Secular Zionists Making Aliyah Not as Rare as You Think

It never ceases to amaze me how shocked people are when they hear that I made aliyah by myself and that I am not religious. While I would agree that the majority of North Americans who make aliyah are more observant than me and move to Jerusalem, or even more towards the East, there are more secular Zionists out there than meets the eye (and the press).

Living in Tel Aviv I encounter lots of young, secular, Zionists who move to Israel for any number of reasons. When Israelis ask me their favorite question of “why” I usually answer “because of the weather” or “for the tomatoes.” We all have our reasons of why, but just as interesting, is how? That is where the blog comes in handy.

I am certainly not the first “olah chadashah” (new immigrant) to use a blog as an outlet to explain to people what is going on. You can find an entire link devoted to blogs from new immigrants on Jerusalem Post Online and the Nefehs B’Nefesh newsletter, the organization that helps new immigrants from North America get settled in Israel, features an oleh’s blog each month.

If you are completely intrigued and enthralled by reading my blog and care to see what other young secular Zionist immigrants might be going through, then check out the links that I have added to the right-hand side of my blog from some of my friends. Each of us has our own perspective on life here, but at the end of the day we are all happy we came. Take a look…

Matti's Blog

Idan's Blog

Lerone's Blog