Page 4 - ChicagOlim Chronicles

been the end of it. Nope! As I was calling to check on our approval, someone from the Jewish Agency in Israel
said they still didn’t have those forms (this was three months later). Our interviewer had scanned the forms, but
apparently never actually uploaded them to our file, so we had to fill them out again and resend. Murphy’s law
struck again!

Additionally, like with any interaction with officialdom, you need to be on top of your “file”. Stay in contact
with both NBN and the Jewish Agency and you might have to do a bit of research of your own, especially, if
your family situation is somewhat out of the ordinary.

For example, we were told by a Jewish Agency representative that Benji and Naomi did not need FBI
background checks. Benji, because he holds Israeli citizenship (as a child of an Israeli) and Naomi because she
was already in Israel. In reality, Benji did not need one but Naomi did. Then there was confusion regarding our
son, Meir, who wanted to return to Israel for Shana Bet and participate in Machal (a volunteer, shortened army
service designed for non-Israelis). An army advisor at NBN thought that because Meir’s parents (us) were
making Aliyah, therefore Meir (who was not making Aliyah with us) might not be eligible for Machal.
Fortunately, once his Yeshiva and I both contacted Machal directly, we found out that Meir was in fact eligible.

Helpful Hint #3 Be a proactive advocate, especially if there are some special circumstances. Bottom line,
thankfully, is that both NBN and the Jewish Agency have the same goal: to help you navigate a complex
process successfully. So, reach out them to schedule your interview and then to keep on top of your
documentation status. If you have any “name issues” where your birth name differs from your other legal
documents (passports, marriage license, etc.) - talk to a lawyer early to obtain a letter verifying it’s the same
person. Check on your application status once you’ve had the interview. Though you might get tired of hearing
“Ein Li Eretz Acheret” for the billionth time while on hold with the Jewish Agency, stick with it.

Chapter 4 Batyah describes Shipping

To ship or not to ship- that is the question. The answer depends on several factors. How attached are you to
certain items or furniture? Do you know the physical space in Israel to which you will be moving? Is it really
cheaper to ship than to buy new? These are all excellent questions that only you can answer. Facebook groups
like “Making Aliyah This Year” and “Living Financially Smarter in Israel” are excellent resources as are
Nefesh B’Nefesh webinars. Remember that room sizes are generally smaller, styles are different, storage space
is scarce and less is more. In general, the more you can get rid of prior to Aliyah, the better.

When considering who to use for shipping, it’s important to understand that there are three parties who are
involved: a local US mover who packs you, a shipper/exporter, and a local Israeli mover on the other end. When
choosing with whom to sign, you need to factor in who and where you want your point person to be. Once you
hire one- they hire out the rest of those pieces and work them throughout. I’m going to give a shout out here to
Sonigo Shipping. They made an excellent pitch for having our point person be the local Israeli mover. Shmuel,
our Sonigo rep, argued that if, G-d forbid, something goes wrong, we will have someone in our time zone,
whose office we can physically go to if needed rather than having to track down someone with a time difference
and a lot of telephone tag. Sonigo worked with HK Worldwide as the local Chicago mover and Rainer as the
shipper/exporter. So far, they have been amazing at answering questions and communicating with us as to
where our shipment is along the way.