Interviews with Olim
Each month, we interview an oleh or olah for our newsletter.
We invite you to read the stories of LGBTQ+ people who have made Israel their home.
"I fell in love with the land and the culture here."
Interview date: September 2014.
Updated: August 2022. Scroll down for update.
Q. Where were you born and where did you grow up?
A. I was born in Texas, USA and was adopted and raised in New Jersey.
Q. What age did you come out? And how did it go?
A. I came out to a close friend when I was 14. We were sitting in her room gossiping about hot actors and I blurted out how hot some of the women actresses were. She looked at me blankly and I said “What? I’m bisexual.” She just said, “ok”. A few minutes later, it hit her what I said and she said she doesn’t care, and then proceeded to ask which actresses I thought were hot. To this day, I have never come out to my parents. They are ultra-orthodox and would disown me.
Q. Were you involved at all in the LGBT community back home?
A. I was very involved in the LGBT community back home. I loved helping to plan dances and outings.
Q. How long since you made Aliyah?
A. I made aliyah in December 2010, so almost 4 years ago.
Q. Why did you make Aliyah?
A. I made aliyah because I fell in love with the land and the culture here. I also had met someone who I am now married to. He definitely influenced my decision on living here.
Q. Did you move here on own or with family/friends/significant other?
A. I made aliyah alone, but arrived to friends and family.
Q. How is it going so far?
A. Loaded question! Times are tough when things get tight financially, but generally things are great! Being part of an LGBT community helped me get my footing and knowing people made things easier.
Q. What do you think about the Israeli LGBT community so far?
A. So far, so good. There are still many areas that need to develop an LGBT community. I am trying to create a ‘safe haven’ for LGBT adolescents in Beit Shemesh now. People are not too happy about it. It’s sad that in so many communities people need to hide who they are. I want the whole of Israel to be as tolerant and accepting as Tel Aviv is now.
Q. If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor?
A. Hmmmmmm….. Roy Freeman. Look at all the things he has done for the LGBT community! I want to be able to do these things as well. {Roy: Matla, you’re waaaay too kind!!]
Q. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
A. If I could learn to do anything, i would learn how to fly! Israeli traffic is horrible! 🙂
Q. If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose?
A. This is easy! I would want to be a muppet! I love the Muppets!
Q. Any plans or dreams for the future?
A. I dream of my photography company becoming really big and successful, I dream of being able to open an LGBT safe haven in Beit Shemesh, and in all seriousness I dream of being able to eat ice cream and not worry about the calories.
Matla
Our Newsletter
Sign up if you would like to receive a monthly email listing events of interest to LGBT English-speakers in Israel, an interview with an oleh/olah and other useful information.
Want to be interviewed?
Complete the form below and we will get back to you.
"Living in Israel is so amazing and rewarding."
Interview date: August 2022
Q. Has your life changed since we last interviewed you? If so, how?
A. Yes! My life has changed in so many ways! I got divorced, discovered new things about myself, and found my now fiancé and just had my second child!
Q. Are you still living in the same town/city to which you made aliyah? Or have you moved around?
A. Nope! I now live in Ramla. A wonderful diverse city right near the airport. Since making Aliyah I have lived in Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, and now Ramla.
Q. Are you working in your desired industry/area? Do you have any advice on job hunting, job applications and interviews?
A. I currently work in ‘Amelut Meches’ which translates more or less to customs clearance. I enjoy very much what I do!
My best advice for job hunting in Israel is to get onto LinkedIn. Many, many recruiters are on it and many, many jobs are posted there, both in English and Hebrew!
As for job applications and interviews, be confident when going in/submitting. Trust in your abilities and trust in yourself. Many places of work in Israel look for strong and confident people.
When I went into my current employer for an interview, I did not have any knowledge of the field I would be working in. I did however have confidence in myself that I would be able to learn quickly what needed to be done, and here I am 2.5 years later working for a great company. Hebrew is definitely needed to work in Israel. So I highly recommend going to an Ulpan class.
Q. How is your Ivrit now? What sites or apps would you recommend that helped you?
A. I’ve been in Israel 11.5 years, and I can finally say my Hebrew is close to fluent. I made the mistake of never going to Ulpan, and instead learnt Hebrew the hard way, through forcing myself into situations where I needed to learn and understand Hebrew. I would read the newspaper and circle all the words I didn’t know and Google Translate them and slowly but surely between speaking with people in super basic Hebrew and reading the newspaper, my language skills grew.
I will say though, that because I never took Ulpan I do struggle a lot with the feminine vs masculine versions of words, and using the correct form of a word (for example using the past tense instead of using the present tense of the word). So I highly recommend going to Ulpan and NOT learning Hebrew the way I did.
Q. Have you discovered any off-the-beaten-track locations that you’d recommend to others?
A. Oh my, there are so many!! Israel has so many hidden beautiful places waiting to be explored! I definitely recommend Israel’s Hot Springs! On top of the health benefits, they are beautiful and oh so warm! There are hot springs located all over the country from Tiberias, Tel Aviv, Dead Sea, Galilee…
Q. Are there any other groups or activities that you found that helped you integrate more into Israeli society?
A. Being a mother, I tend to take my kids to the park and that is where I have integrated a lot more into Israeli society. Most of our readers here are not parents so going to the kids park wouldn’t be the best choice, so I recommend finding a common interest group! For me, I also love playing DnD (yes, I know, nerd alert!) so I found a Hebrew-speaking group! The bonus was that the participants understood basic English so they were able to help me with learning some new Hebrew terms and helping me when I didn’t know the Hebrew word for something.
Having a common interest group can really help integrate, and help build up Hebrew skills by forcing you into a scenario where you need to communicate in Hebrew and work on communication skills.
Q. Do you feel that living in Israel has changed you? If so, how?
A. Oh 100% I have changed! I have learnt the real value of a penny while living in Israel, and I have learnt to have a tougher skin.
Q. Do you have any practical advice for new olim/olot or anyone who’s considering making aliyah?
A. My practical advice for any new Olah/Oleh is to be a financial planner! Do NOT take financial aspect of Aliyah lightly. Living in Israel is so amazing and rewarding but it is also expensive! And being an Oleh/Olah, I found I didn’t know the hidden tricks and secrets into saving money in Israel, and my first several years here were extremely hard financially.
There are now many, many opportunities to learn about financial planning in Israel and I highly recommend anyone and everyone who is planning Aliyah or who has already made Aliyah to look into the options.
First of all, speak to your bank! You might be surprised to know that most large banks in Israel offer free financial planning! They sit down with you and go over your income and expenses and help you build a budget and plan to be financially smarter! Most banks also offer this in English! So there’s no excuse not to ask them for this service.
Another wonderful place to learn about finance tips in Israel is on Facebook in the “Living financially smarter in Israel” group. There are so many wonderful people there who give tips and advice and share the secrets to saving money in Israel.
Also speaking with Olim who have been here in Israel for a while can really help with your new Aliyah experience. Reach out and ask for help when needed. Many of us have been there, and done that and can help with advice and support. So don’t be shy, reach out! I’m almost always available on FB Messenger to answer questions or even just to have a chat and say hi! You are never alone when you make Aliyah. Know that there is always someone here to welcome you and to help you out.
Matla
Our Newsletter
Sign up if you would like to receive a monthly email listing events of interest to LGBT English-speakers in Israel, an interview with an oleh/olah and other useful information.
Want to be interviewed?
Complete the form below and we will get back to you.
