Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Coming to Israel carrying your whole life in your luggage


Seen in Jerusalem

Photo: Miriam Woelke

B"H

Everyone coming to Israel, no matter if as a tourist or a new immigrant (Oleh Chadash) is coming with his own personal package. According to my experience, many many people carry their own problems all along. Various tourists and new immgrants seem to run away from something in their former life and somehow make their way to Israel.

People may tend to think that, once they are packing their suitcase and travel to another country, all of their former issues will be solved. A new life is waiting and thus they have new opportunities. Sometimes this is true but the usual slogan is: If you can't make it in your own country, you won't succeed anywhere else. 

Due to all the different religious sites, tourist have discovered Israel as a way of finding themselves. This is alright, as long as Gentiles don't decide to stay. If they want to stay, they are going to face the Israeli authorities and will be soon told to leave the country. Most of them do anyway, as they run out of money. Most people coming here only realize later how expensive Israel is.
Plenty of new immigrants couldn't really make a living at home and then took the opportunity and made Aliyah. The same thing: Only in Israel they realized what living in this country really means. You need to be a real pioneer. Especially when you don't know Hebrew yet. 

There are new immigrants who are disappointed and start missing their former country. There are people who get to the point that they forget all about their problems in their former country but just want to leave Israel and return to New York, LA, etc. 
Running away from something cannot be a solution, as all your thoughts and issues follow you anywhere you are.

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