And Still They Come

“You’re going WHERE? Have you lost your mind”. When I told people I was flying to Israel mere days after the current round of fighting started the reaction was nearly unanimous. Spoken or unspoken the choice made little sense to most. Imagine if instead I had announced I was moving to Israel? My friends probably would have tried to have me committed. Yet there are many who do make that choice and make Aliyah and move permanently to Israel. They come for many reasons…

To better their hearts

The Calinit Absorption center in Ashkelon looks pretty much like any other college dorm around the world, as long as you can ignore the bomb proofing on the workout and computer rooms. The program, subsidized by the Jewish Agency, houses 150 young students who have opted to move to Israel, to finish their college education and begin their adult lives. They come from points around the globe, including Argentina, Russia, Cuba, Ethiopia, Kazakstan and Uzbekistan. They speak some broken English and their native tongue, but their first task upon arriving is to learn Hebrew and after a couple months they do it better than I ever could. As they sit together, it is hard to believe they have come from different lands, they clearly share a bond. A bond in knowing they have made a great choice in their life.

They come here by choice, and while speaking to them they make it sound like such a easy choice, they are making a huge commitment. This is not a decision made by impulsive teens hoping to have it easy somewhere away from their parents. The commitment they are making involves not only moving away from family, friends and the life they have known and starting over in a new country, but doing it in a country and city in turmoil. For some of the students we are having lunch with they had only been in Israel a few months when the fighting escalated and the rockets started falling daily on Ashkelon. And yet they tell us with total clarity how happy they are to be in here. How they fell in love with the country and are happy to be here to support Israel and each other. Many first came to visit on a Birthright trip, fell in love with the people and the country and are now back permanently. Others came because their own countries didn’t offer the freedom or safety (rather ironic) they could find in Israel and are here for the first time.

Regardless of why they came, they are wise beyond their years. They know their role in Israel, in helping to keep the country strong. Beyond helping build the next generation of Israel, the male students also speak with great enthusiasm about the time they will spend in the IDF, a requirement of coming. They view this as their chance to give back to the country that they feel is giving them so much. And they do it totally aware of the dangers around them.

To better their country

The students of the Ayalim village in Moshav Yachini are looking to learn and to give, in ways their fore fathers did. They have come to the southern regions of Israel not only to get an education, but also to become part of the fabric of the area.

As they explain to us over dinner, they felt life had a void. They had been involved as youngsters, they had done their time in the IDF but then there was nothing, no way to give back. Yes they could have gone on and gotten married, started their careers and their lives, but they wanted more. They wanted a way to give instead of take. The Ayalim program lets them do that.

In addition to their studies these modern pioneers are helping build communities and farm the Negev. This alone would have been enough, but they are also playing a role in assisting the residents in the missile ridden communities around them. They work with the children in the communities providing friendship and much needed distractions from war, they help with rebuilding efforts and assist in places like the Sderot Trauma Center. Recently when the attacks were at their worst they provided extra hands to help in taking children out of the area for a day of respite at zoos, the mini-Israel museum and other child friendly areas.

In a time when life in Israel seems so to make so little sense, these young adults are carving out a place for themselves by assisting those around them.

To better their lives

Since 1977 Ethiopian Jews have been assisted in returning to Israel to escape the hardships and mistreatments they must endure in their homeland. In addition to famine and droughts, life in Ethiopia for Jews is one of an outsider at its best. Practice of their faith is prevented and at times has been outlawed. The largest of these efforts were Operation Moses in 1984 & 1985 and Operation Solomon in 1991. Since these major efforts the numbers have slowed but the remaining Ethiopian Jews are still coming, assisted by JAFI and the Israeli government.

Assimilating to life in Israel has been a hard road for these Olim. Not only are there language and cultural differences, but also the challenges of moving from the under developed to the developed world. They must learn the simplest daily tasks that we take for granted, like having a checkbook and shopping for clothes. Moving to Israel is not just changing lives for them, it is changing worlds.

Twenty five years has passed since Operation Moses, and the first generations of Israeli born Ethiopian Jews are now teens and young adults. This group, and the teens still coming, face a unique challenge, maintaining their heritage and culture while living in modern Israel. The Ethiopian National Program and UJC help provide centers and support to fill in that gap. It keeps the youth in touch with each other and also their heritage. This heritage was shared with us as we took part in a Buna coffee ceremony and learned traditional dance.

Holding tight to their cultural ways of coping with stress are more important now than ever, especially for those living in southern Israel. As the Ethiopian-Israeli youth explained to us, the ceremony is about a lot more than drinking the coffee. Preparing the beans and the coffee is a relaxer for them, the smells, the colors, it all is a safe place for them. It is a way of being together and facing their current realities. While the lives of these teens in Israel far outweighs the opportunities they had in Ethiopia, they still find great solace in sharing their culture with their new friends.

Coming to Israel may not seem to some the wisest choice, but for many whether the stay is 48 hours or a life time, coming to Israel is a life changing choice. Even at a time when Israel is not the safest place on the planet it is still a welcoming, wonderful place to be.