Immigration and Absorption Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata welcomes new olim from France at Ben Gurion Airport.
One hundred and forty olim (immigrants) from France arrived in Israel this evening and were welcomed at Ben Gurion Airport by Israeli Minister of Immigration and Absorption, Pnina Tamano-Shata and President of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (The Fellowship), Yael Eckstein, whose organization arranged for the flight.
Several days before her flight with her husband and three children, Barbara Simha Bohadana said from Paris: “I was fired because I was Jewish. A pharmacy manager, who I worked for as a pharmacist, did not even try to hide the reason for my dismissal. He just told me that a wig or any other sign of my Jewishness was not acceptable and that if I did not have them removed, I should just get up and leave. So I got up and left. My husband, Dan, an anesthesiologist by profession, also had a hard time finding a job because of his Jewish background.
“We have always been Zionists and we knew we would make aliyah. We are a religious family and abide by a traditional Jewish lifestyle. I am so happy that we are moving to Israel and that we will never have to go through such experiences again.”
Forty-one-year-old Lionel Giuili, who made aliyah with his wife Stephanie and their three children, noted: “My parents live in Israel, as well as my sister and a lot of other family members. We always knew we would make aliyah. We were always connected to Israel and maintained Jewish tradition. However, the Hypercacher Kosher Supermarket Siege was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and we finally decided to make aliyah.”
Although Lionel and his family did not suffer any physical violence, the plague of anti-Semitism has had a direct impact on every member of the Jewish community. Lionel added: “If, for example, while I was sitting and eating in my store and I heard someone enter the store, I automatically took off my kippah. Neither I nor my children walked around the street with Jewish symbols.”
Lionel had visited his family in Israel quite often before making aliyah. “My parents live in Jerusalem, and even before they made aliyah, I already had family living in Israel. I always felt at home in Israel. I feel free in Israel, and I no longer have to hide my Jewish identity. This reflex I developed that made me take my kippah off and put it in my pocket will no longer be necessary as I will be living in Israel.
“My children are very excited about making aliyah. They expect to see their grandparents and cousins, and I think they are going to be visiting the Mediterranean Sea all the time.”
Moving to Israel during the coronavirus pandemic has not scared the family. “We are aware of the situation in Israel. Israel as a whole has coped well with the situation, especially in the first wave, when France was facing a shortage of masks.”
Content retrieved from: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/284678?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook.