You’re not cool enough to stay…

Getting to my blog has been really hard lately. I keep looking over the Jerusalem Post and Haaretz and thinking ehhh.

My friend Scott works for the Jewish Agency getting new Olim situated there first few months in Israel. He always posts on Facebook his activities: camps for kids just off the plane or "OLIM CHADASHIM @ MEZCAL עולים
חדשים @ מזקל because aliyah is supposed to be fun." They meet every Wednesday night for Mexican food and conversation. Every time I see a post, I think, "Wow, I want to go." The young immigrants group has a page on Facebook for people to ask questions, post jobs, look for help. Of course, he's not the only one helping olim find their place in Israel. Dreams of making aliyah are great. Dreams may even get you there, but once you're actually on the land, you need a job. The reality is without a job, making it is hard. When people can't find jobs, they move back to galut. (exile). That's where Brad Bernstein comes in a transplant from San Diego, he realized that while he'd created great connections in Israel, other olim where having a much harder time. The Jerusalem post covered his story in King of the Anglos.

According to Bernstein, if they didn't have work, they couldn't stay. Thus, in order to keep new Israeli's in the country, he connected his contacts with olim in need of work. He created Jobs In Israel, "Simply titled "Jobs in Israel," the blog, which receives a couple hundred hits a day, is exactly that - a listing of jobs that would be of interest to white-collar English-speakers like Bernstein himself."The goal is to help people," Bernstein explains." (King of the Anglos)
When Jews come to Israel when they are young, university and army service allows them to become a part of society; however, "Bernstein took it upon himself to create a frame, of sorts - edged by the "Jobs in Israel" blog and weekly parties - in an attempt to help immigrants assimilate holistically." (King of the Anglos). His parties were very exclusive and people had to be invited in order to join. This is the point of the article that I thought, " What, seriously? Now getting a job means you have to be cool? That's how we get people to feel comfortable staying in Israel?" The article says the parties are over (of course it doesn't say why), I suppose it's a marketing strategy: look how awesome these people are, they are cool enough to come to my party, they must be cool enough to work for you. Have I got it wrong? I feel like the goal is to make people feel comfortable and get them jobs. Not, get them into some exclusive club. Besides, "I'd never join a club that would allow a person like me to become a member."

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