This article was published in the Baltimore Jewish Times on February 20, 2004 (with pictures). It is also posted on the NBN website.
It is a very good overview of what is becoming more and more common for new olim: telecommuting to their US jobs from Israel, or flying back several times a year for brief stays. Good synopsis of the Pros, Cons and strategies for doing this successfully.
Baltimoreans who live in Israel,
but maintain careers in the U.S.
Back when he was preparing to make aliyah, or move to Israel, Zev Gershon describes himself as being quite "naive." A medical malpractice attorney, he recalls approaching his partners at the Baltimore firm of Janet, Willoughby, Gershon, Getz and Jenner about the matter, ready to resign and start the process of becoming a licensed attorney in the Jewish state. It was his partners, he says, who declared, "Wait a minute, let’s work something out."
Seven years later, Mr. Gershon, who has both medical and law degrees, lives in the Israeli town of Bet Shemesh with his wife and seven children, settling malpractice lawsuits via the phone, fax and Internet. For his rare cases that are not settled out of court — about four times per year — Mr. Gershon flies back to the United States for the trials.
Mr. Gershon is just one of many American ?migr?s to Israel — including several former Baltimoreans — who "commute" regularly back to the U.S. In an age of relatively inexpensive flights, high-speed Internet access and low international phone rates, the numbers of those who actually live in Israel but return to the States frequently or occasionally for work is estimated to be in the hundreds or low thousands, while the numbers of "telecommuters," who never see the boss face-to-face at all, is probably greater.
Experts on American immigration and absorption in Israel say that the Most common industry for international commuting is medicine. A doctor who makes aliyah and then returns to his or her practice for a few weeks annually to "cover" for vacationing colleagues could earn more in those few weeks than an Israeli doctor typically earns in a year. Attorneys, accountants, and education consultants also often find ways to maintain connections with their American firms or clients, doing paperwork in Israel and returning to the U.S. for short-term projects.
Even musicians, such as singer Lenny Solomon now living in Bet Shemesh, will often travel to the U.S. for concerts, which could bring in three or four times more of the income than a similar event in Israel.
Former Baltimoreans who commute between countries told the Baltimore Jewish Times that their lifestyles have several "ups and downs" — the main benefit being that they can fulfill their dream of raising their family in Israel while still earning a comfortable living in their own field and their own language. And they want their fellow Baltimoreans to know, as one says, "You can make aliyah and keep your old job, or find a different job in the United States, or create a new job and make it work. This is a real possibility for more people than one might think."
Akiva Werber, director for English speaking countries of the Jewish Agency’s Department of Immigration and Absorption, says that finding a way to keep one’s old American job after moving to Israel can ease the Aliyah process considerably.
"It alleviates the fear of the unknown," he says. "It’s a terrible feeling when someone is coming through dislocation and is not assured of having a job, not knowing how they’ll support their family. [International commuting] is a way of assuring continuity and control, of dealing with the familiar rather than the unfamiliar."
Mr. Werber’s observations certainly ring true for Mr. Gershon. "When we first made aliyah, I literally worked right away," he says. "We set up a computer and fax machine after a couple of weeks. The first week I was on the phone. I get a Fedex package once a week. I’m on the Internet all day, get faxes all day. It’s as if I’m in my office in Baltimore with the door locked. No one can see me, but everything else is the same."
The clearest benefit of commuting to America from Israel is financial. Some do it so they can maintain the level of material comfort they had in the U.S. Others who work in the States for a month out of the year may live a more simple, typically Israeli lifestyle, while enjoying the freedom to be with their families the other 11 months. For those with large families, the savings in day school tuition and health insurance can be considerable, more than balancing the decreased income and cost of plane fare.
"Earning in dollars and living in shekels is clearly an advantage," says Dr. Alvin Schamroth, a former obstetrician/gynecologist. In 1997, Dr. Schamroth started a company, Exampro, which helps ob/gyns prepare for their licensing boards. When he made aliyah to Ramat Bet Shemesh in 2001, the company moved from his home office in Baltimore to his secretary’s home office. Now, he spends his days with his family, writes presentations and books, and gives mock oral exams on the phone. He also travels to the States seven or eight times each year for one to 15 days to give lectures. "Anyone who remotely has the ability to do this should consider it," he says.
His wife, Yehudis, also returns to Baltimore three times annually, for two to three weeks each time, to work as a nurse anesthetist at Mercy and Northwest hospitals. The arrangement allows her to keep her American nursing license, and in the six to nine weeks she is away each year, she says she earns an amount "comparable to what I would earn in Israel if I were working 15 hours each week for the year. My overall salary has gone down because I work fewer hours. But because I don’t take benefits [so the hospitals can pay her more], my salary per hour is higher, and [the hospitals] pay for the plane ticket."
