New online community launched for Anglos in Israel

Connecting people to activities taking place in Anglo communities is a crucial part of helping immigrants find a sense of belonging in Israel, founder says.

By JEREMY SHARON
Cafe Mizrachi in Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda Shuk (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Cafe Mizrachi in Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda Shuk
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
A community website, israelk.org, aimed at immigrants in Israel from the anglophone Diaspora has been launched to help such people find out about communal events, lectures and activities as well as other social and commercial projects.
Since being launched last month, IsraelK has racked up 20,000 visits and has already proved popular with members of the Anglo community looking to find out whats happening in the various Anglo-immigrant hubs particularly in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Site founder Benjy Singer said the website was essentially an expansion of the social media portal he started in March 2013 called My Shteiblech, which catered mainly to religious Anglos in the capital, branching out to Tel Aviv as well.
“As time passed, the My Shteiblech grew immensely and became a very much used and relied upon resource in the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem community for both Israelis and Anglos,” said Singer. “The IsraelK website is a natural continuation and expansion of this social media community.”
Singer, a social media and content management consultant who immigrated from London 10 years ago, said that connecting people to the wide range of activities and projects taking place in English speaking communities was a crucial part of helping immigrants find a sense of belonging and a social base in their adopted home.
Israelk.org is linked to major Jewish and Zionist organizations, including Nefesh B’Nefesh, World Bnei Akiva and Yeshivat Har Etzion, and is partners with social activism groups such as the OneFamily Fund that provides support for victims of terrorist attacks and bereaved families.
“IsraelK is designed to be an online portal for many aspects of people’s domestic, social, business and religious routine, so whether you are looking for what’s going on over Shabbat and the Jewish holidays, details of lectures, classes and shiurim, or want to find out about singles events, holiday rentals, babysitters, job fairs and business conventions, IsraelK should help you,” said Singer.
He stressed that the website would be useful for tourists planning their vacation in Israel before they travel, and people living in the Diaspora wishing to find out the latest news about Israel and the Jewish World.