April 2025
Abigail Cukier

Oren, who moved to Hamilton from Israel in June 2024, says local community members have been warm and welcoming. But settling in a new country has not been easy.

He, his wife and three children originally rented an Airbnb in Vaughan. When they wanted a more affordable alternative, they found Hamilton. “We connected with the Kehila Heschel School,” he says. “We came here for two weeks and we fell in love with the school and the Dundas area.

“The community here is so warm and welcoming. Also the nature is amazing.”

The family came to Canada through the federal government’s special measures, which allow Israeli passport holders with temporary resident status to apply for a work permit for up to three years.

While Oren has been working remotely for an Israeli tech company, it took nine months for him and his wife to get their work permits. So it is only now that his wife can start looking for work.

“It was a difficult situation, with three young kids without the ability to work and without any medical coverage,” he says. “It is very expensive to restart your life in a new country, with a car and house and to buy all the furniture, and then to pay for private health insurance.

“The hardest part is that your family is far away. We used to do Shabbat dinner every week with all the family and birthdays and holidays. Suddenly you’re alone.”

Oren says though he loves Israel, having kids changed his perspective. “Suddenly you have the responsibility for those children and it’s hard to feel on a daily basis that fear of your children not being safe. So we decided to make the move and try something different.”

Lena, another newcomer from Israel had the same feelings. “The most important reason for moving was the safety of our children,” she says. “Right now, Israel is not safe for children, especially my daughter who is getting to the age of going to the army. I don’t think it is safe for her, even being in the unit, going on the bus or on the street. You want them to be safe. So that’s the main reason, after Oct. 7 that we brought them here.”

Lena arrived in Hamilton in November 2024 with her three children. Her husband, Michael, joined a month later with their dog and cat. They are renting a home in Dundas. They have not received their work visa yet. “We are living off of our savings, so it is very difficult,” she says.

Michael works in IT and Lena is a nurse. She is studying for the licensing exams so she can work in Canada. Their two younger children are going to the Hamilton Hebrew Academy, which is allowing them to attend without tuition until Michael and Lena are able to work. When they tried to enrol their 15-year-old daughter, in high school at the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, they found out they would have to pay a fee.

The school board did not respond for comment before HJN deadline, but its website states that children who are temporary residents in the visitor class without a study permit or guardian with a work permit are considered international students. In this case, fees are $7,425 for one semester. The family chose to enrol their daughter in the Hamiton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, which has a slightly lower fee and agreed to refund the payment if they receive their permit in the next few months. “We don’t want her to lose the school year. So we paid the money. We didn’t have a choice,” Lena says.

Despite these hardships, Lena says the family has felt the support of the community. “We met a lot of Israelis ... It’s good to find friends, as we don’t have any family here. And we have gone through similar things.”

Cara Bensimon is executive director of Hamiton Jewish Family Services (HJFS). She points out that even after newcomers receive their permits, it can take many months to get a job. “Of the Israeli newcomer clients we have served, the vast majority are young families with parents who are highly educated professionals with significant work experience,” she says, adding that while waiting for their work permit, they face many barriers such as difficulty securing housing or ineligibility for OHIP. “These factors push them into financial vulnerability and hinder their ability to succeed.”

To provide as much support as possible, HJFS and JWelcome Home Hamilton, a part of Hamilton Jewish Federation dedicated to supporting newcomers, are in constant contact over what support newcomers need and how each agency can help. “We’re such a small community so our system is not sophisticated, but it’s as simple as picking up the phone and sharing a spreadsheet,” says Maggie Norris, who heads up JWelcome Home. “We just all need to be in the know so that people don’t fall through the cracks.”

One challenge is that helping these newcomers is not a one-size-fits-all journey. “We have so many newcomers with so many different challenges,” Norris says.

Bensimon agrees. “Just because they all get the labelled 'newcomers from Israel,' why they came or what they’re facing when they come is not the same.”

For example, a person who moves to Hamilton because they were displaced from living on a kibbutz near the Israeli border and doesn’t have a work permit has different needs than a person who moves here with a position lined up at McMaster University with housing.

Another challenge for the agencies is that many Israeli newcomers don’t know about their services. “The concept of an umbrella organization you reach out to for help is new to them,” says Norris.

Others may say they don’t need help, Bensimon says. “But the landlord is making them pay a full year of rent up front, which is what some are doing. So they might be OK today but need help in the future. It’s not easy to get a start here. There are so many roadblocks along the way.”

When newcomers do contact JWelcome Home, they help them with anything from applying for a visa or completing other paperwork, finding housing or school or putting them in touch with a local doctor or dentist. They recently held a speed networking event to connect locals and newcomers. They also connect newcomers with others who have settled here a few years earlier. 

HJFS provides services like financial assistance, referral for employment services and a food bank. It has also recently opened its Giving Room, where Israeli newcomers can find new and gently used household items like furniture or small kitchen equipment.

While HJFS already provides financial assistance to clients through funding from Federation, some generous donors have set up an emergency fund specifically for Israeli newcomers.

“We do cherish our newcomers,” Norris says. “We want them to feel included in the community. We want to help them and really care about their well-being. We will support them any way we can to get their feet on the ground.”

She says the best way community members can help is by making connections. “Reach out and be an ear. Sometimes all it takes is an invitation for Shabbat dinner. Invite them to community events. The community is vital.”

Oren says he feels that connection. “The community is amazing. The local community and also Israelis,” he says. “I had shared some information on the community in an Israeli chat group. Every person who moves to Hamilton, we sit for a coffee. I say ‘Let’s talk. You’re not alone.’ So this move created a lot of connections.”