Another benefit, particularly those whose international travel is limited to a few trips per year, is the increased time with one’s family. "Before our aliyah," Mrs. Schamroth says, "I had a nearly full-time job and was trying to be a good mother, and [Jewishly] observant, and a good worker. I didn’t have enough time for my kids. Now, when I’m in Israel, I can focus on my kids. And when I’m [in Baltimore] I can focus on my job."
Mr. Gershon takes advantage of the seven-hour time difference between Bet Shemesh and America’s East Coast to learn in yeshiva for three hours each day while his children are at school. "Then," he says, "I work a bit, hang out with my wife, and some of the younger kids come home. At three p.m., business is open. My dinner break is when my office has a lunch break. If I’m not so busy, my kids know I can help them with their homework."
Like Mr. Gershon, Richard Levitas says he uses the morning hours to study Torah while his clients are sleeping. Mr. Levitas, who lived in the same house in Baltimore throughout his entire life until making aliyah in the summer of 2000, says he was dismayed when the high-tech market crashed just as he and his wife, Joyce, were finishing their ulpan studies and looking for work. So last year, they started their own home-based company, PBCS, which designs, sets and delivers e-newsletters for Jewish non-profit organizations. Mrs. Levitas develops the products, while her husband works in Israel and the U.S. to market their services. Their clients include the Baltimore Jewish Council, Yeshivat Rambam/Maimonides Academy, and Baltimore Hebrew University. In the past year, Mr. Levitas says he traveled to the U.S. five times, each for a period of two or three weeks, to meet with potential clients.
During his frequent business trips, "It’s very difficult," says Mrs. Levitas. "Usually, he’s always here [in the house], and we’re partners. If I’m engrossed in a project and can’t make dinner, he’ll cook up some noodles for the children. When he goes, that disappears. I have to do all the parenting and still get in the same hours work-wise. It’s stressful."
The stress caused by frequent and prolonged business trips can take a large toll on family life. Howie Kahn, an absorption counselor for the Jerusalem chapter of the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel (AACI), says, "You miss things, like parent-teacher meetings and gan [kindergarten] parties. [Financially] they are having their cake and eating it too, but there are sacrifices also. If your infant learns to walk while you are in New York for two weeks, you’ve missed it."
Abe Finkelstein, a member of Beth Tfiloh Synagogue’s first graduating class, moved to the Jewish state four years ago to join Goldman Sachs’ team of investment analysts in Israel. Until the company closed that office two years later, Mr. Finkelstein was in the U.S. approximately every fifth week to meet clients. At the time, he was seriously dating an Israeli woman who is now his wife. They live in Ramat Gan with their 9-month-old daughter.
"The hard part about traveling so much was leaving my relationship so often," Mr. Finkelstein says. "My wife did not enjoy my traveling. Now, with a child, it would be much more difficult. "You have to make sure if you have a family that the person staying home is supportive of you doing this," he says. "Otherwise, it can be problematic. I was very lucky, but it had its moments." Potential trans-Atlantic commuters also must consider their ability to function while jetlagged. Mr. Gershon says that when coming back to Israel he feels fine, but "when I get [to the U.S.], for days I wake up at three or four in the morning. It’s horrendous."
In contrast, Mr. Levitas says he takes a mind-over-matter approach, saying that for him "jetlag is not a factor because it’s not allowed. You have to do what you have to do."
Whether a potential oleh, or immigrant, would choose what Mr. Kahn says is literally "a jet-set lifestyle" depends partly on how much one would have to be away. The demands of a salesperson who travels for a week out of every month are different from those of an accountant who lives in the U.S. for three months straight during tax season. In an extreme example, Mr. Kahn told of an acquaintance, an international banker, who lives in the U.S. Mondays through Thursdays, and visits his family in Israel every weekend.
"These people know the names of all the flight attendants on El Al," Mr. Kahn says. "They don’t travel with suitcases. When their flights land, they just jump into a cab with their carry-on." Mr. Finkelstein says that beyond the professional benefits and the many frequent-flier miles he accrued, his two years of international commuting allowed him to "live in Israel but I could stay in touch with my friends and the lifestyle in the States."
On the other hand, he notes, so much time away from Israel meant "I didn’t have a chance to integrate [into Israeli society]. I never had to speak Hebrew, for example. Now, I feel like I’m really here and can integrate more into general life here."
Mr. Werber says that being away from Israel while one’s family is being absorbed into Israeli society can have a uniquely damaging effect on family relationships.
