Afula Aliyah | Imamother

amother

Jean

Sat, May 13 2023, 3:31 pm

Which community are you referring to that should continue growing ? I heard that the American community that was started with a lot of hype and overexaggeration of numbers completely fell apart. Some moved out and others to Afula Ilit and a few are sticking it out in the original location (I think called the Rova).

Can you please explain (a few of you) why you call Afula a "hidden gem" or an "amazing place to make Aliyah to" ? All of Israel is special. Besides being cheaper than many of the places where most of the Anglos make Aliyah to, what is the uniqueness of Afula ? If you are chareidi then maybe parts of Givat Hamoreh or Afula Ilit are suitable, or if you are traditional then maybe more spots there work. There isn't much middle ground or dati leumi there (I may be wrong but that is my impression). There are lots of foriegners (some not Jewish) and even arabs frequent the parks there.
Anglos also need rabbinical guidance and I'm wondering if there are (besides Rabbi Gold who everyone knows) any experienced english speaking rabbonim there ?? A friend of mine just visited there and noted that he drove for 40 minutes straight (route 6 and 65 ?) passing by or through arab cities.

If you love Afula, wonderful. I'm just trying to understand beyond the platitudes of "hidden gem" or "amazing place for Aliya" why it is more appealing than other places for Olim If you can chose anywhere to make aliya to from the USA, what is your selling point for Afula that overrides the realities that I described above ? (Not saying you aren't happy and are in the wrong place. Please don't misunderstand me. ) Thanks.

amother

Crimson

Sat, May 13 2023, 4:58 pm

I think it's risky for new olim to go to places like Afula. Frum life in Israel is different to chul and Charedi communities can be very different and very closed minded. Anglos need places with established Anglo oriented infrastructure like RBS and Yerushalayim. One can end up feeling like me - isolated and disconnected from the frum life that I once knew. Please be careful. (Speaking from experience)

amother

Mayflower

Sat, May 13 2023, 5:08 pm

queen-b wrote:

For anyone thinking about making aliyah and looking into orthodox communities I wanted to let you know that Afula is an amazing place. We originally came with the American kehilla but realized that we need more of an integration so we decided to put our kids into the Israeli school system. It's still a pioneering project as ulpan resources are just now in the beginning stages of being put in place. My kids are the first English speakers in their schools and although they only started 2 weeks ago, they had the warmest of welcomes both from the administration and from the kids. I told my kids they could go for partial day, but after the first day, they wanted to stay the full day (despite not understanding much). I'd be happy to answer any specific questions. I have no ulterior motive in posting this. Part of me wants to keep it a secret but I remember before making aliyah and realizing that RBS might not work out due to the lack of real estate (this was just at the end of corona when apartments were hard to find) as well as finding a school for each of my kids seemed overwhelming and I felt a lost in direction of where we can go. Now that we are here in Afula and that I see it has lot of potential I just wanted to share this place as a viable option.

You posted under your screen name, If anybody wants to reach the people you mentioned they can always DM you. I think you should remove the phone numbers and email addresses. I will report my post and yours too.

Rappel

Sat, May 13 2023, 5:13 pm

amother Jean wrote:

I think it is natural and right that olim start as a group for mutual support, but then springboard off in their own directions as they get on their feet.

The place you land is almost never the place you land up. Aliyah is a growth process, and that growth usually involves change of location, affiliation, schools, or environment.

To me, your description there sounds like a successful oleh community. If they'd all stuck together, it would be a sign that they're not making it in Israel.

amother

Stoneblue

Sat, May 13 2023, 5:51 pm

Rappel wrote:

Well said!
Only reason why the community was a fail from my understanding is because the original plan was for it to stay American and it not turn into an Israeli situation. I just saw an add for the Kehilla. They are advertising it as a fully American situation.
But speaking from experience it simply doesn't work. To live in Israel you have to either go to RBS, Yerushalayim or if you can handle it full blown Israeli.

amother

Stoneblue

Sat, May 13 2023, 5:55 pm

amother Crimson wrote:

It sounds like that is why OP is trying to get olim to come to Afula. To make it less lonely for the Americans. I am sure Afula is an amazing place just like anywhere else in Israel is but there does seem to be an agenda here. In general tho no one makes Aliya without doing a pilot trip first so I guess people can see it for themselves and decide if it is the place for them or not.

amother

DarkOrange

Sat, May 13 2023, 9:50 pm

Goodness, posters seem to have an agenda here of putting down OP or others who have good things to say about this city. Anyone who dared say here that it's a good community earned themselves a few hugs.

