They half stole me, not even for your benefit!

How it started?

In 2017, I was a fresh Oleh Hadash (2013) and I was a bit lost in all the Aliyah benefits, rights and procedures.

I decided to learn iOS native language framework and code and decided to develop an app to help other olim like me.

The app I developed and launched was called "My Aliyah" (My Aliyah website / Facebook Page )

The amount of hours I worked on learning new skills and gathering relevant data for the olim community is really huge and many times I asked for other people to help me, support me.

The app had 1,500 active users already in 2018 and I received many supportive messages to continue maintaining the app and suggesting new functionalities. A friend also developed the Android version so all type of mobile phone could access it.

My Aliyah had the following services:

• An overview of all your rights with expiring date (based on your time in Israel)
• A detailed step-by-step process for all procedures an Oleh Hadash has to do (open a bank account, convert driving license, claim the Sal klita, etc..
• The list of the Olim rights and detailed explanation (from the official website)
• A 1-push button to call/contact any government office in Israel and emergency numbers (police, Mada, Firefighters)
• A map of the home front command
• An army duty calculator that was showing if you had to draft of not and how much time depending on all the government criteria

What Happened then?

After launching the v2.0 of the app I contacted many offices that are working for olim community. I wanted to share this app to a bigger number, with a bigger exposure and to give it to the olim community. With me, as a single person, it was too costly to maintain I needed a bigger organization to maintain it (~400-500$/year funded by me for 5 years).

I contacted organization with the only goal to Donate (for free) the app code, resources, database and get my name as the creator:

• Ministry of Aliyah and Integration ???? ?????? ??????? but they never answered.
• Nefesh B'Nefesh and even met them in Tel Aviv. They were interested and willing to take ownership of the app if the app was restricted to Olim from the USA only. I refused.
• The Olim services of Tel Aviv Yafo Municipality but they said they had no budget for this.

I then decided to keep the app, keep maintaining it myself and called for people to donate and support me. It did not work and after 5 years I had to close the app.

Epilogue

This app was a volunteer work I did to help a community. I did it 7 years ago and contacted all the people I knew at that moment to promote it and to make it famous so people can use it for free.

Today, when opening my social medias I discovered that the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration ???? ?????? ??????? launched an app called.... My Aliyah! What a coincidence...

Not only this, the service they propose is not even half of what I developed 7 years ago!!

I am proud that part of my work is finally being (half-)used and available to a wider audience, but on the other hand, I feel very frustrated that no one has contacted me to get more features and about what I consider to be a theft of my intellectual property.

I do not regret anything I did and I am thankful for all the people that helped me back in the time:

• Kevin Zana for the Android version on his free time
• Avner (Jér?me) MAMAN ??? and Megane Dreyfuss Lande ??? that gave me the opportunity to present to their student the technical backend of the app in the prestigious Developers.Institute