"Aliyah is a ritual of departure from old relationships and development of new ones," he says. So having a job overseas is detrimental because "the person working abroad doesn’t learn what Israel is all about and is retaining the old relationships, while his family is developing new ones in Israel. … If you keep leaving, the family is going to explore without you, by themselves. It’s a wonderful formula for divorce."
Mr. Kahn expressed another, more philosophical, concern about immigrants who work in the U.S. (or perhaps just as commonly in Great Britain, which also offers lucrative professional opportunities in English but isn’t as far away).
"We make aliyah to better our lives and the lives of our children," Mr. Kahn says. "And that involves adjusting to the culture and the language, and to the professional scene here. People need professional satisfaction, but it’s better if [immigrants] learn to adjust in all ways to the life here, including professional."
But even Mr. Kahn concedes that the benefits of commuting to other countries may outweigh the costs. Aliyah professionals estimate, he says, that one-quarter to one-third of North Americans who make aliyah eventually return to their country of origin. "There are drastically different styles of doing things here," he says, "and it’s hard to make that adjustment. It’s hard to adjust to a new language, to take new licensing exams. If [keeping one's old job] will help families stay here, I’m all for it. Maybe the statistic will change because of this."
Potential olim, or immigrants, who wish to keep their jobs after moving abroad might wonder how to convince their employers to allow them to partially or completely telecommute. Those interviewed for this article cited several benefits to the employers.
"They know and trust me," Yehudis Schamroth says. "I’m more reliable than an agency person." The hospitals retain her services also because, as Mr. Werber says, "You can pay less than the American wage, which is still a hefty Israeli salary," creating a win-win situation.
For those whose employers wish to support Israel and its economy, employing an oleh means that "instead of taking money out of your pocket, you can support someone who wants to live there," Mr. Werber says.
The increasing popularity of telecommuting within the U.S. is also making it easier for olim to keep their American jobs. "I was doing depositions over the phone before I made aliyah, too," Mr. Gershon says. "Even lawyers in the States are turning to the technology, like tele-conferencing, to save time and money for their clients."
Those unable to keep their American jobs also have the option of creating new business opportunities for themselves in Israel, as the Levitas family did. Avi Lowell, a Baltimorean and alumnus of Towson University, recently founded a new company, Visionary ID, together with his brother, Ari. The brothers are in their 20s; Avi made aliyah to Tekoa in 1997, and Ari was one of the 135 people who made aliyah from Maryland in 2003. Visionary ID is a marketing communications company that does strategic graphic design and copywriting for clients in the U.S. and Israel. The company employs a team of approximately 40 free-lance designers, copywriters, photographers, translators and strategic specialists.
Avi Lowell reports that they never need to travel to North America to market or provide their services. "We work with non-profits that have conventions in Israel," he says, "and there are companies with branches in Israel. I can do everything from here. We consult with the [clients] about their needs, get a sense of their target audience, and do the work from here. It goes to the clients over email, or we can print the materials here for them." Clients like their work, he says, "because we are able to give American-style quality at Israeli market prices."
Do these olim tell their clients of their Middle East? Dr. Schamroth, Mr. Levitas and Mr. Gershon all say they have taken advantage of programs with companies like Vonage and Packet8 to have American phone numbers in their Israeli offices. Often, clients have no idea they are calling Israel until they are told.
"I don’t hide it, but I don’t promote it," Dr. Schamroth says. "Sometimes, I leave it vague by saying that I live by the Mediterranean. But invariably, people are impressed that I live in Israel, and express moral support."
Says Mr. Gershon: "Some of my clients have never met me, and frankly they don’t have a problem. If we get them a multi-million dollar settlement, the results speak for themselves."
Mr. Gershon half-joked that his physical absence can even be a benefit. "You know how in ‘Charlie’s Angels,’ you never saw Charlie? People tell me I’m like that," he says with amusement. "It can be pretty intimidating, especially when I’m conducting depositions on the phone."
Despite the hardships inherent in trans-Atlantic commuting, most of those interviewed expressed satisfaction, sometimes bordering on euphoria, at how their aliyah has turned out.
"Making aliyah is wonderful," Dr. Schamroth says. "It’s also tough and frustrating sometimes. But it’s so meaningful. And commuting to America is easier than people think. People said I was crazy. Now, they are green with envy.
"There are so many people who think they can’t [keep their former jobs] but actually can," he says. "It’s far more viable than one might think. I highly recommend it."
Says Mr. Werber: "This is the wave of the future. We’re not there yet, but we’re on our way."
All photos courtesy the families profiled.
Sarah Bronson is a Jerusalem-based writer who is happily earning dollars while living on shekels.