song of ascent

literally "to rise up," aliyah refers to the return of diaspora jews to the homeland, and in colloquial usage, implies taking Israeli citizenship. i've found that after living here on a series of 3-month tourist visas for over a year, pressure from israeli friends, relatives, jewish agency representatives and taxi drivers to "make aliyah" has dramatically increased.

why everyone is so eager for me to ascend in regards to my nationality status is a little baffling. I'll admit, there are some oft unseen advantages to travel post-aliyah (americans must purchase a $20 tourist visa to enter turkey, while israeli passport holders get in free), but in general, its not wise to wave an Israeli passport throughout most of this region.

so for those who are unaware of my broader mid-east travel dreams, aliyah does promise some substantial benefits including tax breaks and even cold, hard cash from the government. yes, if you are jewish, they will pay you to become a citizen.

but my citizenship is not something i am willing to take lightly and it seems that the more people ask me if i'm intending to make aliyah, the more adamantly i respond in the negative.

i have, however, accepted that spending another year on tourist visas (as much fun as it was to leave and re-enter the country every three months), is not the most viable option. and i have high hopes that my current internship at haaretz.com will soon blossom into a staff writer position and in this spirit of optimism, im proactively trying to get legal permission to be employed.

in this process of applying for a work visa, i've been met with responses of near-disgust, asking, "why dont you just make aliyah?" but i cant imagine that the bureaucratic process for citizenship is that much better than the maze of hoops one must jump through for the work visa. this coming sunday i will brave the wrath of misrad hapnim (ministry of the interior) for the first time in hopes of receiving a said visa. and i think i have my paper work in order; passport, passport photos, letter from an employer that wants to hire me, letter from a rabbi attesting to my jewishness, 140 shekels, a thank you note to ari lucas for posting a comment and 4 pairs of crocs in different colors.