by Mihaela Schwartz
A name often mentioned in newspapers’ headlines, Israel is also a country with a high immigration rate mostly because Jewish people from all over the world are encouraged to relocate to “their fathers’ land”. Once they commit to live here, at least for a medium term period, they are granted Israeli citizenship instantly and they acquire a special status of “new comers” (olim hadashim), which gives them access to different types of assistance aimed at ensuring a smooth integration in this rough country: Hebrew courses in special language schools called “ulpan”, financial incentives, logistical and administrative support, job seeking consulting services, etc.
However, as different religious groups co-exist in this country, the “olim” are not the only type of immigrants arriving to Israel. Moreover, mixed (interfaith, interracial and international) marriages are a common reality of the contemporary world.
Some of these immigrants choose the professional path of being an English teacher either because this is how they have earned their living in their country of origin, or because they find it an appealing opportunity for a career change. Little do they know when making this decision about the painstaking procedures they will have to go through before obtaining a stable English teaching position.
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