I know nothing about this city, but just because one poster on here has posted in the past about issues with the new kehilla there (IIRC she didn't actuallly end up living there at all), that does't mean that no one else could have had a good experience there.

amother

Daylily

Sat, May 13 2023, 10:50 pm

amother DarkOrange wrote:

Thank you! I have friends in the new Anglo community there, and it is definitely not a "failure." Some families found other communities that ended up a better fit (very normal part of the Aliyah process), and some decided they want to send their kids to Israeli schools. Many stayed and there are new families moving in the future to join. How does that make the community a failure?

Why does everyone insist on speaking badly about this wonderful venture?

amother

Slateblue

Sat, May 13 2023, 10:53 pm

amother Daylily wrote:

Its a failure because they couldn't keep up with almost all the promises they had, and it misled people into moving and now have to make hard decisions about what they will do now. Some of those people would of never moved to Israel without this support and have to figure out if they are going to make the expensive journey of moving back to the USA and starting over.

amother

Stoneblue

Sat, May 13 2023, 11:19 pm

amother DarkOrange wrote:

No one is putting OP down. People who have made aliya and know how hard it is are just saying that their perspective.
Aliya is a very very very big adjustment and to move to a place like Afula makes it an even bigger adjustment. Like I said in a previous post we spent a shabbos in Afula recently. There really is not a strong American presence. If I remember correctly there at only 3 English speaking families in Elite.
We are just showing the other side of the coin.

amother

Jean

Sun, May 14 2023, 12:39 am

amother DarkOrange wrote:

Nobody was putting anyone down. People are asking questions, realistic questions, that should be answered.

If someone claims that a city is an amazing place to make Aliyah to, or another one calls it a hidden gem, then what is wrong with asking them the selling points of that City?

When my friends visited Afula this year from the states (because of the new American community there) and decided not to pursue it, I asked them the same questions----what about it didn't interest them?

Nothing personal at all. The more information out there for people to consider, the better.

fiddle

Sun, May 14 2023, 12:45 am

I have no agenda. I have no interest in convincing Americans to come here - I just left all of them in rbs after 16 years.
My husband works from home, and we also sell bbq and sourdough from our house - so no commute. But there is a train here, and I’m sure plenty of people use it.
I personally live on a block where I am the only religious person and under 65, and couldn’t be happier. Eventually the olds will move out, and young’s move in. That’s the cycle of life.
We moved here because I found a house and schools and just picked up and went.
Living in bet shemesh showed me how stuck people get there and really never let themselves acclimate into Israeli society which causes many miserable children and miserable marriages.
It was a fake sense of belonging to something that never was. We tried multiple shuls over the years, and never found anything. The schools are really not great once the kids hit middle school, and even so - it changed so much that it’s so American and chareidi - I may as well have lived in Lakewood.
We had no real friends, just acquaintances over the years and our kids had nobody. My family is all there still, and that’s what I left. That was tough. But they all visit me here.
Life in the north is calm. It’s peaceful. It’s quiet. People are pleasant and not going crazy because you parked in their spot by mistake. The streets aren’t congested, other than Friday pickup - which is still not as bad as bet shemesh ever was. That place is a concrete jungle of most people on medication because they’re miserable and can’t deal with life. The children are a mess because they’re not Israeli nor American and they are all just lost.
I’m not speaking for everyone. But a tremendous percentage.
Obviously for those making aliyah, it’s a great cushion, but leave after a year and don’t get too comfortable. Israel isn’t for everyone, but it’s the only place I’d ever want to be.

amother

Winterberry

Sun, May 14 2023, 1:34 am

fiddle wrote:

That's quiet a depressing post. I know many people who are very happy in bet shemesh and don't have these problems. People are different and need different things. I'm sure afula is right for some people and bet shemesh for others. But, people shouldn't think bet shemesh is so bad.. That's just one person's view.

fiddle

Sun, May 14 2023, 1:45 am

amother Winterberry wrote:

I know many people who share my views. And I’d lived there many years and interacted with so many people. Obviously there are always people happy everywhere - it’s an internal thing, but bet shemesh is not really all it’s cut out to be.