Why I’m staying in Israel

After reading David Teich’s article in the Jerusalem Post entitled “Why I’m heading back to the US” (Feb 3rd) I feel compelled to present an alternative view point. David’s article suggests he was unable to assimilate into the high-tech marketing industry due to the attitudes of Israeli’s towards olim.

As a marketing professional from the UK with over 14-years experience, I came to Israel two years ago with a young family and no knowledge of Hebrew and attended a 5-month intensive ulpan course. Contrary to David’s comments, students always found a common language to communicate with each other, whether it was English, Spanish, or Russian. The determination & friendliness was inspirational and over time people who previously couldn’t communicate with each other started to have basic conversations in Hebrew. This for me is the whole purpose of the Ulpan. I strongly agree with David that the reduction in Ulpan funding will have a negative impact on the experience of future olim.

After searching for 5 years David was unable to find a job that suited his skills. Despite my lack of Hebrew and studying 5 hours a day at the ulpan, I initially found part-time work with an Israeli high-tech start-up and following this obtained a full-time position with a major Israeli company. Last year I co-founded a marketing agency specializing in helping Israeli companies market abroad. Whilst having to adapt to a different & challenging work culture I have always been impressed with the supportive & positive attitude towards me as both an employee and a service provider.

Many olim arrive with high or unrealistic expectations of life in Israel. I have always been impressed with the stories I’ve heard of earlier olim whose attitude, motivation and flexibility enabled them to create the Israel we see today. Their ethos was about building a life for future generations. I am not Jewish and don’t consider myself a Zionist but I believe all of us should be prepared make sacrifices for our children and the advancement of the country we choose to live in.

19 habits of smart strategists

1. Think differentiation
2. Know your key idea
3. Think leadership
4. Think customers, and talk to them
5. Think competitors
6. Think economics & margins
7. Think BIG - change the rules
8. think SMALL - segmentation
9. Focus - find the 20%
10. Think value, manage value, not the numbers
11. Experiment, use the market.
12. Cut your losses
13. Look for unexpected success
14. Build on strengths, don't correct weaknesses
15. Develop a strategy in action
16. Have a mental map of where you are going
17. Reflect and think, even as you act
18. Take responsibility, have a cause, be a leader.
19. Finally, encourage all staff to become leaders.

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