I'm 18 years old and I'm thinking about going to Israel for a year or so in the forseeable future. My father is American and my mother is Dutch, so I have dual citizenship. I have the following questions:
1. I'm only Jewish on my father's side but I qualify under the terms of the Law of Return right? In that case; will a letter from a rabbi, testifying that my father is Jewish do? My father says it's enough evidence but I heard some different things from other people. Would you recommend applying for Israeli citizenship to me at all if I'm not sure for how many years my stay will be? What other way would you recommend me?
2. I don't actually want to go to war because I'm not that brave and my mom doesn't want me to but I really want to do something usefull and good for Israel. Does anyone know if the IDF has any good vulenteering programs or projects for young people and how I can subscribe? A while ago I looked at different things but most were outside my age category, too expensive, only for real Jews or just for the summer.
3. I have some friends I can stay with in Israel - they got their own place, but one is 24 and the other's 20 (both got jobs and the youngest is in college still). Can I stay with these friends or do I have to stay with relatives/older people? Do I have to rent my own place?
4. I don't really speak Hebrew and I've been told that Yiddish is worthless in Israel, especially in the smaller cities. Not to brag or something but I do pick up new languages pretty fast so I haven't thought about taking a course or lessons before moving. Is it necessary to speak Hebrew before moving to Israel?
If anyone would take a look at these questions for me and try to answer them I'd be really happy.
I'm not sure if this is what this site is meant for so if it's not: I'm sorry. I couldn't find the 'house rules' and didn't really bother to search for them much ether.
1. I'm only Jewish on my father's side but I qualify under the terms of the Law of Return right? In that case; will a letter from a rabbi, testifying that my father is Jewish do? My father says it's enough evidence but I heard some different things from other people. Would you recommend applying for Israeli citizenship to me at all if I'm not sure for how many years my stay will be? What other way would you recommend me?
2. I don't actually want to go to war because I'm not that brave and my mom doesn't want me to but I really want to do something usefull and good for Israel. Does anyone know if the IDF has any good vulenteering programs or projects for young people and how I can subscribe? A while ago I looked at different things but most were outside my age category, too expensive, only for real Jews or just for the summer.
3. I have some friends I can stay with in Israel - they got their own place, but one is 24 and the other's 20 (both got jobs and the youngest is in college still). Can I stay with these friends or do I have to stay with relatives/older people? Do I have to rent my own place?
4. I don't really speak Hebrew and I've been told that Yiddish is worthless in Israel, especially in the smaller cities. Not to brag or something but I do pick up new languages pretty fast so I haven't thought about taking a course or lessons before moving. Is it necessary to speak Hebrew before moving to Israel?
If anyone would take a look at these questions for me and try to answer them I'd be really happy.
I'm not sure if this is what this site is meant for so if it's not: I'm sorry. I couldn't find the 'house rules' and didn't really bother to search for them much ether.
