For the past week or so, since the contest ended, I have
been composing a note, with fits and starts, to thank everyone who has been
voting, emailing, Facebooking (is that a word?) and more in support of our getting
jobs here in Israel. One of the things that has hindered my progress is that I
was hoping that I would be able to say that I have accepted a position in that
email. Unfortunately, that announcement will have to wait although my
expression of appreciation cannot be put off any longer.
The contest that we entered had a few objectives, depending
upon your perspective. From the viewpoint of Nefesh B’Nefesh, they were hoping
to get as many people as possible thinking about aliyah even if only for a few
moments each day and perhaps putting a “face” on the experiences of some olim.
I think that their goal was met.
From our vantage point, we were hoping to get some help in
searching for jobs in Israel. I think that this objective was met as well. Although
I have not yet accepted any offers, there have been numerous people in Nefesh
B’Nefesh who have been diligently working either directly with me or directly
with the employers or completely behind the scenes making contacts and sending
out my resume or reference letters for me to so many companies. Through their
efforts (and in conjunction with my own contacts) I have had a number of
interviews in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Petach Tikva and I have been in contact
with a number of other companies in those and other cities for some very
exciting positions in IT Security and Compliance. I know that the good people
at NBN have not slowed in their efforts now that the contest is over and that
the right match will materialize soon.
I have absolutely been in awe and I am humbled by the number
of people who have shown us so much support, making our personal challenge into
their personal objective. I have run into people all over, in pizza stores, on
the street, in Israel and the US who have told us that they are voting for us
each day. It is amazing how many people this contest has reached. I hope that
through this exposure some people have given a little more thought to aliyah
and will join us here in this incredible country some day soon. And I know that
all of your efforts had a profound effect.
I wish the best of luck to all of the other contestants and
I hope that each of us will find our perfect job here. So many of them worked
hard at following the guidelines of this contest and meeting the challenge emails that NBN sent out on occasion. They made tremendous efforts to
reach out to all of their friends and family. And I am sure that NBN will not
give up on them either and will work with them to get them settled soon.
This country is incredible. The economy is thriving,
construction is ubiquitous and jobs are to be found in practically every
industry. Our 3000+ year old connection to this country, our heritage, is felt
in the streets of Jerusalem, the hills of Judea and Samaria and the towns and
villages of the Gallil and Golan. You see it in the faces of the oldest and
youngest citizens and in the pride of the soldiers that you meet each day. This
is our country and it is one of the most important things in our lives. The
struggles that our ancestors faced just a few generations ago to come here have
been replaced by a new set of challenges, but just as they were met in
generations past, none of them are insurmountable today. It is time to come
home to Israel.
