English website helps new olim
New Telalivit website aims to ease new immigrants into culture, social life of Tel Aviv. 'There are so many cultural and religious events in Tel Aviv that the opportunity should be ample to meet people, but a lot of time olim don’t know where to look,' says founder
The decision to make aliyah can be overwhelming. There are many things to consider when someone moves from their country of birth to Israel. With so many young people today flocking to Tel Aviv, it is important for them to have a place that introduces them to the city and helps to ease the transition into Israeli life.
New website Telalivit.com does just that. Telalivit founder Kevin Nafte, who just three years ago was a new oleh himself, explained that, “Coming to Israel to live is a big culture shock. Getting through the bureaucracy, finding jobs, finding an apartment, can be a lot to handle. The idea is to help olim through that process and make it go smoother.”
Telalivit was launched just three months ago and already has about 800 members. The site is a sort of dummies guide to aliyah. It explains in English how to open a bank account, find an apartment, search for a job or volunteer opportunities, look for Hebrew classes, or even just suggestions for where to go on Shabbat.
Nafte got the idea for the site after he met many new English-speaking immigrants while working with Young Judea, helping them from when they first arrived, through the highs and lows of the first year in Israel. It began with a Facebook group to help olim get together so they didn’t feel isolated in a new country.
“There are so many cultural and religious events in Tel Aviv that the opportunity should be ample to meet people, but a lot of time olim don’t know where to look, or the events are listed in Hebrew. One objective of the website is to show Tel Aviv through an international lens that olim can relate to. People can do the same work they would do in London or NY, live in a great apartment, sit in cafes and go to the beach. This connects them to other people going through the same thing,” said Nafte.
Opening up opportunities in Tel Aviv
For those who want to find alternative to the work they were doing in their home country, Telalivit also provides a place for people to find out about volunteer opportunities with organizations in Tel Aviv that are affiliated with the site. Telalivit can set people up to work with refugees, volunteer with Table to Table, work with the Protection for Nature Society, or volunteer with the Peres Center for Peace or Stand With Us International.Because there are many young olim who make aliyah and join the army (in fact there are about 500 living in Tel Aviv alone), the website offers a link to the Center for Lone Soldiers, which helps young soldiers find an adopting family and have a place that feels like home to go to on weekends or for Friday night dinner.
All in all, moving to Tel Aviv is a great decision filled with twists and turns that someone might need help with. “Tel Aviv has so many different people from so many different cultures. Telalivit helps people to unite and learn about where each other comes from and how to jump into life here in Tel Aviv," Nafte concluded.
Dummies guide to aliyah
צילום: Kevin Nafte
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