Yes, I have been approved to make Aliyah through Nefesh B'Nefesh and The Jewish Agency. What could possibly be bad about that? Well, the Israeli Foreign Ministry has gone on strike. It started in Israel and then spread to the USA where all of the Consulate/Embassy employees were told to cease their normal operations. How does that affect me? Normal operations include processing passports and ALIYAH visas! No travel documents will be processed until the strike is over. However long that may be. Oy Vey!
All I can do is shake my head and laugh. I was trying to make the group flight next Tuesday. So were a lot of other people. I wonder how many of us are now without our travel visas to be able to board the flight. Hopefully, it will be enough to warrant NBN to offer another group flight after the strike is over. I was told that most likely WON'T happen, leaving us to book our own individual flights thru NBN.
The difference? On a group or charter flight, there are government employees along who process all of our paperwork during the flight, so that we land with everything we need to begin our new life in Israel. On an individual flight, while NBN still sponsers the one way ticket to Israel, no officials accompany the flight to help with the paper trail. After you land, (if at a 'normal' hour) you can go to the Misrad HaKlita and Misrad Hapnim offices at the airport to process your paperwork. If you arrive at an unconventional hour, you need to go to these offices within 3 days of arriving. Find the offices that serve the area in which you will be living.
I am still going through the motions as if I were leaving on Tuesday. I have been told that usually their strikes don't carry on indefinitely. It may be a few days. Or a week. Or two. :(
I'll be back to update when I know more!
Ali
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