ALMOST ANYPLACE YOU TRAVEL IN ISRAEL you will see a multitude of cranes.
Not the feathered variety — although they also inhabit the country — but construction cranes (מנופים) that remind geezers of Alfred Carlton (A.C.) Gilbert Erector sets.
About the only thing more commonly seen in Israel are cell phones.
Land lines? Many Israelis have no concept of a phone with a cord.
Unlike the U.S., Israel has absorption programs designed to help newcomers acquire basic Hebrew language skills, to absorb Israeli culture, and generally become established. There are schools in the U.S. to teach English as a Second Language, some free, but not on Israel’s scale. (To be fair the Israeli “ulpan” is an American idea perfected in Israel.)
As was the U.S. in the “old days,” before American’s allowed the government to do everything for them, immigrant groups help newcomers adjust.
For North American ex-pats, and just visitors, too, there is Americans And Canadians In Israel, a/k/a AACI.
Bureaucracy amok on a field of paper
Bureaucracy runs amok in Israel, BUT it was and has been my personal experience (in 1975 and again in 2021) that the people dealing with newcomers usually are helpful. That will surprise some who come to Israel from “big cities” were rudeness is the coin of the realm.
Since our arrival at Lod, Israel’s main international airport*, everyone, without exception, has been polite if not kind.
*Now renamed by political fiat to honor of the man who ordered Jews to kill other Jews bringing people and weapons to pre-statehood Israel.1
On the other hand, new (or returning) immigrants/citizens are obliged to visit numerous government offices to accomplish basic tasks. Since exiting our 14 day isolation — despite being twice “Pfizerized” in the U.S. and having taken a pre-flight PCR test — we have been to three different government offices and still have more to do.
Even the bankers are helpful, although the banks still charge customers to use the customers’ money, something that disappeared in the U.S. decades past.
While it is not up-to-date, the following image from https://tinyurl.com/2wnf3mk7 gives an idea of the number of clerks in Israel.
What is seen less and less these days are “du-day shemish” (דודי שמש — solar water heater tanks) dotting the roofs. Solar PANELS exist, often out of sight from street level, but the tanks are relocated to individual units.
This is especially true in a community called “Green Yavne” (יבני ירוקה). Other new communities are similar. Electric is underground; green space has a priority. A good compromise since most Israelis live in condos.
The balcony (מִרפֶּסֶת) of the apartment mortgaged to my Son-In-Law and family (my daughter, three pre-teens, and an American Stafforshire Terrier, a 75-pound lap dog) looks out onto condo buildings of 5 to 18 stories in all directions. The Spouse intends to buy close by.
The image above was taken from said balcony.
Solar heaters usually are backed up by electricity. Free solar vs. expensive electricity? No contest
Not TA or J’lem: Drivers are courteous
“Green Yavne” may have two or three traffic lights in the entire area. Most intersections are handled by circles, a/k/a round-abouts. (https://youtu.be/Z9fWJQJ6nX8)
I “scooter” around the neighborhood with my mobility scooter (קלנועית). I am amazed that drivers
✡ stop as soon as a pedestrian prepares to set foot (or in my case, wheel) in a crosswalk
✡ calmly wait to enter the round-about; no horns blowing (and no cops to enforce a quit zone)
I have seen nothing similar since I left Indianapolis a “few” years ago.
My travels have been limited, but they have taken me to Ashdod and to Rehovot, nearby cities hosting government offices.
The round-about culture prevails in those communities as well.
I am told I need (yet another) certificate (אשור) to get handicap benefits, including getting my scooter on public transportation. (One of the two local train depots is well within my scooter’s 8 mile/13 km range {https://tinyurl.com/47rjpj5z} so getting to the train is no problem.)
That means a doctor’s authorization and THAT means I either wait six (6) months from the date I got off the plane at Lod to see a doctor or I spend several thousand dollars — not shekels — to buy medical coverage for 6 months, after which I will join a health organization (קופת חולים).
The reason for the delay is that too many citizen non-residents have come home to Israel to receive medical treatment and then, when healthy, once again abandoned the country — leaving their medical bills to be paid by the Israeli taxpayer. At least that is what I have been told.
AN ASIDE: There is an Ashkenazi rabbi whom I consider a friend. The rabbi writes in English but insists on transliterating words from Ashkenazi Hebrew or Yiddish. (The only Yiddish I know is Hebrew.) Often I cannot decipher his transliterated word; my limited Hebrew is “Israeli” Hebrew. Rather than try to transliterate, I present the English words in Latin letters followed by the Hebrew words in Hebrew characters.
Sources
1. http://www.etzel.org.il/english/ac20.htm:
Also see:
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-altalena-affair and
https://tinyurl.com/36vb3d6m
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