Interviews with Olim

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

A. I was born in a place called Red Bank, NJ in the US and grew up three towns over, very imaginatively named “Ocean”.

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

A. I actually had two coming out phases. The first was when I was 17, coming out as a female-identified person attracted to women. The second was when I was 22, coming out as a trans man. Both times were rough, mostly with my parents, but with the rest of my family being supportive. When it came to friends, the first went much better than the second.

Q. Were you involved at all in the LGBT community in your previous country?

A. I was extremely involved in the local queer community. The town next to mine, Asbury Park, was the center of the vast majority of queer activities. I worked with different non-profits; HIV education and prevention center, helping trans folx with their name and gender marker changes, and trans sex workers of color, as a few highlights.

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

A. Since arriving in Israel, most of my queer involvement has been through LGBT Olim, but I’m starting to expand. I never get tired of being around members of the community.

Q. How long since you made Aliyah?

A. I have been here for 6½ months, but I had been planning to move here since I was 17 (I was 33 when I arrived).

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

A. I moved here with my cat.

Q. Why did you make Aliyah?

A. I had a very powerful spiritual experience the day I arrived in Israel for the first time. Ask me if you’d like to know more 🙂

Q. How is it going so far?

A. It’s been going well. Parts of the system are incredibly different and difficult compared to what I know from the US. At the same time, I have been incredibly happy since I arrived, and so many people have made me feel welcome.

Q. What do you do in terms of work?

A. I teach English as a Second Language

Q. How is your Ivrit?

A. My Ivrit is good enough to make Israelis give me a compliment for my efforts, but still incredibly limited.

Q. What has been your biggest challenge so far?

A. My biggest challenge since arriving is the medical system. I have a lot of health issues, and things are so incredibly different from the US. Adding in my limited Ivrit, I get confused and overwhelmed a lot. My very close second biggest challenge is always getting lost when going anywhere.

Q. How do you perceive the Israeli LGBT community?

A. The Israeli queer community seems welcoming and pleasant, though perhaps a bit unorganized and disjointed at times (Roy is innocent). I’m still working on getting to know the community outside of the olim bubble.

Q. How is being LGBT in Israel different to your where you lived previously?

A. I haven’t noticed too many differences between my community in the US vs in Israel, mostly because I’ve managed to surround myself with good people. Granted, I’m in the vicinity of Tel Aviv, and haven’t gone anywhere less welcoming for any extended period of time.

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

A. I don’t really know. I was delayed multiple times by things outside of my control. Maybe pay more attention to how EVERYTHING shuts down for holidays and Shabbat. Very different from other parts of the world, where the weekend is about being able to do more instead of less.