graves and uprooting crosses, but most of the destruction was focused on the Jewish part.

Photo: EPA

Italian daily La Repubblica reported that an initial investigation revealed that the gravediggers indiscriminately hit the tombs in their path, and that the investigators said it was too early to say the background was actually anti-Semitic.

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