Interviews with Olim

Q. Where were you born and where did you grow up?

A. I was born in Netanya, Israel, but when I was one year old we went to live in Grenoble, France. After 4 years, we came back to Netanya and after another 4 years, at the age of 9, we went to live in Paris. I lived there for 33 years until I made aliyah.

Q. At what age did you come out? And how did it go? 

A. I came out to my brother and sister at the age of 18 and all went fine. At the age of 22, my parents “found” clues in my room and asked me to tell them the truth. They were sad and angry. They were convinced I could change if I wanted to and that I didn’t want to, only for the sake of hurting them.

They asked me to see a shrink, they tried many ways to influence me, etc. There was a tense period. But at that time I was with a guy, I felt confident and I stood up. They slowly started to understand. They went to listen to a gay kids/parents group, and they understood how genuine the bond was between me and my boyfriend. My mother asked to meet him, then my father joined, and slowly he became part of the family.

When I moved in with him, they were invited, and so was he to shabbat dinners and Jewish holidays (he wasn’t Jewish). We stayed together 7 years, we built a company, and when we broke up, I didn’t want to see anybody else. My parents went to comfort him! 😀 

Q. Were you involved at all in the LGBT community back home?

A. Since 2011 I have been involved in Beit Haverim, the French LGBT group in Paris. I tried to bring my skills to develop communication tools: logos, newsletters, party flyers, web design, brochures, banners, and even the poster for an amazing musical we made last year called Yalla!

Q. What is your involvement (if any) in the LGBT community in Israel?

A. I just started administrating the Israeli LGBT Francophone group on Facebook, to bring together old and new French-speaking olim and also people from abroad, coming to visit the country. I hope to make it grow, help people meet, create a sense of community, then start organizing events. So if you are or you know French-speaking people, join us!

Q. How long since you made Aliyah?

A. I made Aliyah on December 27th, 2017.

Q. Did you move here on your own or with family/friends/significant other?

A. I moved on my own. My closest family was already here. I was the last of our family to remain in Paris.

Q. Why did you make Aliyah? 

A. A series of personal events led me to a whole new situation that made this decision possible. I lost my father, then a year later I broke up with my boyfriend, and after a while I also wanted to leave the company I was working for. After a short holiday in Israel last year, I felt that it was the new adventure I wanted (needed?) to experience. Even though it’s a reality, my Aliyah has nothing to do with the anti-semitic events and atmosphere that exists in France. It wasn’t part of the process.

Q. How is it going so far? 

A. I consider myself very lucky. Things are going smoothly enough so that what’s not perfect is totally acceptable. I’m lucky to already have a fluent basic Hebrew, my brother and sister who have been here for many years made my Aliyah so much more comfortable, by giving me endless hints on daily things. I also did a career accelerator program with Gvahim, a non-profit organisation providing tools to adapt to the Israeli market and find a job faster through workshops, HR consultancy and mentoring. Finding an apartment or a job wasn’t easy, but not so much more than in Paris. You end up understanding the rules and then adapt to them.

Q. What do you do in terms of work?

A. I am a digital marketing and communication professional. For many years I was a digital project manager, conceiving websites and coordinating their development. I also had the chance to create and manage two companies, which allowed me to also do other things like sales, packaging, accounting… 

Q. How is your Ivrit?

A. My Ivrit is simple but quite fluent. Since I’m here I go to ulpan twice a week. I try to extend my lexicon, have a more elaborate language, make fewer grammatical mistakes. I hope one day I’ll be able to speak my mind as precisely as I can do it in French… 

Q. What has been your biggest challenge so far? 

A. I think my biggest challenge is to find the balance between staying who I am, with my temper, some French habits and politeness… and still fit in, taking the good things the Israeli way of life has to give. It’s especially true for work relationships, friendship and love as well. It’s an alchemy that you discover day by day and create for yourself.

Q. How do you perceive the Israeli LGBT community? 

A. I perceive it as a bold, creative and vibrant community, which has some specific issues to deal with in our beloved country. And some other issues that are not so different than other LGBT communities around the world. I don’t know yet if everybody here has this sense of community. I am also aware that the Tel Avivian way of life is far from the reality of smaller cities. After living in Paris, if Tel Aviv didn’t exist, would I have made Aliyah?…

Q. How is being LGBT in Israel different to back home?

A. I haven’t lived long enough here to experience the difference deeply enough. Even though I can feel some, I cannot put a name on it, and it has probably more to do with the complexity of the Israeli society itself, rather than specific LGBT issues (religion, politics, etc)

Q. If you were making aliyah now, would you do anything differently?

A. I did Aliyah not so long ago, so I don’t know. But what I would totally recommend for entering the job market is to check if the Gvahim program is suited for you, develop a network of new contacts from the beginning and never lose your enthusiasm 😉