MA'ALOT — Eli and Chana Coten relocated to Ma'alot, Israel, in September 2025 with their two daughters. They received support from Israela, an extension of the Alyah de Groupe organization, during their move to the city located 10 kilometers from the Lebanese border.

Ma'alot has a population of approximately 22,500 people and is situated about 20 kilometers east of Nahariya. Organization staff advised new immigrants to rent apartments with safe rooms due to the immediate siren warning times in the area. "Just before Passover, that was extended to 30 seconds. At first our daughters were understandably scared, but they adjusted," Coten said. The family lived in the Golders Green neighborhood of London for 15 years before their relocation.

One Shabbat morning, the family heard a loud metallic bang overhead as the siren started. It apparently was a rocket that fell into the wadi nearby. Once, en route to Nahariya for a dentist appointment, Coten got caught out by three alarms.

Eli works remotely for F5, developing cybersecurity products for enterprise websites. He continued this role after moving to Israel and is currently enrolled in an online Hebrew language course. She is attending a Hebrew language course in Ma'alot and previously worked as a business intelligence developer at the U.K. Health Security Agency for eight years. Their daughters have improved their Hebrew proficiency and are receiving positive academic evaluations in local schools.

Israela assigned local coordinator Miriam to the Coten family's aliyah group, which participated in weekly informational sessions on finance, health, business, and transportation prior to their relocation. The organization also provided three months of pre-relocation online language instruction for adults and children. The immigrant group in Ma'alot participates in year-round community activities, including cooking, educational programs, and preparing meals for soldiers. "Making aliyah with a group of like-minded people with extra help from Israela has made a dream into a reality," Coten said. "Not just the Anglo community, but the wider Ma'alot community is always so kind and friendly."

The couple married in 2010. Eli studied at Yeshivat HaKotel in Jerusalem for two years and holds a BSc in Liberal Arts. He completed a master's degree conversion course to computer science at University College London. The family has married siblings living in central Israel. Chana's parents reside in Jerusalem.