50% of the Israelis or more doesn't born in Israel and they are 100% Israelis, You hear about return law? you are so ignorant.

The mountains of paperwork they wanted. Proof of Jewishness Parent Ketuba - ok Letter from the local rabbi - ok Letter from any jewish group I might have been involved with as a child - stupid thing to ask for. Passports from when I was a child - stupid thing to ask for. They are just a few of the stupid things the Jewish Agency was asking me to provide. The process for my aliyah and the whole process took over a year. Once I got to Israel their representative put me in a taxi to the merkaz klita and never heard from them again. No advice on legal stuff like getting a tudat zahut or army registration had to work all that out myself. I had a friend who also made aliyah about a year after me, he went with Nefesh and I couldn't believe the difference. They didn't ask for any stupid documentation, the whole process took about 6 months, they gave him money. When you get to Israel they have a big party for the new olim at their offices in Jerusalem and they present them with their tudat zahut that they organised in advance and they offer post alliyah advice I just couldn't believe the difference and just wish I had gone the Nefesh route the Jewish Agency are useless.

learn to read

hopefully this time I will stay in Israel now that my shaygetz will be with me. My handsome Mexican will eventually be Israeli...gota love it !

We made Aliyah with 2 very small children from the U.S. Boca Raton, Florida in 1997. We went to Ra'anana's Merkaz Klita. We were treated very well, we were given lot's of help in finding jobs. I have excellent memories of that!

Well, Italy is at crisis too; more and more people will become "Zionist" very soon. Sorry for Raanana, expensive city. It's for Anglos. If they go to the mercaz klitah...Farewell Ranana, hello Milan again! My jewish agency experience was awful too.

are absolutely vile and cheap, dumping on this woman because she wasn't p.c. about the arabs or said some negative but true things about israel's pathetic bureaucrats. Way too many ugly backstabbing moronic talkbacks, instead of a mazel tov to this woman and her family who made the difficult decision and packed their many bags and came home!

You're exaggerating, Europe is not returning to the Dark Ages. It's people like you that wish things were so but they're not. Stop the fear-mongering. Your comments are vacuous and out of touch with reality.

They will try to make each and every step as painfully impossible for you as they can - that is their Sacred Mission.

I'm glad that the author cast attention of the mountain of issues in JAFI. They are impossible to deal with, hate to actually do their jobs, and will not return paperwork unless someone powerful on the outside nudges them to -the horror!- actually do something. Most of the Israel-based staff speaks Russian and no Hebrew, and the rest speaks Hebrew and no English. If you manage to find someone who speaks your language, they are guaranteed to be unprofessional and sometimes even downright insulting. Sharansky has lost his way and is now the root of the problem there, leading a shoulder-deep beaurocratic glacier (though I am glad that he was able to help in this case). In case you haven't followed, JAFI recently announced their intention to de-fund and de-staff immigration programs in favor of funding Israel education for Jews living abroad, leaving their already poorly coordinated responsibilities to no one. Despite having their leaders chosen by the government and receiving most of their funding from the government, Sharansky announced that it was the government's job, and no longer his, to provide immigration services. I understand that in the former USSR, government workers could claim to work for whomever they would like, but here in (at the moment) still-democratic Israel we should hold them a higher standard. Already JAFI stopped funding their (already committed) funding for the free education of olim chadashim, unilaterally disposing of a major Aliyah benefit without a mandate from anyone on the government (the Russian aliyah is generally finished). Presumably all of this money is going to support their bloated beauracracy and Sharansky's ultra-inflated salary (more than Bibi's!). I've heard better things about JAFI offices outside of Israel, but someone, for the love of this beautiful country, do something about this agency. -Chayal Boded

an Israeli Passport and registration of Israelis born abroad would be proof of Jewishness...remember the Ministry of Interior maintains lists with all kinds of interesting information about us. In other words 24 is asking some very good questions.

Aren't they Israeli enough if they want to return to their homeland? Their passport isn't a proof of their citizenship anymore?

Maybe she got rid of Israeli citizenship passport or when in Italy didnt bother to renew it so had to go through all this bureaucracy.Returning Israelis dont normally have to prove they are Jewish or have to go through this I know from experience.

living abroad has an Israeli pasport . And certainly NOT after 27 years abroad . They have pasports from the country they are living in . I know such a person , who came to visit here , and when she left was asked for her IDF papers , "what's that" was her reaction . Could not leave the country . Thanks to high level family "relations" , this case was resolved in two days .

First of all - welcome home to Anat and her family. I feel the same way - it's the only place where I belong. Next - all you idiots who don't know how to read - she writes about ISLAMISTS - not Arabs - about the Islamization of Europe - and the United States. And she's right. Start supporting your country - we're not in a financial depression like almost country in Europe - and we're in better shape than the United States who has a Islam-loving president who thinks that the Muslim call to prayer is "the sweetest sound ever heard". WAKE UP. Be proud of where we live - by choice or by birth. Good for you Anat - WELCOME HOME.

