| SHUVA ISRAEL NEWSLETTER......... Sounding the Shofar to the Nations | ||
| for rebuilding the Ancient Ruins | ||
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Volume No. 1 Issue No. 5 Date: January 2000 |
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| Meet Shuva
Israel’s New Immigrants
Udia
Alustin (86)
moved to Israel from Stachanov, Ukraine four months ago. She came with
her son, Bezalel (50) and grandson, Michael,
(21). This story of three generations of the same family coming home
to Israel was heart rending. Tammy
Nellenback from North Carolina (pictured), during her recent trip to
Israel, had the opportunity to meet Udia and Bezalel during her recent
trip to Israel. This was a special moment for all of us to experience
together. Udia
came from a family of eight siblings. Amazingly, she grew up in an
observant home in the former Soviet Union and continued to keep the
Sabbath all her life despite widespread antisemitism in the Ukraine.
This is remarkable con../side2ring how few Jews lived in her community in
the Ukraine. I asked her why it took her so many years to move to
Israel. Udia’s responded… “We left one day for Israel without
telling any of the neighbors. I feared that they would harm us
physically if they knew we were leaving for Israel.” During
WWII, Udia was forced to move to Uzbekistan for the duration of the war
to flee the advancing Nazi army. Not all of her family escaped. A sister
and brother were deported to the Nazi death camps and never seen again. Now, Udia has only one surviving sibling. He moved to Israel nine years ago. She came to Israel to be with him and to seek a fulfilling Jewish life for her only child, Bezalel and only grandson, Michael. Michael is studying the Torah in a religious school in Jerusalem and will be inducted in to the Israeli army shortly. Asked how she felt about being in Israel…Udia responded…”I have adjusted. I no longer fear physical harm to me and my family. I am home. What more could I ask for?” |
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