I am a dual citizen US and Israel but haven't been there since the age of nine. My concerns are the fallowing Language, military service since I have served in the US military will I have to be in the IDF my. if I return to Israel?( My age is 28) I speak Russian, English and French but not Hebrew ha ha I know ze lio kosher. I hold a 4 year university degree. Toda raba, Abraham
Israel - 6 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
There are plenty of people -- particularly in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa -- that don't speak Hebrew well or at all (mainly recent Russian or American immigrants). Not speaking *any* is usually a feature of those who never really leave their ethnic community, so you should definitely start picking it up once you're there. But the three languages you do speak are easily the most commonly spoken in Israel after Hebrew and Arabic, so while it might be a little bit tedious at times to communicate with people who don't speak any of your languages (e.g. speaking to bus drivers or ordering food, etc.), you can still get by.
2 :
I think you will handle it for a while, since there are also many American Jews and English is taught since 2nd grade in Israel. However I will just remind it will be as hard as for an immigrant in the U.S without knowing English.
3 :
No problem whatsoever . You could ive your life in Jerusalem and not need a word of hebrew. Time to get home! Plus hebrew is really easy, and you are able to communicate with other russian and french immigrants .. win/win.
4 :
Nowadays, a 24-year-old unmarried male immigrant to Israel is required to do six months of military service. A 26-year-old is required to do three. Or so I believe. I'm just offering this for perspective. You're already an Israeli citizen, but at your age, I don't know how long your military service will be, if indeed you will have to do any at all. To the best of my knowledge, previous military service in another country can be 'subtracted' from the duration of your military service in Israel. These measures were taken to encourage immigration, which has dropped to about 10,000 a year from 30,000+ a year in the 1990s. Your university degree will probably get you started as an officer, not a normal recruit, if you join the IDF. As for whether you can work in Israel without Hebrew, it all depends on the employer and the job. A few jobs, most certainly, but not that many.
5 :
yes you can, Israel is a democratic state opened to all wise people (except Ayrabs.)
6 :
The amount of respect you will receive from your fellow soldiers will be in direct proporiton to how well you speak hebrew. So, learn it before you go. You must know how to read it, right? http://www.hebrew-verbs.co.il/
