Well, it has been a little while since I wrote in this blog. Thanks to all my fans (you know who you are!) for being patient. I feel that for me to make aliyah has been a process, one that has definitely depended on pragmatic circumstances, but required a great deal of contemplation, introspection, and maturity.
My journey started at JFK airport on Monday morning, July 21. I made aliyah under the auspices of the Jewish Agency for Israel and Nefesh b'Nefesh. When I got to the airport, I had a small bite to eat (thanks Michelle, for packing the cannoli - I love Jersey...).
All this time that I have been thinking about aliyah, I had imagined this moment at the airport...I was thinking about how intense it would be, and the emotions it would bring...pull...out of me. But - when push came to shove, I was surprisingly calm...part of it was a knowledge of what I was going to, as I lived in Israel for three years in college and grad school...part of it was a serenity that comes when all the logistical nightmares of moving overseas are behind you...but overall, I was just thrilled to be on the precipice of the next stage of my life.
The flight seemed to go very quickly. I had a great seat - not an emergency exit seat, but one without a seat in front of me. When we went wheels-up, reality started to sink in...yalla, bye!
I drifted in and out, but a few hours into the flight I started watching episodes (on El-Al's new personalized digital touch-screen entertainment systems - nice touch!) a relatively new Israeli tv show called 'HaBorer' (The Middle Man). It's a great Sopranos-like show, ala-Israel, with a number of famous Israeli actors. I was thrilled that after all these years, I didn't have to read subtitles...I've really made an effort to keep practicing Hebrew, and it is paying off.
Landing in Israel
We landed at about 7:00am Israel time on Tuesday, July 22. There was a huge crowd there to greet us, and a large ceremony was held in the old main terminal. Although I could have invited people to the ceremony, I chose not to...I wanted to see my friends in the Israel that I know...cafes, restaurants, beaches, basically - in the shchunah!
I did really enjoy the ceremony, though. The most inspiring point of the whole experience came when Frances Greenberg was brought up on stage. She and her family tried to escape from Poland to pre-state Israel in the mid 1930s, but were denied. Her entire family was killed in the Holocaust. After a few years in displaced persons camps, she boarded the ship Exodus for the Holy Land. The ship was turned away, and she was sent back to camps in Europe, but the Exodus inspired worldwide criticism of Britain's policies to Jewish refugees, not to mention a book by Leon Uris, and a phenomenal Paul Newman flick (I was actually considering changing my name to Ari ben-Canaan). Frances met her husband in the camps, and they decided to move to the U.S., and settled in Philadelphia. After his passing earlier this year, she decided to fulfill her ambition to live in Israel. She sat a few rows in front of me, and I talked to her briefly about the Dolphins versus the Eagles...she hadn't talked about her story, and I was walking down the stairs not far from her when we landed. She was so very moved by all the attention she recieved. You can read more about her story by clicking here.
After I landed, I headed to my friend's apartment in the Katamon neighborhood in Jerusalem. It is a beatiful and extremely quiet and peaceful part of the city. She lives on a main street in the area called HaPalmach, after the battalion that fought in the area in the War of Independence. Oh - forgot to mention - I traveled to Jerusalem from the airport in a taxi with three other Olim. The cab driver strapped most of our luggage on the roof! I was a bit concerned as he sped down the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway, but - the most important thing to know about Israel - roll with the punches.
So, I got dropped off in front of my friend's apartment, and quickly realized that she was on the top floor. So began the shlepping - three very full overweight suitcases and two bags up to five flights of stairs! After I got settled, I went out with my friend and some new ones to a great sushi lunch (you were expecting falafel, weren't you?).
While we were sitting and eating, a number of ambulances passed by. After having convinced my family and friends of how safe Israel is now, as opposed to when I lived here between 1998 and 2002, I was hoping that it was just a string of slip-and-falls, car accidents, or other 'normal' emergencies. However, an Arab resident of East Jerusalem who was a construction worker copied the bulldozer (why does the media refer to it as a tractor???) attack from a few weeks ago. For me, it was surrealistic to be back in this city, and to hear sirens again. Having to call my family within a few hours of landing and saying that I was ok...that wasn't how my aliyah was supposed to go...but - I just had to repeat my mantra to myself...roll with the punches. Israel is a much better, safer, and more advanced country than when I left it in 2002. It saddens me that most people won't get to see on tv or in their papers how beautiful and dynamic this country truly is.
Over the past week, I've opened my bank account, gotten my cell phone, my Israeli identity card, and have begun the job search. Everything so far has gone remarkably smooth. A friend of mine back in Miami recommended to me to bring a book with me everywhere, and to be as personal as possible with the workers at offices I need to go to. That advice has served me very well.
There is an old Israeli song, that personfies a prevelant attitude about this country - it is called "Ein li Eretz Acheret - I have no other Homeland". How fortunate I am that I have two homelands. I am so proud to be an American, and so fortunate to be able to live in a time when I can be Israeli as well.
Before I go, thank you to everyone who helped make my aliyah possible...there are too many to list, but you know who you are.
I've got to head to sleep, but I'll blog some more soon...coming up: Batman Begins, Knaffeh in the Old City, "What do you mean, there's no Tivo?", Tmol Shilshom, Dizengoff, and Shabbat on the Beach.
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