On Tuesdays We Vote

After only a little over two months in this country I've already taken part in one of it's most amazing aspects—it's democratic process. Some fun facts about Israeli Democracy:
-Israel votes on a Tuesday because in the book of Genesis it is written twice on Tuesday (the 3rd day) that "this was good".
-This is going to be Israel's 20th Knesset (name for the Israeli Parliament)
-Israel has had one female Prime Minister—Golda Meir from 1969-1974
-The Israeli Parliament has 120 seats and a party must get at least 3.25% to sit in the Knesset
-On voting day you go to your polling place, are given a little blue envelope and are invited to go behind a little blue booth. Behind the booth are a selection of little slips of papers, each with the symbol of the participating parties. You choose one slip, seal the envelope and drop it in a blue box.

The election system here is much different than in the US because the style of government is different. Israel has a single chamber parliamentary system, with a Prime Minister (PM) and many more parties than the US. Essentially how it works is you get to vote for a single party. Each party then has a list of people who will sit in the Knesset (name for Israeli Parliament) depending on the percentage of votes they get. For example, Israel's current PM Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu, is part of the Likkud party, the party with the highest percentage of seats in the latest Knesset.

The PM is not necessarily the head of the party with the most seats, although they have always been. Once the elections are over each of the parties who qualified to sit in the Knesset go to the President and recommend who they think should be the PM. The President then appoints the PM and gives him/her a time limit to create a coalition. The purpose of the coalition is for the sitting government to function. In the US we have 2 parties, one is always the majority and the other the minority. One needs 61+ seats in the Knesset to have a majority and it is nearly impossible for any single party to receive this high number of seats. Thus, the appointed PM must invite different parties to be part of what is called "the coalition" (essentially the majority party).

The system is a bit complicated to understand initially, so you can imagine how difficult it is to choose who you want to vote for. Do you vote for a larger party in order to influence who will likely become the next Prime Minister? Or do you vote for a smaller, fringe party because you want them to have a significant presence in the coalition? Will the party you want to vote for likely make it into a coalition led by a given PM? So many questions. On one hand the dynamic nature of the Israeli Political systems makes it engaging and fun, but it also makes it challenging to know what choices to make. I personally enjoy it very much and feel so privileged to participate in the only Jewish Democracy in the world! If you're interested in who I voted for and why, feel free to ask me!

אני ישראלי! - !I'm Israeli

I've officially been an Israeli for 1 week and 2 days and a lot has happened in that short period of time. Life in Israel is fast-paced and seems like it never stops (but it magically does on Shabbat).

Tuesday I arrived in Jerusalem at Beit Canada (בית קנדה) for Ulpan Etzion. For those unfamiliar, Ulpan is a course for learning Hebrew. My particular program is an intensive, live-in Ulpan. There are over 200 of us from all over the world living here at Beit Canada! I has been nice to be with many other olim chadashim (new immigrants). Together we've been navigating the many bureaucratic tasks that we need to get taken care of. I've visited several DMV-like offices in the last couple of days (you know the kind where you take a number and then go to a certain number window and then another window). I officially have my teudat zeut (ID card), phone number, and bank account – although not without some difficulty. My first teudat zeut was spelled wrong! They put Alberston instead of Albertson and I had to visit Misrad Haponim (Ministry of Interior) to get a new one before I could get my bank account or anything else.

Many have asked about my living conditions. We are placed in apartments with 2-4 people. In my particular apartment I have just 1 other roommate. Her name is Shelby and she is from Chigaco. Our apartment has one larger room with 2 beds in it and another tiny room with 1 bed in it. I decided to take the tiny room. Each apartment has it's own bathroom and a small kitchen with a little stove and refrigerator (although we don't need the refrigerators because our apartments are so freezing cold!!!). There are quite a few things we need to get for the apartment, and slowly but surely we are turning out little ice box into a home!

And for the foodies, I have officially had both falafel and shawarma. I have also had Israeli breakfast and shakshouka twice.

That's all for now! I'm sure I'll have more to report when class actually starts (if I survive...). Shabbat Shalom!

ברוכים הבאים הביתה - Welcome Home

Approximately 34 hours ago something amazing happened. I made Aliyah! I became an official Israeli!

When I look back on my life it is so crazy to think this is where I'd end up. Who knew that little Amy, growing up in a mixed faith, mixed cultural and ethnic family in Sacramento, CA would someday be Israeli? I didn't even know what it meant to be Jewish until I was already double digits and post Bat Mitzvah age. Well, look at me now! I'm living in the Holy Land, the only Jewish country in the world.

It's obviously a difficult thing, moving to a new country all by yourself, but I never feel alone. I am so lucky to have the support of so many, both near and far. I have to say thank you to everyone for all of the supportive phone calls, messages, facebook posts, tweets, instagrams, etc. They really mean so much to me.

I have to say thank you to my family, both Jewish and not. You all have made me who I am today and each have played a special role in me ending up here. I realize I just put myself thousands of miles from you all, but our love is a strong connection (and it is made all the easier by the internet, thank Gd). I'll come visit you often and hope that you'll all get the chance to come visit me.

I have to thank the Jewish community of Portland. Thank you Greater Portland Hillel for showing me where to find friends and supporting me in finding my voice as both a Jew and an Israel advocate. Thank you to the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland for showing me what a Jewish community does for each other. Thank you to Congregation Shaarie Torah for welcoming me in with open arms and teaching me about being Jewish. You were my first Jewish community, you were where I discovered my intense love for Israel, and I hope that you can continue to be that for others.

I have to thank my friends, both in the US and Israel. To my American friends: thank you for accepting and supporting the transformation I've gone through in the last few years. I know not all of you can fully understand it, but you've always let me be me. To my Israelis: thank you for showing me what Israel is. I am so proud and excited to be one of you now!

And of course I have to thank Gd, but he and I talk a lot so he knows all that I have to say.

Here's to an exciting future as an Israeli! I'm not sure what the future holds but I feel good about it. I know I'll face many new challenges during this process but I look forward to building my new life.