Aliyah or extended service thru Mahal

[dannyschachter]

I did some research on the web, and through the site, but i'm having trouble finding an answer. I'm interested in making aliyah. Is it recommended that I try to enlist through Mahal anyways, and tell the people at the interior minsitry that i want to make aliyah, or is there an easier way to do it.

Because Mahal says to change your status at the interior ministry with-in the 2.5 month period prior to enlistment, would making aliyah change my enlistment date, as I would no longer be a "volunteer from outside Israel" but rather an israeli citizen.

So what i guess i'm asking, is should I make Aliyah, or Join through Mahal, and say that i want to extend my service.

Any help would be great.

[rafi]

If you look through some other threads on the subject, you can find some answers to your question.

Specifically, I served regular army as an Oleh and not through MAHAL.

Circle back to me with specific questions after you read some of them.

THe short answer is that I endorse aliyah, but it is a completely, and I mean completely, different experience than MAHAL.