Israel Independence Day 2025: 77 reasons life is better in the Jewish state - opinion

War. Sirens. Terrorism. Hostages. Baffling bureaucracy. High cost of living. Low salaries. Surly customer service. Frustration trying to master Hebrew and Israeli culture. Missing family still living in the Old Country. We all know the challenges that come with making aliyah.

In advance of Independence Day, we asked olim from all over the country to flip the script and tell us how their lives have improved since making aliyah.

We proudly present 77 reasons that life is better in Israel!

Leah Aharoni, Jerusalem

• 1. I can drive around the country and reach places that I read about in the Tanach [Hebrew Bible]. I can just look at the landscape and see exactly where [events] happened, and that makes the Tanach so much more real for me.

Heather Andron, Efrat

• 2. My life is better because my children walk the land they learn about in the Torah. We live in Efrat, and we are a short drive away from Derech Avot (the path our biblical ancestors walked along). We don’t just breathe the Holy Land, we walk it and live it!

Shimon Apisdorf, Jerusalem

• 3. We haven’t owned a car in 15 years. Between walking and taking buses, I have an intimate connection to much of Jerusalem.
• 4. An entire world of great Israeli music has opened up to us. We particularly love live Israeli music. Ehud Banai, Mosh Ben Ari, Hakochav Haba contestants, Idan Amedi, Ishay Ribo, and on and on.
• 5. This past Elul, at an erev Shabbat Zappa Jerusalem concert, Mosh Ben Ari led us in a guided meditation-prayer for the people of Israel. Many, including myself, were sobbing. This year, that did more for me than all my slihot [prayers for forgiveness recited before the High Holy Days] combined.
• 6. The inexpensive, all-you-can-eat, fabulous Israeli breakfast buffet – at IKEA!
• 7. On the bus, in shul, or in a store or in restaurants, I’ve met the mayor of Jerusalem, great Torah scholars, Natan Sharansky, MKs, IDF generals, Shlomi Shabat, and a wide spectrum of the people of Israel.
• 8. Almost every Thursday, I join tens of thousands of regular Israelis from every sector of society who volunteer on farms to keep our farmers, their farms, and our agriculture literally growing. What a blessing!
• 9. I stand on our balcony and see numerous cranes and buildings under construction. When I say “and build Jerusalem” in my prayers, it’s not abstract or future-oriented. I’m praying that the crane operator or the cement guy has a productive day at work.
• 10. We have grandkids living in the North. At 10 years old, they can board a bus alone and travel to Jerusalem to visit us for Shabbat.

David Ben Moshe, Beersheba

• 11. The work calendar! While I am off for Passover and trying to enjoy Hol Hamoed, everyone understands and is on the same schedule.

Lisa Cain, Mitzpe Yeriho

• 12. We live in the best vacation spot in the land. We have a view of the hills around Kochav Hashahar, Jericho, Jerusalem, and sunrises and sunsets that money cannot buy. We have a little pool in the yard where I can float, watch the clouds and skies, and find total peace. We can see the road that leads tourists past ancient aqueducts and streams or to a monastery carved into the hillside. And we are on the high road which follows the route the Romans paved, which brought pilgrims from Babylon to Jerusalem. We eat eggs from our hens. There’s Torah learning all around, kindness all around. You can take your pick of what you think is important to you, but we really have it all.

Michali Caplan, Ramat Beit Shemesh

• 13. Despite the daily struggles and the added effort required here, I consistently find profound meaning and purpose in my life.
• 14. Even when surrounded by strangers, I feel a true sense of belonging; there is a deep sense of family. There may be a certain harshness here, but when push comes to shove, if I need anything or I am ever in trouble, I know without question that I am not, and never will be, alone.
• 15. There is mutual dedication to God, the Torah, and the mitzvot.
• 16. I feel God’s presence in even the most mundane moments. Because I need to rely on my faith so much more living here, I recognize God’s hand in everything. It’s an unbelievable thing.

Rebecca Citrin, Katzir

• 17. Making aliyah has completely changed my life for the better, not only unifying the very fractured parts of my identity growing up in Northern UK but also making possible the career that I started here as an interior designer.
• 18. Israel has given me freedom, self-expression for my creativity, growth, and an appreciation of family and community, none of which I had in the first half of my life.

Alysa Cohen, Zichron Ya’acov

• 19. I have a better work-life balance. I am able to work less than full time here as a schoolteacher and spend more time with my side hustle of cooking and baking. I am making less money, but I feel it’s easier to make do with less. And I am enjoying making do with less. It’s actually a relief.
• 20. I love the independence my sixth-grade son has.
• 21. The weather and the amount of time I can enjoy being outdoors.

Syma Davidovich, Efrat

• 22. I can give my children a Jewish education for close to free; and when I choose to pay privately for Talmud Torah, I pay a fraction of the price of someone in America, with full financial aid for Jewish day school. The results are head and shoulders above the educational knowledge [my children would have gotten in America] – meaning, my primary school-age children know more Tanach and Judaism than their American counterparts, plus they are fluent in Hebrew, which means that they can choose to learn from any Torah book that interests them.
• 23. The great people here are simple, and the simple people here are great!
• 24. You can always know what holidays are next on the calendar just by stepping into the supermarket, and it’s not Christmas or Easter – it’s Hanukkah and Passover.
• 25. Street signs are named for prophets of Tanach and Jewish literature and authors. In some neighborhoods, you can also learn details about the dates they lived or the chronological order of historical figures or events based on the placement of the streets.

Ruti Eastman, Neveh Daniel

• 26. We all became ourselves when we made aliyah, in ways we never could have in the States. A son who never thought he’d be able to play football again has become an international American football star, with good character traits, which is the thing his mother cares most about. He has the job and the privilege of being a kind of sports ambassador for Israel and the Jewish people around the world. His father has coached football for 16 years, being given the responsibility and privilege of guiding hundreds of young men toward better, more ethical play. All our sons have served their country, not in some foreign land across the world but protecting and defending their own friends and family. I have become a writer of ideas and current history in ways that never mattered in America, had I even been blessed with the words. It’s as if God decided that this is the soil in which our better selves, our most productive selves, would flourish.

Tami Ellison, Jerusalem

• 27. My aliyah journey began as an observer with a camera in hand, ready to capture the rich impressions, experiences, textures, and color in my new home – a story or two to be told. Ten years later, that story has become my own... one still told in pictures, but also through words, as I continue on the path to nurture my soul and spirit. My life is better because my soul is more in concert with the holiness of the land.

Miriam Fox, Efrat

• 28. I always had Christmas envy. It makes me really happy to be in the majority that every holiday is mine. I always had a sense of alienation in the US and a sense that it wasn’t mine.
• 29. My kids and grandkids have a firmer Jewish identity [than I had growing up in America]. That makes me happy.
• 30. You don’t have to leave the country to take a great vacation. Whether it’s scuba diving, skiing, rappelling, mountain hikes, desert experience, or beaches, there’s a great place to go, usually not much more than a two-hour drive away.

Rini Gonsher, Efrat

• 31. All our lives, we train ourselves to be Zionists and believe that Israel is our homeland, and after years and years of saying “Next Year in Jerusalem,” here we are! Just knowing that the ground we walk on is holy... is spiritual for me.

Bracha Goetz, Betar

• 32. There is a greater connection to the spiritual essence of life here. Materialism is nowhere near as important as it is in the States. Adults and children alike appreciate the simple things in life much more.
• 33. I see so many people smiling at each other in the street.

Tovah Goldfine, Pardes Hanna

• 34. So many individuals ask why I do not return to the US even after the war. Since my aliyah, one thing remains and has not changed. My life has a purpose and a meaning that I never had in the US. My identity as a Jew is expressed here in every way possible, on every front. This is the type of purpose and meaning that allows me to feel that my family, the Jewish people, is surrounding me. Together, we have a deep love for our history and for whatever and wherever the history leads.
• 35. My life is so much better and richer, deeper, more meaningful. I am happy, sad, angry, fearful, full of passion and love. My life is better, since I am in my life in a way that I was not before aliyah.

Tania Hammer, Jerusalem

• 36. My life is much more meaningful here. I worked at the City of David.
• 37. With the war, I opened my home to be a war supply repository. Where else would soldiers pop in to pick up essentials? Where else would I merit to sell pineapples for a farm in the Gaza border area? Magical, to say the least!

Ronda Israel, Modi’in

• 38. When I made aliyah, I finally felt whole. Living in America means you have one foot in the non-Jewish world for work, secular holidays, going to the grocery store, etc., and on Shabbat and Jewish holidays, you’re living in a Jewish world. You live in two worlds simultaneously, which oftentimes are at odds with each other. Here in Israel, your whole world is Jewish. Everything here is geared to a Jewish life. Here, you’re whole and living your best Jewish life.
• 39. The life of a Jew here is important. Each and every one of us makes a difference here.
• 40. We are growing as Jews, not only mentally, spiritually, emotionally, religiously, but we’re also growing in population. We’re a country that has hope. We’re a country that says it’s okay to have children and to teach them to live in a world of peace and to have aspirations and dreams. We’re growing not only in quantity but in quality.

Danny Kladnitsky, Jerusalem

• 41. My work is in real estate here at LYO Group. I get to help people fulfill the age-old dream of settling the Land of Israel, which makes my work so meaningful, day in and day out.

Shye Klein, Tel Aviv

• 42. I made aliyah a few months before the Supernova massacre. I survived, and I stayed. After that, my entire life changed. I’ve not been working, so I’ve been able to focus full time on sharing what happened. I’ve spoken in over 170 cities across North America, telling the story of that day, raising awareness about antisemitism, and pushing back against lies being told about what happened. If I hadn’t made aliyah, I don’t think I’d be doing any of this. Living in Israel has given me strength and a deeper connection to who I am and why this matters. I didn’t just survive; I found a drive. And that only happened because I was here.

Joan Weiner Levin, Ma’aleh Adumim

• 43. As a comedian in America, I performed because of what it gave me. I reveled in the stage, the spotlight, the laughs, and the applause. Since moving to Israel, especially since Oct. 7, I’ve learned what it means to do comedy for others. Now when I step on stage, I know that I am giving the gift of laughter to those who really, really need it. It’s made me a better comedian and, I think, a better person, too.

Rachel Furman Lewkowicz, Jerusalem

• 44. I can afford healthcare for the first time in my adult life. I no longer put off seeing doctors, and I can receive the care and treatments I need.
• 45. I just feel at home here in a way I never felt in the States.
• 46. Materially, my life here is better, and that has truly been a surprise.
• 47. There’s this feeling of blessings uncovered, and divine providence galore.

Emunah Murray, Ma’aleh Adumim

• 48. After making aliyah, I found a sense of purpose that I didn’t even know I was lacking when I was in the States. Doing the mitzvah of settling the land and being here to take part in elections gives my life such a sense of purpose.

Johanna Rose, Tel Aviv

• 49. We are within walking distance of our adult daughters and granddaughter. In the US, we lived across the country from them.
• 50. You can reinvent yourself in Israel. Companies are willing to take a chance on you, even if your resume isn’t 100% aligned with the job opportunity.
• 51. We live on a Jewish calendar. Even in Tel Aviv, Shabbat feels like Shabbat.
• 52. Babies and children are celebrated. I have traveled extensively, and other than El Al I have never seen flight attendants play with and hold passengers’ babies.
• 53. It is actually easier to live through crises being here than watching from afar.

Chanina Rosenbaum, Ginot Shomron

• 54. Having great kosher food available all over makes travel and vacation in Israel comfortable, easy, and delicious!
• 55. I love things themed and customized. Israel gives that and more – every holiday, the stores are decorated and sell exactly the items needed to celebrate.

Rivki Rosenberg, Ramat Gan

• 56. Since we frequently have to run to shelters, I’ve started running faster.

Elizabeth Shemesh, Ganei Tikva

• 57. Great weather.
• 58. Great food.
• 59. Closer community with a fantastic, safe place to raise kids, living right next to my in-laws.
• 60. Parks everywhere.

Judi Kahan Rowland, Tel Aviv

• 61. Our adult son came here with severe mental illness and is now in full remission, is working and ready to move into his own apartment. This is because he was able to access the care he needs and because he feels safe here. And because of this and much more, we are also in a much happier place.

Daniella Rudoff, Beit Shemesh

• 62. Teaching Judaic studies in Israel is very different than in the States, so I needed to figure out what to do professionally after making aliyah. I earned a marriage education certificate here and started teaching couples how to have an awesome marriage. Three years in, single people started asking me to set them up. This snowballed into boutique matchmaking and creating designer marriages with the tools and foundations of a marriage educator. This opportunity to help so many people of all ages in the US and Israel be happily married directly resulted from my making aliyah.

Rena Schaum, Efrat

• 63. Since moving to Israel in 2017, my husband and I have time to help our children with their children and with their work. All our children made aliyah and live reasonably close by, so my husband and I have been blessed to be a much bigger part of our children’s and grandchildren’s lives.
• 64. We play an actual part in helping [with the war effort] by baking and cooking for soldiers, by contributing to many tzedaka [charity] projects, by helping reservist families, and by helping our children and grandchildren cope. We give so much more in a hands-on way that helps us cope, feel a part of something greater, and adds (we hope) some extra rays of goodness and light to the world.

Sara Liba Shechter, Jerusalem

• 65. As a single, older, Anglo mom making aliyah from Montreal, I feel a 180-degree change, from relief from frigid weather and judgmentalism in its myriad shapes to connecting with the land; I am a different person.
• 66. Here, I can practice my craft, craniosacral therapy, on our precious soldiers with profound results, releasing their stress and pain. I feel truly blessed that God brought me home.

Karen Sinai, Jerusalem

• 67. Having grown up with family members who survived the hell of the Holocaust, I always felt like a stranger in a foreign land. Here, I’m able to contribute by being a loyal Jewish activist in the Holy Land.

Altea Steinherz, Jerusalem

• 68. The quality of the conversations in my life has radically improved since moving to Jerusalem! I love living with people who care deeply about ideas and discuss them as if their lives hang in the balance. This was greatly normalizing upon arrival, but also a major upgrade in the quality of my life that sustains.
• 69. People who dig deep into Jewish learning and identity are also spoiled for choice as to the cultural offerings!
• 70. I can always get kosher food at the National Library and elsewhere.
• 71. The food here tastes like food, and the wine is the fulfillment of a prophecy.

Stacey Pomerantz Ullman, Netanya

• 72. I buy most produce directly from farmers and farm stands, and do simpler cooking.

Zehava Waltzer, Nahariya

• 73. It pushed me to think outside the box!

Hadassah Warburg, Telz Stone

• 74. I feel that God involved in my life on a much closer level.
• 75. I am with my brothers and sisters. Everyone is family here, and I feel so content and so comfortable.

Kara Wurtzel, Beit Shemesh

• 76. I find it to be a tremendous merit and huge benefit that my children get to serve in the Israeli army, protecting our homeland and our people. It has given us all a strong sense of purpose we never experienced before.
• 77. Living in Israel, our immediate family has since become closer. Because we shared the trials and tribulations of being olim in a new country, it brought us together in a way that I never felt before. 

The writer is a freelance journalist and expert on the non-Jewish awakening to Torah happening in our day. She is the editor of Ten From The Nations and Lighting Up The Nations.