Advice from an Israeli

Flight landed! The claps, the cheers, the bumper to bumper traffic to leave the plane. Nothing out of the ordinary.

At noon on Wednesday, 8/18, my flight finally landed in Israel. I left the plane, and zigzagged my way through the airport with all of the other Olim. We stopped along the way to receive our Teudat Oleh (card for new immigrants), as well as other important paperwork that will soon be needed for many bureaucratic obstacles such as receiving our Teudat Zehut (Israeli identification card) and opening a bank account. We dealt with customs, picked up our luggage, and got a nice swab throughout our noses that was able to tell if we had COVID or not. And no, I do not.

Ben Gurion International Airport isn't necessarily what one would call "authentic Israel." The airport is just a little bubble separating life in the Jewish state from connections to all over the world. It wasn't until I left the airport, and jumped into my taxi, that I really had my first Israeli interaction.

As a new Oleh with Nefesh b'Nefesh, I am entitled to a free taxi ride from the airport to my destination, and in this case my quarantine apartment. I left the airport, walked towards the sign saying "New Olim," and jumped into the taxi where the woman from Nefesh b'Nefesh was pointing. I put my bags in the trunk, jumped into the car, and the taxi driver, knowing I was a new Oleh, asked where I was heading, and that was it.

The ride was silent, and the taxi driver was nothing but a typical Israeli. Dark tan skin, deep voice, cigarette in one hand and the other on the steering wheel, windows down, classic Israeli music in the background and Tel Aviv skyline out the right side window.

We sat silently, and I, as a new Oleh, looked out the window at this new country I have just come to, looking in awe at where I have landed after a 10 hour trip and a years long journey.

All of a sudden and very much out of the blue, the taxi driver says to me: "there is one thing you need to know."

I sit up, shift my attention, look towards the front, and open my ears. How nice is this? This guy, this tough looking old-school Israeli guy has something to say. A piece of advice? A tip for the new Oleh? My expectations were prematurely high.

The taxi driver continues: "there is one thing you need to know. When you leave your quarantine place, keep your phone at home. The government will track you."

And with that the rest of the ride was silent.

I guess I shouldn't have expected anything different. My first piece of advice as a new Oleh was a loophole to get out of some Israeli law. But maybe he wasn't giving me advice on what to do, but rather advice on how to think.

"Welcome to Israel" was all I can think. "Welcome to Israel."