Translating legal documents in Israel? Here's what you need to know

Sometimes, people wonder what I do for a living here in Israel.

Even more weirdly, sometimes they don't. I guess they assume I make a living blogging or writing children's books. But no, or at least, not yet. Which may be why you don't hear from me here so often!

A lot of what I do these days is translation. (You can find out more on my site: IsraelTranslation.com)
I translate a whole bunch of stuff: kids' books, academic documents, and these days, a whole lot of CVs. Oh, and from Hebrew to English only.

Many people assume I translate both ways, which baffles me. I'm great at writing in English (in my humble opinion), but I can't imagine my writing in Hebrew ever progressing beyond the most basic level.

Sometimes people ask if I provide "legal translation," not meaning legal documents (which I don't do; you need a specialist in the legal system for that), but legally certified translations that you can use for purposes like immigration or other legal-related things.

The short answer is that what they want is probably a NOTARIZED translation, and I can't do that because I'm not a notary. And because in Israel notaries must be lawyers, it will probably cost a whole lot more for translation even if you do find a notary to do it. Fortunately, there is another way.

Starting a small business in Israel? Learn from my mistakes!

Did you come to Israel – or are you planning to come to Israel – hoping hoping to start a small business?  Good for you!  I really mean it.  Israel is the Startup Nation.  It’s a land of opportunity.  It’s the place where you can make many of your dreams come true in amazing ways you never even dreamed of back where you came from.

As long as you’re careful.

For all the opportunities here in Israel, it’s also… (shh) a very bureaucratic place.  And you have to stay on top of the bureaucracy because, unlike in certain larger and more anonymous countries I could name, where you can owe the tax people money for years with absolutely zero consequences, neglecting some of the bureaucracy here in Israel can have serious repercussions.

How do I know?

Um, let’s just say… I’ve learned this the hard way.   Not the extremely hard way, which probably involves jail time.  But the kind of hard way, which involves having your bank accounts frozen and threatening letters from various government agencies.

Setting yourself up as a small business here is actually super-easy.  There are three basic steps, and I’ve found that Rifka Lebowitz’s guide is terrific in terms of explaining these in detail:

1. Register your business for Ma’am (Value Added Tax = VAT):  There are two kinds of businesses, which mostly depends on how much income they bring in, and for both types, you need to open a “tik” (file) – tax-exempt (osek patur) and tax-paying (osek murshe) with the VAT office.
2. Register for income tax:  True, they’re both taxes.  But the VAT people don’t talk to the income tax people and vice versa.  So you have to tell the income tax people you’re a business now.  And then they will hound you forever after (see Tip #1) until you close your business tik, which is very easy to do if you’re no longer running your business.
3. Register with Bituach Leumi:  This is a socialized country You no longer have an employer paying your national insurance, and most importantly, your health insurance to your kupat cholim (HMO, healthcare provider network) – so this is your responsibility now as an independent business person.

In general, skipping one of these steps is a recipe for disaster – so don’t do it.

Here are three mistakes I made along the way through this simple process that I hope you can learn from instead of having to untangle on the other side.  Any tips here are NOT a substitute for a good accountant.  If you think your needs are at all complex, please consult a real tax advisor (not just a blog, for heaven’s sake!) before you take any steps you may regret.

Mistake #1 – Tax ≠ Tax

Sounds like a no-brainer, right?  Except I was lulled into complacency because when you come here, everybody says

How you know I’m still Canadian after all these (almost 4) years…

How do I know I’m still Canadian, even after almost 4 years in Israel?

Well, for one thing, the big Canadian flag in my front window – genuine, no doubt made in China, purchased last week at Dollarama.  (Full disclosure: I bought the JUMBO size, not SUPER JUMBO, so it’s smaller than the Israeli flag we just took down after Yom Yerushalayim…)

(This is my actual flag pictured above – not some cheesy stock photo.  You can tell it’s my flag because it’s held up with a clothespin – see top-left of photo.)

For another thing, the small Canadian flag in one of the front planters.

For a third thing, we’re flying to Canada at some unspecified point this summer, iy”h.  (Or, as everyone says here, be”h.)

For a fourth thing… well, we just are.  It’s just our culture.

In what way?  Well, here are two examples.

Canadian in the mall

Last summer

When you’re visiting the President: the secret to my success.

I don’t like to brag, but I’m kind of a big deal.

How big?

Well, I spent this morning hobnobbing with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin.  Does that count as a big deal?

Okay, we weren’t exactly hobnobbing. 

Actually, neither of those guys has a clue who I am… and I’m okay with that.  I’m kind of shy in real life.

But one of the things I’ve loved most about my time here in Israel is putting on my cub reporter hat and attending events (fun and not so fun) with ambassadors, ministers, in the Knesset, and various high-level government offices.

