so what's the sense in making aliyah to live on the streets or on a houseboat or in a tent ? i see no point in coming till we have a jewish government that is interested in looking after jewish interests first instead of arab and eu and obama's interests first.

Put aside his Leftist "apartheid" talk, he does make some good points, especially about government 's indifference at infiltration by Arabs, Africans, and at immigration by non-Jews. Any thoughts Yoel? Just don't tell us that you need more Jews to fix that. You already got the numbers to fix what's wrong. What you dont' have is time, my friend.

You reasons were so clear and articulated. I very much appreciate your article. I am a twenty-three-year-old, and I am considering making aliyah. I am still debating when the proper time might be. I intend on living in New York for a couple of years before. I hope I can keep this article with me wherever I go to remind me why Israel is so important in my life. Thank you.

Here some food for thought: 1) Archeologists have shown that David was just a small time king of strictly local significance, the same as his son Salomon. 2) The reunification of the twelve tribes under one ruler is a myth,. Their very existence is a matter of several legends stiched together. 3) Jews never settled the whole area of Greater Israel the Zionist ideology lays claim to, far from it. 4) Long before the Romans expelled the Jews, many of them already lived scattered through-out the Ancient World, at least since the Babilonian exile. 5) At the beginning of the CE the average Jews still living between the Jordan river and the Mediteranean Sea didn’t speak Hebrew anymore, but Aramaic, the lingua franca of that region at that time. 6) ‘Next year in Jerusalem’ for centuries for most Jews was no more than a spiritual fancy or longing, with no more concrete significance than when Christians strive for the celestial Jerusalem.

I don’t know what I could be jealous about. Your religious maps of life for me are no more than interesting cultural phenomena. However, I’m very worried that people blinded by the Zionist ideology cannot see that the same imaginary G-d that didn’t prevent the Holocaust, will be just as absent when this deceitful ideology will come to its terrible end.

I moved here as a young man over 30 years ago, and I am very happy with my life. I have a large family with most of my kids married - and all to Jews. My grandchildren are Jewish and are getting a good Jewish education, just as my kids did. Moving here was the best thing I've done in my life. So what if we don't have a huge fancy house and two late model cars and don't go on expensive vacations. Other things are more important to us. Many of our friends and relatives in the States do not have Jewish grandchildren; they are the last link in a 3500 year old Jewish chain. To me, this is a great tragedy.

You make huge generalisations. How do you know why people came here? You say Israel is racist but its YOU who is bothered that Israel is not Jewish enough, with too many non Jews. Basically you are confused, with unreasonable expectations and probably had bad luck job wise. You also seem to think its easy as hell to find work abroad, that foreign politicians are not corrupt, the CIA is always right and your kids will be safer-all wrong in my opinion. Just to put the record straight, in the early years of the US, huge numbers of immigrants also left. Some 3 million Britons live in Europe and millions more in US and Australia. Well I've also been here for 15 years, and wouldn't dream of taking my family to live anywhere else. I and millions more will work to make this a better place.Good luck to you in your new life..

Thanks for a great article, couldn't have said it better myself. I moved to Israel years ago and love my life here. Everything you wrote is true. Israel is the future of the Jewish People. In the Galut the vast majority is disappearing as Jews.

the standard of living in Israel is substantially higher than the standard of living inTurkey.

to fill jobs created by Jews. Stop with the lies already...u sound follish...

you are still the same liar.

Thank you for your comments. The reason for a Jew to come to Israel should not be because one likes or dislikes the policies of the current ruling establishment. In addition, the more people who are here that really want to change the political direction of the country, the greater the chance that things will actually be changed. Obviously it’s not a simple and quick process and there are no magical solutions but you’re invited to come and help.

Thank you for your comments (although # 3, I don’t understand why you wrote all you ‘Haredi’ comments). Obviously work is important but if coming here is only dependent on finding a good job (or dependent on finding a spouse, or dependent on having good friends, etc, etc) then it’s a good chance that moving here will be problematic. In coming here no one is promised a rose garden so the more ‘conditional’ ones aliyah is, the greater the potential for eventual failure. As important as making a living is, someone who makes aliyah needs to come here because he knows inside that this is the place for him.

you must have a lot of money, how did you earn it?

in last years most of the immigrators were from rusia and athiopia .it so not mean that there are not jews in america it means they immigrate for a better life .... one person tell me that iam wrong but he does not tell the reason

Thank you for your comments. Obviously finding a spouse is not always so simple, and if you’re talking about yourself I hope that you will quickly find your spouse. Regarding what I wrote, being roughly 80% Jewish, it’s obvious that percentage wise Israel has the highest Jewish population in the world. No other country is even close. Also, I wasn’t suggesting to make aliyah in order to find a spouse. Someone should come here because he knows that this is the place for him. The more conditions someone comes with (“If I find a job, I’ll stay” or “If I find a wife, I’ll stay”), the greater the chance that he’ll eventually leave. It’s not always so simple here, so someone needs to come with the right mindset. Once again, I hope things will work out for you.

