Because getting to Jerusalem is only half the journey
A large proportion of new immigrants to the capital wind up moving back out — to other parts of Israel, or abroad. A new grassroots project is working to change that
Mindy Goldberg’s life is in Jerusalem. A 30-year-old married resource developer, she made aliya six years ago from Seattle, Washington, and found her way to the capital, where she learned Hebrew, found work and love. But most of her fellow immigrant friends have left.
“Jerusalem is a very transient city,” said Goldberg. “People come and go.”
For one reason or another, most of Goldberg’s friends from Ulpan Etzion, an intensive Hebrew language course for immigrants in Jerusalem, moved out of the city. Some went to Tel Aviv, others moved elsewhere, but most went back to where they came from, back home to their native counties. Goldberg, in a sense, was one of the lucky ones. She met her husband, Roy Assin, on a blind date set up by an adviser from her master’s program, and became part of the minority of immigrants who stay in the capital.
Approximately 2,000 immigrants come to Jerusalem each year, half of whom are between the ages of 19 and 30, according to the Immigrant Absorption department in the Jerusalem municipality. Yet out of the 400 immigrants who participate in Ulpan Etzion every year, only 40% remain in Jerusalem and the rest leave for various reasons, just like Goldberg’s friends.
Those are just some of the facts and figures recently gathered by Jerusalem Village, a three-year-old grassroots young community project, that conducted the first comprehensive, nonpolitical survey with the Jewish Agency to better understand why immigrants leave Jerusalem and what challenges they face.
“It’s been a conversation for years, but no one really took the initiative,” said Emily Ziedman, assistant director at Jerusalem Village, during a recent press conference to discuss the survey results.
The first part of the survey, which involved data from some 1,300 immigrants in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, was released last week. The results supported assumptions that had already been made by Jerusalem Village.
Still, said Lisa Barkan, director and founder of Jerusalem Village, “It’s one thing to have a hunch, it’s another to have it backed up by data.”
The survey found that 39% of new immigrants reported having difficulty building relationships with Israelis, and 67% report that most or all of their friends are fellow immigrants.
Even Goldberg, who was nearly fluent in Hebrew before coming to Israel, had issues making connections with Israelis.
“It’s not even an issue of language,” she said. “It’s an issue of cultural differences.”
Only 24% of those surveyed did not expect to leave Jerusalem in their foreseeable future. Those who said they might cited, among other factors, high prices, lack of employment and an inability to develop a career.
“Jerusalem does not take any responsibility for the hundreds of thousands of young adults that come to the city every year,” said Ziedman. But with all of the other issues that the city faces, she says that the government shouldn’t have to.
Barkan pointed out that Jerusalem Village is not the only group dedicated to helping immigrants. The Jewish Agency, working with the Prime Minister’s office, recently announced The Prime Minister’s Initiative. The project expects to raise as much as $300 million from the Israeli government and private donors in order to bring young Jews to Israel. It will fund teen trips, offer training for young Jewish leaders and create resources for new immigrants. The initiative will outsource work to successful grassroots projects, like the ROI Community, PresenTense and Jerusalem Village.
“It’s brilliant,” said Barkan. “They are trying to pool resources and really bring together all the grassroots agencies. Otherwise, all these programs are repetitive.”
For now, Barkan and Ziedman, along with their associates at Jerusalem Village, have taken it upon themselves to address the needs of the immigrants in Jerusalem, knowing, as former immigrants themselves, what it’s like to try to adapt to a new city and culture. They’ve developed a five-year strategic plan in order to create a sense of belonging for immigrants to the city.
The first phase teaches language and awareness, with Jerusalem Village providing one-on-one meetings with new immigrants, tours of the city and Hebrew classes. They also have seminars which teach Israelis and officials how to address the needs of new immigrants.
The second phase, niche discovery, connects the immigrants with Israelis. The newly-piloted program Chugim, or activities, brings together 15 immigrants and Israelis in a casual setting where they can speak easy Hebrew and work on hobbies such as photography, urban gardening and sports.
The final phase is about self-fulfillment. It includes mentoring, practice interviews and a social initiative fund that supports social entrepreneurship.
Goldberg said she only felt connected to the city once she began paying attention to the various opportunities offered for people her age.
“There are a lot of things going on for young adults, and immigrants don’t have a way of finding out about it,” she said. “It took about two years for me to find out, and I was already able to speak Hebrew.”
However, even knowing about the programs might not be enough for all new immigrants. Niko Katz, 27, made aliya from Geneva, Switzerland, last November. He said that despite attending Jerusalem Village events, he still struggles to make friends.
“I learned stuff and I had a good time, but I haven’t bonded with anyone outside of the events. he said. “The Shabbat dinners are a little too big,” he added, mentioning one of the Jerusalem Village events, “and not all the people are the same age.”
He agreed that a smaller dinner, such as the ones that Jerusalem Village is piloting this fall, would probably be more effective.
His sister, Sanny Katz, 25, who immigrated three years ago, also did not make any lasting connections from the Jerusalem Village events. Since French is her native language, she said she found it harder to participate in the events usually held in English. However, she said the photography activity was “very comfortable,” and if it had been arranged more frequently, she probably would have made friends with the other participants.
Jerusalem Village is using the data from the survey to adapt its programming, said Barkan. According to Goldberg, the successful immigrant, Jerusalem Village “has gone through a process of trying to find the right questions to ask, and come up with good answers that are creative and new,” she said.
Barkan said she hopes that with effective programming, she can flip the statistics so that in future years, the majority of immigrants will stay in Jerusalem instead of leaving.
“It’s not enough to have them come,” added Deputy Mayor Naomi Tsur during the press conference, speaking as a former immigrant from England. “They have to want to stay. Once you’ve connected to the city, then it’s a lifetime romance.”
The Times of Israel Community.