If you’re not planning to spend time in the upper echelons of government, maybe my secret isn’t so relevant.  But I’ll tell it to you anyway.  Here is the secret to my success:  leave an hour to go through security.

Getting in to see these guys is like an airport, only more so.

Remember – Netanyahu is one of the most hated people in the world (and I don’t just mean outside of Israel).  As a nation, we have far more enemies around the world than friends.  As far as his security folks are concerned, you are one of those enemies, until proven otherwise.

So smile, relax, and bring a nice blended iced coffee with you to help make the process go smoothly.  I recommend Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf – you’ll be standing around for an hour, you’re worth it. 

While you’re waiting, be prepared to:

Ready to work: finding your first job in Israel.

What’s stopping you from making aliyah?

Maybe it’s the thought of having to find a job here in Israel.  If so, I don’t blame you.  It’s very, very scary having to start over again in another country.

Close your eyes and think about work.  What do you picture yourself doing?  Maybe it’s more of the same – exactly what you’re doing now – or maybe it’s something completely different.

I haven’t written much about looking for work here so far.  Why?  I’ll be honest:  I feel unqualified.  Maybe because I don’t have a job myself, but also because so much depends on what kind of work you do.  (If you’re a writer, specializing in articles and blog posts in English, or in children’s books, then let’s talk.)

Your experience will depend on whether you’re a doctor, English teacher, hairdresser, yoga teacher, graphic artist, or… well, you get the picture.

But I’ve certainly talked to enough olim and potential olim to have a sense of what things are like.  So I’ve put together five questions you can ask yourself that will definitely make finding a job easier once you’ve landed in Israel.

What about finding a job first?

This has got to be the biggest question for many olim – their dream of hitting the ground running. 

How can you have a job lined up the minute you arrive? 

Israel’s best-kept secret (shhh): Fridays.

One thing we knew for sure before we came to Israel – there’s no weekend here.  When Shabbos ends, you roll over and start the week all over again, fresh and raring to go on Sunday morning.

“Nope, no weekend here,” everybody here told us, and we felt sorry for them.  We gritted our teeth in preparation for this dismal, weekend-less state. 

“Enjoy it now,” we told ourselves every Sunday we were still in Canada… well, except every other week, when Akiva had to work those late Saturday nights and long, long Sundays (because only half the staff was on, there was often more than twice the workload). 

But never mind.  Enjoy it now, we thought, because in Israel, there would be no more weekends!

So here’s the thing no-one tells you (shhh!). 

Cub reporter at work!

  What, missed me, you say? 

I’ve been away from here this past week but busy, busy, busy in my REAL job of establishing myself as THE Canadian-Israeli Jewish writer.  As you may know – well, everyone in my world knows – I’ve spent the week covering Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper’s first-ever visit to Israel for the Canadian Jewish News.

Read my articles about the visit on the CJN site here:

• Harper welcomed warmly as a friend to Israel
• Harper makes historic address to Knesset
• Canada, Israel, update free trade deal
• “Private settings” best for sensitive topics
• Harper honoured at Tel Aviv U
• Harper “understands Jewish history and Jewish aspirations,” says Cotler, a wrap-up of the visit that was held for the following print edition.

Here’s a personal opinion piece I wrote during a break while we waited to go in and hear the prime ministers speak:

• We’re “freiers” and we’re proud of it

Speaking of hearing prime ministers, why did nobody tell me how utterly, utterly charming Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu actually is in person? 

In pictures, on the news, he looks like nothing much, just a guy.  But in person, speaking in perfect, unaccented English, with his deep, plain-spoken, reassuring voice?  Nothing could be wrong with the world when a guy like this is in charge.

(That doesn’t mean I agree with him politically, but I do know that if he speaks anywhere near as well in Hebrew as he does in English, it is very obvious why he’s Prime Minister today.)

The way I see it, covering Harper’s visit has been a win-win for both me and the CJN. 

For me, in addition to an (admittedly small) paycheque, I earned some serious on-the-spot reporting experience, working on much tighter deadlines than usual, covering far more political topics than I usually handle.  As a writer, I couldn’t ask for a better apprenticeship, and being paid (a bit) to do it – well, that’s great, too. 

So how’s it a win-win?  The CJN is a low-budget organization, in the perilous position right now of pulling itself back from the brink of closure, where it hovered for a couple of months last summer.  No way they could pay the $2500-something to send a reporter over with the “official” media contingent; that honour was reserved for the Big Boys of Canadian media. 

Yet at least they had the chance to have a reporter on the ground, covering their specific angle, which is far more positive (about Israel) and far more Jewish in focus than that of the regular media organizations.

