The Founder of Soft Landing:
Ariela Jacobs
When Ariela was 17 she made Aliyah alone, with no family, friends, or Hebrew. She was essentially thrown into the deep end. She experienced the first months of Aliyah to be incredibly intense, overwhelming, and seemingly impossible.
To be frank, everything in the Middle East (and Israel is no exception), is a fight. The beginning of Ariela’s Aliyah was marked by having to learn this lesson repeatedly until it became second nature. To shop around for EVERYTHING, from a manicure lady to a cell phone company. To demand better rates, and to never take no for an answer.
Ariela was supposed to draft into the IDF right after making Aliyah but upon arriving in Israel came to the realization that it would be better to postpone her draft and learn Hebrew. After fighting with the drafting branch of the army to postpone her draft she spent the next 6 months learning Hebrew. She began with the alphabet and 6 months later was speaking fluently.
At the age of 18 Ariela drafted into the army as a tank commander and instructor, finishing first in her draft both in place and in terms of timing. She quickly became responsible for coordinating simulations and exercises between her unit, soldiers in the field, and a civilian contracting company, and has trained commanders of every rank from those who just finished their course to 3- and 4-star generals.
Ariela taught and tested commanders’ ability to take command of their team and their tank, and their ability to perform and make decisions under pressure. She taught firing techniques and ran simulations to test soldiers’ abilities to differentiate between friend and foe accurately all while saying in direct communication with command over the radio.
After two impressive years of service, she was asked to sign on more time as a non-commissioned officer in a classified unit that is responsible for training and cooperating with foreign armies. Within that unit her responsibilities included setting up and running field exercises, including directing tanks and live fire, as well as overseeing the training of the foreign soldiers. The army teaches you to stand up for your beliefs, what is right and what you need. You learn how to operate within a very complicated system, and work it to your benefit, and you realize that there is no problem that can’t be solved with a little creativity.
Ariela was recently joined in Israel by her mother Nancy. Nancy’s Aliyah of course looked very different than Ariela’s, she was moving at the age of 60 with a house full of furniture and memories a business, and in the midst of a pandemic.
No two Aliyah’s are the same, but no one should have to go through it blind, alone, or feeling overwhelmed.
Soft Landing was born out of an understanding for a service that is dearly needed. Israel is a country unlike any other in the world, and there should be an option for those who do not want to make Aliyah alone.
