Last Updated on November 6, 2021
30 years after Aliyah.
While I try to keep my personal and private experiences off this website, I published this post on Facebook on the 30th anniversary after making Aliyah and hundreds of people reacted and commented on it. Many olim said the article inspired them and gave them hope for the future. In a nutshell, this is what the Anglo-List is about – inspiring and giving people hope. After careful thought I decided that I would publish the article here as well.
March 12th, 2019 was the 30th anniversary of our Aliyah to Israel.
It has been a long journey. We arrived 4 weeks after we got married. We knew very little about life and almost nothing about what was waiting for us in Israel.
My parents would have sent a rescue team and whisked us back to SA if they had seen our first home. We had very few expectations and whatever we were to become would be a result of hard work and perseverance.
We have made many mistakes and some bad choices too. We have dealt with unemployment, financial insecurities, health crisis, depression and a host of other issues over the years. Our two children; Guy and Keren, are the light of our lives. Born and educated here, their parent’s heritage is a large part of their identities. They speak English with a South African accent and laugh at our bad Hebrew. They have many South African values and have been blessed to enjoy wonderful moments in South Africa with their family. At the same time, they are good examples of young Israeli adults – both forging ahead, writing their own life-stories and taking their place as responsible Israeli citizens.
In the early years we felt very much alone. We were fortunate to my husband’s sister here. Whatever she had two of, she gave us one and plenty of emotional support as well. We love her children as if they were our own.
Over the years more and more family members have made Aliyah and our sense of ‘alone’ is far, far less. The children of our friends and family now have children of their own and it is a joy to be part of their life’s journey. On a sadder note we have buried loved ones too.
3 special families trusted us and took a chance on us. They opened their homes to us at the very beginning and showed their sincerity by doing all kinds of things that have impacted our lives ever since. Yossi and Bette (z”l), Paul and Carol and Rafi and Jennifer – thank you. And to all the pivotal people in South Africa and in Israel who have played a significant and influential part in our lives, to those who have loved us no matter what, have helped and guided us in this journey, we salute and thank you all. Now there is a fairly large number of the Suckerman/Silver and Rubenstein clans in Israel. We are lucky to have them here.
The last 10 years I have devoted most of my time to the immigrant community and making their journeys and integration a little easier by building the Anglo-List website. For me, the website was a therapeutic journey and it was via the site that I realized how far I had come and how much I had to offer other immigrants.
My heart is in two places. My loved ones are in two countries. When I am here, I want to be there, when I am there, I want to be here.
We will always be immigrants and there are many things that are beyond our reach. We made a decision to make our lives here work no matter what. We have embraced new ideas and cultures. We have tried to change the things we cannot accept and accept the things we cannot change. I can only fight my own fight.
What will the next decade hold for us and for this country? Now we talk about our children settling down, pensions and retirement and about traveling and seeing the world. Who knows what will be tomorrow?
My message to you is that after Aliyah nothing will ever be the same again. Be strong and persevere and make the most of the choices you have made.
