Aliya + 1 month – “Thank You”

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.