and I passed! BUT, lemme explain what a mess it was for me to get it. So I started driving in the states when I was 15, meaning I've been driving around 9 years. When I came to Israel, I was able to drive on my Chicago (ok, fine. Illinois) license for a year, but to drive more than that I had to convert it to an Israeli license. Here is the process of that: First, I had to go to this office that does nothing other than give people the first form they need when they wanna start driving (this office is in Haifa). Then I had to go to an optimistic (to get my eyes checked), and then a doctor (to get physical). Both of them wrote on the form I got from the first place that I had seen them, and I'm good to go. I then had to take that form to another office so it could be stamped (which was 2 buses/over an hour outside of Haifa). After they stamped it, I had to call a driving instructor. Even though I'm only converting a license, I am required to take a couple driving lessons (at a cost of 160 Shekels). After the two (rather pointless) lessons, I then had to have my driving instructor set up a test for me (you use the instructor's car for the test). Pass or fail, I had to pay another 300 Shekels for the 15 minute test. I passed, so that means I now have to pay another 120 Shekels to get the piece of paper that will be my license for two months (after which I will receive the real deal in the mail).
If that's not bad enough, while I was taking the test some crazy shit went down. I was coming up on the last stop light just before the test is over (literally 20 seconds from the finish) going 40 k/h (10 under the limit). When I was about 15 feet from the line in front of the crosswalk the light turned yellow. I thought to myself "well there is no way I can stop in time, so I'll just coast right through." Turns out my tester had other plans. He slammed on the brakes and we ended up screeching to a halt about 10 feet past the crosswalk. Inside I was thinking "WTF is he doing?!? This is the part where this MF-ing bastard is gonna screw me! You BASTARD, WWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYY?", but I just nicely looked over at him and said "we were going 40 and only 4 meters from the intersection, so I assumed the yellow meant I could just coast through." He replied "but after yellow comes red." Then I just asked if we should back out of the intersection (trying to make a point, but nicely) and he said that we were fine where we were. Anyhow, I still passed, but they don't tell you here until about 5 hours later (so it was an intense 5 hours).
Here is another fucked up thing about the whole issue. If you are a 17 year old Israeli who wants to get a license in Israel, you are required to get a driving teacher and take at least 28 lessons (at 80-120 Shekels, each). The thing is, guess who decides when you are ready to take the driving test? You guessed it: The guy who you are paying all that money to for the lessons. This means that if he wants you to take 40 lessons (which happens ALL THE TIME), you have to take 40 lessons. So he has an economical interest in not letting you take the test. It is made worse by the fact that you can ONLY practice with him. No permits to drive with parents (reinforcing the need for you to pay a lot of money). This is a small example of how this country works. At least another small hurdle is behind me, though.