Thank you for you kind words. Hope to see you soon!

Thank you for your comments. As I wrote above to # 10, 13, 31 it’s not a simple process and there is no magical solution. To me, the biggest thing that needs to be changed is the individual and collective mindset of the nation. This is obviously something that doesn’t change over night, but nonetheless it needs to be changed. Moreover, the more people that ‘wake up’ and the quicker, the faster things will be changed. See for example some other articles of mine on this site “Towards a Jewish Mindset” and “The Jewish Idea”.

You are right, Israel has a ton of problems. And yet... within a few years I found a (Jewish) spouse and a job which both pays the bills and allows me to influence the next generation (teaching). When I visit the US, I am happy to have the opportunity to represent Israel, to explain to people how the media often does not reflect the political and social realities. Despite all its problems, Israel is a fantastic place to live. There is no heaven on Earth, not even in the US, or Canada or wherever. It's all a question of attitude and individual experience. Do you want to 'take' from a place, or 'give' of yourself? I wish you a change in perspective, whereever you end up.

This place is dirty, people are rude and you will definitly be poor here. that said. U should make aliya if u want this to change for the better.

Dan 27# you are right on the button. I curse the very day many years ago that I encouraged my children to make aliyah. It did not take me long to realize that these are not my people. My wish is that my grandchildren do not end up with a mixed marriage and unfortunately marry an Israeli. There is more to life than surviving the few months of sunshine and cheap tomatoes. One needs to be a hero, masochist or a mental defective to leave ones former country for Israel.

can discover that they ARE a people.

My town is not dirty. My neighbours are not rude, and many of them are very well off. I guess it depends on where you live. Sounds like you need to move. I know many Americans who are loud and rude. Some US cities are disgusting, with so many homeless that you're nearly falling over them, and there is huge poverty in many western countries. The problem for many Olim is that they usually come from financially comfortable middle class Jewish homes where making ends meet was never an issue. Any immigrant to any country suddenly finds himself at least temporarily lower down the salary scale. To succeed here financially, working within the Israeli market, (many continue working overseas, or via the internet) requires good Hebrew skills, flexibility and adaptability with appropriate expectations. Despite some talkback comments here, I've met few Olim who left because they didn't like it here. Its usually because of financial difficulties. Some have bad luck, some don't have the skills, others give up without much of a struggle because there is a readily available alternative. 2 years is the minimum time to decide if Israel is the place for you.

living in todays Israel with the Israelis would make me ill. I have never met a more rude arrogant ignorant people, and I have met lots of them in my life. Ones quality of life is dependent on ones environment. As it is Israelis in general make it difficult to want to be near them. I think I'll pass and wait for the moshiach. In the interim I'll enjoy Canada even of its a balmy -15C today.

I came from the US, at the age of 36, having lived in New Jersey, New York City and San Diego. It has not been easy, but I have never been happier, wish I would have come a long time ago, as far as the many negative comments I see here, pure nonsense, come here for the right reasons and with an open mind, and determination and you will be happy. If your a single Jewish guy and are not in Israel, than you are just plain dumb, come visit and see for yourself. One thing is for certain though, this place is not for the weak of mind or heart, those posting that they have had bad experiences and are leaving, or how will I work, good bye, glad your leaving, and don't come. Those who come for the right reasons, simply because they love Israel, you will be loved back, and helped by many kind and amazing people all along the way. I LOVE ISRAEL, MAKING ALIYAH IS THE BEST THING I EVER DID, MY ONLY REGRET IS I DIDN'T DO IT SOONER. WISH I WAS BORN HERE, IF I DO HAVE CHILDREN, I WOULD NOT WANT TO RAISE THEM ANYWHERE ELSE. I LOVE YOU ISRAEL, THANK YOU TO THE PEOPLE HERE, YOU HAVE BEEN SO GOOD TO ME, I COULD NEVER REPAY YOUR KINDNESS!!!

I greatly respect Yoel, for responding in the talk backs, to those responding to what he has written. If you read all these talk backs the one thing that seems to separate the olim who are bitter and those who are happy, is the bitter ones are some complainy little sissies who should have never come here in the first place, Israel is not something for people all worried about their little selves, it is something for the selfless who love their culture, history and people and want to be a part of it, I rather be homeless here than a king anywhere else. The guy complaining about finding a spouse after a certain age must be the biggest loser ever, the women here are amazing, I fall in love a hundred times a day, and more than anything it's the Israeli women who have been there for me whenever I had any problem at all.