Ministry of the Interior, take two

After our attempt to get my B1 Israeli Work Visa (requires renewal every 6 months) converted to an A5 Temporary Resident Visa (requires renewal once per year, and makes me eligible not only to work, but to access Israeli healthcare) at our meeting with the Ministry of the Interior on February 27th, we went back yesterday.

The reason they didn't upgrade me on the spot last time, was that they said they were waiting for the additional document they asked for in August.  They wanted a document stating that I have no prior marriages or children (the only document in the US which says this is the marriage license, and mine said right on there no prior marriages.)  So I went in September to the US Embassy and paid $50 for the notary on a letter I wrote saying I have never been previously married nor do I have any children.  But the lawyers said we'd just bring this to the 6 month renewal meeting, where we'd likely get the A5 upgrade with teodat zehut (Israeli ID #, like a social security #).  When we got there in February, the MOI rep said they had booked a meeting to receive the documents, but not to do our interviews, so we would have to come back, and their next available appointment wasn't until May.  This led to general Israeli arguing between the MOI reps, the lawyers, and Dan.  It worked.  We got our interviews scheduled for yesterday, March 17.

I wore green to the interview (it was St. Patrick's Day afterall, a big holiday in my family, because it's my sister's birthday!).  I was interviewed first, and the rep began by asking about Dan's trip to Dubai, and why I went with him, and how he got there in the first place (Israeli's can't go to Dubai, but American's can.)  She asked me who cleans our apartment, if I like cooking, what I cook for Dan (pretty sexist if you ask me), what I got him for his last birthday (to which my answer was, I think nothing.  geeze, are we married or what?).  She asked where we lived before, how we met, what my hobbies are, etc.  I warmed her up when I explained that I was attending Ulpan (hebrew lessons), and used a little on her.  Meanwhile, Dan and the lawyers (yes, two of them came with us this time) were wondering why it was taking so long.  When I was done, I explained to them that I had to rephrase a lot due to her less than fluent English skills (but who can blame her, at least she was willing to do it in English or I would have been up a creek.)

Dan was up next.  When he was done, the MOI rep said we'd have to come back in 2 weeks for a decision.  This led to an additional argument, some speaking with the manager, and then a response of, "we never make exceptions like this,"  which according to the lawyers was a load of B.S.  Oh, and the additional paperwork they asked for on Feb 28th, 12 additional months of paystubs and bank statements, weren't necessary this time.  The rules are made.  Then they are changed.  Why?  The agent's mood, the weather, who knows.  This is Israeli (maybe middle east) culture.  It's not exact or precise.  There's a guidebook.  But it's just a suggestion.  More often than not, it will change, as quickly as an Israeli's mood.

First impression of sustainability in Israel

For those of you who know something about my career aspirations, you know that when I graduated 10 years ago from Wellesley, I wanted to find a way to apply business skills to a social or environmental purpose.  That course in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Sociology really got me interested.  But first I needed to develop some basic real life business skills, hence the strategy consulting and CPG marketing jobs from 2000-2005.  I continued to look for opportunities to make an impact, and found that the Brandeis MBA in the Heller School of Social Policy and Management lets students learn about both sides of the tax fence - for-profit and non-profit.  At Brandeis, in a social entrepreneurship course, I learned about the blurring lines of for-profit and non-profit, growing interest in social enterprise, and a new term for these ideas about the interconnectedness of how we work and live - the word was "sustainability."  From there, I got involved with Net Impact.   Not long after I had the opportunity to get my feet wet in it, by joining the American Heart Association and working on the New York City launch of their newest cause marketing campaign - called Start!, the purpose of which was to engage Americans in becoming more physically active through corporate wellness programs.  This gave me first hand experience working with major corporations in New York City and Detroit from 2005-2009, helping them develop CSR strategies. 

In the U.S., interest in sustainability continues to grow.  Forward-thinking companies over the past 5 years have started implementing new functions in their organizations and producing sustainability reports to supplement their annual financial reports.  This growing interest has naturally created criticism and skepticism as well. But sustainability is being talked about and acted on more, and that at least seems directionally correct.  The organization that appears to be shaping the global approach to sustainability is The Global Reporting Initiative, based in the Netherlands.  Europe tends to be on the cutting edge of transforming it's businesses to sustainable enterprises.  If you're really interested in trying to understand sustainability (the word gets thrown around a lot, and the meaning as well as terms like CSR are always in debate), get ahold of the book, "The Triple Bottom Line," by Andrew Savitz. 