Hi Marco, These European leftist are destroying Europe slowly & surely. Islam are not shy and are saying openly and clearly that they want to make Europe not only Europe but the whole world into Islam. Before Islam conquered many places by the Islamic sword, but now Islam will conquered the world by the European democracy. In 20-25 years majority in Europe will be Islam and Islam will use Democracy one person one vote. Next Prime MInisters/Presidents of Europe will be Mahmood, Mohammed, Nasser. Abdul ibrahim, Sadat, etc, .of course Islamic names. Wake up Leftist Europe before its too late to control.

Israeli citizenship is acquired at birth in Israel or by virtue of the "law of Return", or by application for registration in the event of a birth occuring abroad to Israeli parents. Israeli citizenship is not easy to give up and it entails an application to the Minister of Home Affairs and his personal signature. A passport is proof of citizenship but citizenship does not require that one should hold a passport. I speak from knowledge. Any citizen of Israel, with or without a passport, of whichever ethnicity, wishing to enter Israel and being questioned and interrogated by officials and "Rabbis" is ludicrous to the nth degree, exactly like most of the decadent bureaucracy in this country. Stupidity incarnate. I am a citizen of three countries and I can walk in and out at any given time and for any given reason without having to be interrogated and producing papers.

This is good for citizenship, but citizenship does not determine whether one is Jewish. For the Jewish Agency, on the other hand, nothing determines who is Jewish, and they want you to bring that proof right now (i.e. unspecified imperial proof). If Moshe Rabbeinu was born and married in Jerusalem the Jewish Agency would put him through the ringer if he wanted assitance and participation of the Jewish Agency to re-immigrate from the Sinai Peninsula. It's madness. Read also the comment #40, there is some very well stated factual complaining done there.

The sachnut, misrad hapnim, and iriyat ra'anana are competent in those cases where the olim are NOT. Once you have people who challenge authority, question what is offered, or in any way become pro-active, those bureaucrats fall back on their socialist ways. Mayor Hofri's attitude on schools is just one example. So, Anat, Rage On! It's the only way to change the system.

a lot of olim came, a lot of olim leave and go back, this is Israel (this word means depression and unhappy people to me).

But i was answering to 24 who asked where their pasports were . Another case i know was , years ago , an Israeli born guy , who traveled with his non Israeli pasport , and was asked to pay the then existing travel tax when he left the country after a visit here .

here's the down and dirty 1. an Israeli Passport proves citizenship 2. included in one's Israeli passport which proves citizenship is one's Israeli ID number (in Hebrew that is called "Teudat Ze-hut") 3. EVERYONE's Identity number is coded so that from the numbers the officials can tell that whether or not the number belongs to a Jew, a Christian, a Moslem, etc. You don't believe me, fine. Go look at your Identity card, of you are a Jew, your identity card includes your Hebrew Birth date along with your Gregorian Birth date. Someone who is not a Jew, well their identity card does NOT include a Hebrew Birth Date. Now do me a favor get over yourself, because it is clear that you have NO idea what you are talking about.

Whilst the Jewish Agency is nothing more than a huge beucracy these days who seem to do their best to make things complicated for olim and want to outsource western olim to Nefesh B Nefesh. Your points though whilst I would expect the husband & wife to have Israeli birth certificates the children were not born in Israel so they would not have Israeli birth certificates. Israeli passports are only renewed if you request it, the Misrad Hapanim doesn't find you wherever you are in the world and send you a new passport when your old one expires. I would imagine that after 27 years she no longer had an Israeli passport. The parents would be considered Katin Chozer ( returning minors ) rather than Oleh Hadash ( new immigrants ) which is a totally different situation mainly to see if they are eligible for the sochnoot package. My neighbour his parents were Israeli but moved to Canada when he was just a baby. When he was in his late 20s he decided to move to Israel where he was considered a Katin Chozer and his process was apparently very complicated and one of the reasons was as he was legally considered a returning minor ( an israeli citizen ) would he still be eligible for the sochnoot package which is an issue that olim do not have to worry about because they were not born in Israel and so are not Israeli citizens.

The ship is taking a water the rats are bailing out ,...

Jewish payback - A spit in your face for letting her in for all those years of safe haven and a roof over her head.

The parents are considered "toshav chozer" , returning citizen . Children who were born here , but taken abroad , and return , are "katin chozer" . Children born abroad from Israeli citizens can't be "katin chozer" , they never lived here .

That is today's headline. Tomorrow's will be, Farewell Raanana, Hello Milan. Anybody who has lived in Europe for 27 years and has brought up children there will not be able to tolerate the nonsense that occurs in Israel for very long.

No Enzo, I did not make aliya, my forefathers did in 1892, how's that Enzo, 5th generation, worked the land, plowed the soil with loving hands and reaped the harvest, leftie Enzo, no I am way right of right. Anti Zionist Enzo, no a lover of Zion but a hater of what is taking place in this country and to our people. Israel is a very unpleasant place to live in. I have lived here for all of 73 years, I know the place inside out,what was yesterday, what is today and sadly I know what will be tomorrow. Don't blame me Enzo, blame the system and those fools who continue to go to the ballot box to vote in a bunch of self serving idiots.

What you say about everyone's identity book being coded is true. however my identity number is not written in my Israeli passport.( I have just checked my passport)