When Yehudah and Shani Block’s son was asked by his teacher to describe what life in Israel would be like, his answer surprised the teacher. This was supposed to be a Yom Ha’atzmaut exercise to help the children connect to Israel.  So when their son responded “when I move to Israel, I will have a Spiderman-themed room” and launched into the details of their planned move, the teacher did not see that answer coming.

When the Blocks moved from Teaneck to Modi’in, they tried to be as informed and strategic as possible. They were moving with three kids, their eldest daughter, Eliana, being eight years old and entering third grade. Yehudah was a special education teacher and general education principal, who knew that moving to Israel can be a challenging process for children.

As part of their preparations, the Blocks attended the Mega Aliyah Fair in New York that Nefesh B’Nefesh runs every spring. There, they were able to meet with Aliyah advisors, consult with Israeli vendors and service providers, and get inspired by all the other people involved in the Aliyah process. This included both people who were just contemplating the move, or individuals, like the Blocks, who had already committed to actually making the transition. “I liked the sessions on the healthcare system in Israel, and it was great to be able to meet a bunch of different moving companies,” says Shani. “But I definitely found the presentation on ‘What to expect after you make Aliyah’ to be the most informative. The biggest thing for us has been keeping our expectations realistic.”

Attending the Aliyah Mega Event helped the Blocks select what they felt was the best community for their family – Modi’in. In fact, Shani attributes a lot of their success to their community. “We came to a warm, friendly community with a lot of support, which was very helpful.”

After the Blocks made Aliyah on an NBN Charter flight and began settling in Israel, they made a point of being equally supportive and encouraging of their children even if they were doing well. It’s tempting to take the good days for granted and only get involved when difficulties arise. But the Blocks felt that accentuating the positive helped create positive associations with their children’s new environment.

“Even when kids complain and say they miss America, that’s often not the real issue,” says Yehudah. “They may be experiencing a specific difficulty at school or with friends, and once you solve that, they no longer feel the need to compare their current life to life in the States.”

A major source of concern for the Blocks, was of course their children’s Hebrew skills. Although they had studied Hebrew at school, they were obviously not native Hebrew speakers. However, in Modi’in, their children went to special school Ulpanim, where they advanced so quickly that they actually graduated early. Yehudah relates how once, six months after they had arrived in Israel, his kids picked up two iPhone cases and started having a play conversation with each other – in Hebrew. It was then that he realized how quickly children can pick up a new language, and that they can actually be more fluent than they even realize.

At the Aliyah Mega event, Yehudah also realized that he needed to make a career change. His Hebrew wasn’t on a high enough level to be a School Leader in Israel. NBN’s Post-Aliyah Career Advisors recommended that he take stock of his core talents and consider what else he might be good at.

Yehudah realized that his special education background had given him the ability to convey information in a clear and concise way, and he decided to take a course in technical writing. At the same time, he took courses in inbound marketing and polished up his knowledge of HTML and CSS.

After his move, while still in Ulpan, he began reaching out to companies that were looking for English speakers – a quick search for the words “English OR אנגלית”, English speaker, came up with hundreds of results. He made a point of sending out his resumes in English to show his fluency, but began all his conversations in Hebrew, to show that he was trying to integrate.

Shortly after finishing Ulpan, Yehudah got a job in marketing at a startup. He worked on acquiring additional marketing skills including PPC, social media management, SEO, and email marketing. He soon found himself as the new Director of Marketing Media. Yehudah then moved on to a small company in Beit Shemesh called Appstractor, rising in the ranks to become Product Manager.

Shani had made a similar transition, from working at a preschool in the States to freelancing in PR and web design in Israel. This allowed her to be available for her kids while still utilizing her writing and tech-related skills which she supplemented with online courses. “We took the skills that we had, and we adapted them to what worked for us here,” she explains. “It’s important be open to new options and new ways of doing things; it takes time to build yourself up in the States, and it takes time here as well. It’s important to maintain realistic expectations.”

The Block’s success story serves as a great example of how, with the right knowledge, hard-work, creativity and flexibility, it is possible to move as a family, integrate into Israeli society, and build a thriving career – often from scratch.

To attend an Aliyah fair and to learn more about community and career options, visit nbn.org.il/mega.

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