Israeli citizenship- pros and cons?

I really do not want to start an ideological debate so if you are of the opinion that it is assur to make "yerida" from E"Y, please don't start writing that here.

We are living in Israel now for a few years, but I can basically say that barring Mashiach coming while we are here, we are 100% going back to the U.S. We own a house (in america), have a mortgage to pay, our entire family is there, and the reasons for relocation were totally temporary.

What I want to know, is so many people have said to us, if you are here for a couple of years anyway, why not make aliya? you will "get so much out of it"

so to me- it seems like the bad outweighs the good
-1: I feel like I am tricking the government or something- give me $ for making aliya and all the benefits of being a citizen, even though I intend to leave, 100%.
-2: army complications for my kids especially sons if they come to yeshiva here.

those are the two things that are keeping me from doing it. is there some HUGE benefit to making aliya (other than the government giving you something like 10,000 shekels or something as an aid for making aliiya which - a- b'h we don't need, and b- I would feel guilty taking bcz we intend to leave?

again I am begging posters especially those who love living in E"Y (which we certainly do so far) to not start admonishing me for my intention to move back to America etc. that is not what this thread is about.

If you are thinking of going back, definitely do not make aliya.
It only complicates things for you and your children and grandchildren for the next few generations.

It's been said that US citizenship is the hardest to get and the easiest to lose, and Israeli citizenship is the easiest to get and the hardest to lose Smile

.

if you get citizenship then make yerida and then ever come back, you will owe them thousands in back bituach leumi.

Senior Member Joined: Jul 24 2008 Posts: 211

I don't know if this applies to you at all. I made aliya even though my situation is similar to yours in terms of long-term intentions because this was the only way I could work here. Getting working papers would have been virtually impossible, and even on the very small chance that they would have come through, I have long since outstayed the time restrictions that I think the working visa comes with.

[Parenthetically, I never did get all the aliyah benefits. My aliyah process was so long, drawn-out, and messed up - I went to misrad haklita 3 times and never managed to actually see the person I had an appt with.....so I finally gave up without getting my "teudat oleh", which is what gives you all the extra benefits.]

Only make aliyah if you absolutely must in order to work. Otherwise, it's a waste of your benefits. Yes, you'll get cash, but some of the most important stuff - tax break on a car, mortgage benefits, university tuition/job counseling - would probably go unused. Also, it could affect your kids if they want to come to Israel or make aliyah someday, both in terms of army stuff as previous posters said and in terms of benefits they'd be eligible for.

ok, thanks everyone, for confirming what we were inclined to think.

the only thing that I thought it might benefit us with was the car. but we ended up bringing a car on a student visa and bli ayin hara so far it has worked out.

thanks for the advice

Just out of curiosity, does "teudat oleh" actually is the same as citizenship? Can you work/get aliya benefits without acquiring citizenship, something similar to green card in the US? What does someone do if he/she is from a country that does not acknowledge dual citizenship?

Also we know someone who made aliya recently but DH got a job offer chutz laaretz. They are concerned as there seems to be a law requiring olim to be present in Israel at least 180days or so to keep benfits. Is it true?