When we decided to move to Israel, I was excited by the prospect of living closer to the epicenter of this movement, and working more directly in it.  Israel has the most start-ups per capita of any country in the world.  They're in the middle of a desert, so natural resources, especially fresh water, are severely limited.  And they are surrounded by unfriendly neighbors.  These factors would suggest a strong impetus for sustainable development, i.e. figuring out how to be self-sustaining for the long-term.

I have been reading a blog this past year, CSR-Reporting, the author of which is based here in Tel Aviv.  The visibility of content coming out of Israel got me excited.  I connected with Elaine Cohen over LinkedIn, and she kindly invited me to an event in early September, just before we left for the holidays.  Her consulting agency, BeyondBusiness, organized a speaking engagement with Maala, the Israeli CSR Association.  They brought in Jo Confino, journalist for the Guardian in the UK.  He is a really interesting guy, having decided to work toward implementing principles of sustainability within his own organization.  This is particularly complex due to the purpose of his work in news reporting, as it has forced the organization to face more directly the reality that a news organization is never really unbiased.  The interesting thing to me is that they are aknowledging that they are not just there to "report" the news, but in some way to shape it (i.e. by encouraging greater organizational transparency, raising awareness about what sustainability is, etc).  I think this is promising.  Afterall, there is no such thing as unbiased news.  A person wrote it, which means that person had to decide what to include, and what not to.  They decided what the story was.  By becoming more transparent about the assumptions included, readers have the opportunity to possibly get closer to some kind of "truth."  Although, as my high school physics teacher always told us, "everything is relative."

Anyway, I like his ideas, I like that he is trying to raise awareness about the simple idea that culturally we've lost sight of planning for our future (that's what sustainability really is, afterall).  And I like that he is in a position of power that allows his voice to reach a broad audience. 

Regarding the event, I was surprised by the size of the group in attendance.  There were only about 30 people there.  I expected more, again, due to my assumptions about Israeli engagement with sustainability-related issues (which I am now questioning).

As I get settled here, I hope to learn more about what the impetus is locally for engagement in sustainable thinking and planning, and what the roadblocks are.  And I hope to find a place where I can contribute to overcoming those roadblocks. 

Getting my Visa

There are several ways new immigrants can come into Israel.  Most of them make "aliya" - that means, they are coming in to become a citizen.  Any Jew, from anywhere in the world, has the right to do this.  A non-Jew still can, but I expect it is not nearly as straight forward. (Anyone know or care to share via comment?)

As an expat coming into Israel who is not Jewish and not making aliya, I ordinarily would not be granted a work permit (B1), just a visitors permit (B2).  A B1 Visa is a temporary work permit - good for up to 24 consecutive months, but requiring renewal after 12. 

As the wife of an Israeli, I get to go through what they call the step-by-step process for gaining a B1 Visa which will allow me to work.  I came in on the B2 tourist visa (good for 90 days).  I have an interview this Sunday, August 1st, to review all the paperwork we've gathered.  This includes bank statements, pay stubs, photos, certified copies of birth and wedding docs, US police clearance (yes, I had to get finger-printed before I left - never done that before!), signed letters from Israelis who know us, our Tel Aviv apartment lease, passports, utilities statements, Tel Aviv city tax statement, Dan's Israeli ID that shows he is married, letter from Ford explaining why we are here, and more.   If the office decides it's enough (even the lawyers are kept guessing about what "enough" is), we get to actually be interviewed in separate rooms to prove the story of our relationship checks out.  Once we pass this, they may issue the B1 Visa to me on the spot, or it may take a while longer.  So, I could have it by end of August, or not until October, because everything shuts down for a couple weeks in September for the high holidays here.

Once I get my B1, I have to show up in person to renew it each year.  If our assignment gets extended to 5 years, I will have the right to become a citizen.

In the meantime, check out my Tel Aviv resident card: