The road to the little blue ID card

September 28, 2006 - 7:05 PM by Sarah

While Israeli citizenship is automatic for any Jew who moves to Israel, non-Jews may also become citizens. It’s just harder and takes longer. John is coming up on the end of that process:

Next month is my two year anniversary of living in Israel. It’s hard to believe. Since I am not Jewish, when I moved here I didn’t make aliyah – I just moved to Israel. I didn’t get any government benefits when I moved here. When I first got here, I got a tourist visa at the airport. That lasted for three months. When the time came to renew my visa, we met many of the wonderful people at the Interior Ministry. (sarcasm) Actually, there is a group of ladies there that know my whole life story – including which side of the bed I sleep on.

To make a long, boring, frustrating story short – after two years of tourist and temporary resident visas, next week I have an appointment to get my Israeli ID card or teudat zehut. 180 days after I get my teudat zehut, I can enroll the in the national healthcare system. Until now, I’ve had really crappy “tourist” insurance. Thank goodness I’ve been healthy for the past two years – tfu, tfu, tfu.

Even though it’s just a little card, this is a big step for me. More and more, my wallet is holding proof of my Israeliness. It seems a little surreal.

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