So what’s your deal? Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I’m 29 years old from Long Beach, California. I grew up in a mostly non-Jewish area so I stood out being the Jewish guy in my friend group. That meant that every time I met another Jewish person we got to do the whole, “You’re Jewish? Me too!” schtick that made us feel like we were in a secret club. That doesn’t really happen so much anymore now that I live in Israel.

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What made you move to Israel? What brings you here? 

I almost didn’t go to college, I was planning on joining the US Marine Corps instead but got talked out of it by friends and family. I ended up studying International Studies and Arabic at Cal State Long Beach and my counselor suggested I attend an Arabic language semester in Israel. I was enraptured by the country and its aggressive “in your face” culture. I also hated school and still had that itch for military adventure. 

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Couple all this with my friends who did join the US military telling me not to and how foreigners joining the IDF were starting to get some media attention, I was sold on Aliyah and serving in the IDF.

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Do you feel Israeli? What did you feel like you needed to do in order to become one? 

I definitely feel more Israeli now after having completed my IDF service, marrying an Israeli woman, and living here for 7 years. That said, I spent my formative years in the US and I’ll never be full-on sabra like the people who grew up here and that’s okay. I like that I bring a foreign perspective to creative problems at work.

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The main thing, if you want to feel Israeli, is to get good at Hebrew. There’s no way around it, unfortunately.

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What do you do for work? What did you have to do to get to where you are right now? 

I am the content manager at a live streaming company called Tango. One of the great things for marketers working in Israel is there is a high demand for native English speakers in order to sell to the American market with much less competition. I got my start just after the army when I worked as a content writer. 

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During my time in the IDF, I would write blog posts for the Times of Israel during my downtime and I was able to use that experience to secure a job. Since then I’ve been self-taught in the world of marketing. Thankfully, there is an endless stream of books, online courses, videos, blogs, and other resources that you can use to help you master anything.

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What's something about your work that you find super interesting to share? 

Live streaming is fascinating because of its limitless potential. As technologies like 5G and edge computing become more common throughout the world it’s going to be easier for content creators to turn to live. Tango is making a platform to ease this transition. As someone who enjoys and deeply respects good content, it’s been a thrill watching this next generation of content creators tackle this new medium.

What are your biggest challenges, work, and life-wise? 

Networking is crucial in Israel and, as someone who didn’t grow up here, I have much fewer contacts than many native Israelis naturally do.

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What is the greatest thing that keeps you going? 

Thankfully, as Olim, we’re able to help give each other a little boost from time to time which is incredibly helpful. That community is warm, inviting, and seems to always be willing to lend a hand since we all understand the difficulty of being an immigrant to a foreign country.

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What advice do you have for soon-to-be Olim or those who could use the extra boost? 

Focus on building friendships and your community. More than working late hours or pushing yourself to study Hebrew the second you’re off the clock, put in the energy to meet people and actually find a group that you love. Moving to a new country, even Israel, is extremely hard. Having a community of people who you can lean on for support is going to make you feel less alone and will almost always help you as you begin working.

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Lastly, what is a fun fact about your life right now? What's something that feels like an “Only In Israel” moment in your life? 

The fun fact about my life is that it weirdly doesn’t feel so different than if I’d just stayed in the US. I have an amazing wife, a job that I enjoy, a dog, a cat, an apartment by the beach, hobbies I’m pursuing, and a great group of friends. I also celebrate Shabbat every weekend with friends and family so I guess I’m not the only Jewish kid anymore!

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