Plus, I’m super-frugal!  They told me they’d cover expenses, but I just have to brag here that my total billed expenses for this entire 3-day cub reporter stint came to about $110 Canadian.  ₪74.80 round trip for the bus to Yerushalayim, ₪74.50 round trip for the train to Tel Aviv, and ₪200 for the night I spent in Yerushalayim.  That’s compared, again, to the $2500-something that the Prime Minister’s office wanted if we had to be part of the official media contingent (which didn’t include airfare).

Another win for me:  spending a few days with “real” journalists in their natural habitat.  I always feel like I’m more of a “writer” than a “journalist,” partly because of my lack of credentials, and partly because I tend to write more feature-y, fluff-type articles.  Also, I feel humbled and shy around people who know politics – always an area of mystery to me.

But I have news for you, world:  “real” journalists aren’t so smart either.  Seeing a bunch of them here in person convinced me of that.  They have some background knowledge, they know who the key players are (usually)… but I found out that a lot of that comes in the form of press releases and backgrounders, which the Canadian prime minister’s office put together and sent out at times hourly. 

Media professionals can also be prima donnas, whining and kvetching and demanding, and generally losing perspective on how ultimately insignificant their role is in the unfolding drama before them.  If their newsfeed doesn’t get through or they don’t check their Twitter feed every ten minutes, the world won’t come to an end. 

I hope not, anyway… I haven’t checked my Twitter feed in about six months.  I wonder what they’re saying about me???

One thing at a time, please…?

When I’m feeling frazzled, which is all the time at the moment, I tell myself that (during my “normal life”), any one of the things I’m dealing with right now would probably be at least a big part of a very full day.

I’m not asking anyone to feel sorry for me, just suggesting that there’s a lot running through my brain at the moment.

Here’s what’s on my plate today, in no particular order.

• Details of renting a house (utilities, taxes, making sure the money goes into our account to pay the rent?), plus questions to ask the old tenant (where can we build a sukkah, where’s the miklat?).
• Forgot to mail a cheque to the lawyer I loved who was so helpful last week when it was a crisis – oops. :-o
• Switching GZ to a new gan closer to where we’ll be living (we’re happy with Naomi Rivka’s school, so hopefully leaving her there).
• Ulpan 3 times a week.  Plus, I just found out about another program in Haifa, called This is Not an Ulpan (TINAU) that has once-a-week classes starting soon.
• Volunteer English tutoring at the library, ongoing, 3 kids/week.
• Buying appliances for the new apartment.  We need a fridge, stove and washing machine, and somebody sane has suggested we measure the space first before we think about buying.
• Arranging for delivery of our shipment from Canada.  A shipment that, due to the tiny size of our new apartment, will just about totally fill our new apartment.
• Arranging for a mover to bring our possessions from the Merkaz Klitah to the new apartment, and possibly to help pick up purchased appliances along the way.
• Establishing a freelance writing career, keeping up with new clients and assignments and making sure everyone is happy and nothing is forgotten.  Okay, this one is at least a part-time job, on its own.  Today, I have one article to revise, one to write from scratch, and 50-100 blog comments to post.  Not a ton, but nothing I can just sit back and forget, either.
• Covering the Canadian Prime Minister’s visit next week – arranging security, access, schedule, etc.  Plus booking hotel/hostel if I need to stay over in Yerushalayim or Tel Aviv.  Actually staying in a hotel is fun, but making arrangements is not something I need in this particular week.
• Maintaining blogs – sometimes goes by the wayside, but I have a new one I’m trying to build up at the moment.
• Register our family for a “tik” – self-employment tax status from the government
• Renew our Canadian passports (must go get pictures done on Friday from the one place in Haifa we’re told takes acceptable photos… then figure out how to travel back to the consulate in Tel Aviv and pay for the passports themselves)
• Applying for whatever extension money we’re able to receive from Misrad HaKlitah (absorption ministry) given that, approaching the 6-month mark), neither of us has what could be considered a job and Ted is still not finished ulpan.
• Paid online journalism course from a from a Very Reputable School that I paid for with my birthday money from my mother… and now I just need to start the work.  Happily, I have up to a year to do this.
• Children’s writing course I want to take starting in February.
• Wanting to visit Canada sometime… this is for the future, but it is always somewhere near the tippy-top of my mind.
• Did I mention I have to go pick up Naomi Rivka in five minutes???  It’s no wonder little things like feeding my family tend to go by the wayside.

You know, when I googled “full plate,” to get a catchy picture I could include with this post, most of the pictures I found were of full-body suits of armour.  Which is really something I could use – just seal myself up inside a suit of armour until all of this, somehow, has passed.

But no.  Naomi’s finished school, so I’ll strap on my mp3 player and dash over to meet her.  And then come back and start slowly, slowly ticking things off the list, putting out fires, or, to use another metaphor because I know you won’t mind, sowing seeds of which, hopefully, we’ll eventually reap the rewards.

Maybe life will be normal again, someday soon?  Pretty please???