Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 25 VTMBH Article: Article Order 9 VTMBH Article: Title We all left Israel… VTMBH Article: Author Sofia Yamolskaya VTMBH Article: Publication Russian Forward VTMBH Article: Original Language Russian VTMBH Article: Translator Liz Vladeck VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb I could never say Im Russian, or anything close to it. But now I can say with pride, in Hebrew, Im Israeli, and I live in America, said one of five Russian Jews, who moved to the United States from Israel and reflected on adjustment and belonging in all three places. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body At a recent meeting in support of Israel, I was struck by a question posed by one of the active participants as he pontificated from his podium. What kind of patriot are you if youve left Israel, and live in America? What are the motives of people who leave their country? What traces did Israel leave on them and their lives? Do they feel guilty, that in such difficult times theyre so far away from their second homeland? From these questions come the following interviews with former Israelis. <b>Boris Gurichev, 30, San Diego, Calif. </b> Why did we leave Israel? My wife and I wanted to become self-sufficient as soon as we could. Theres no question that doing that in America is exponentially simpler. But we consider ourselves Israelis, living temporarily in another country. We hope to return there in a few years. Our parents, sisters, friends from the army and classmates from university live in Israel. We love that country, although we cant accept everything thats happening there. For example, we cant accept how much influence the religious institutions have. From the moment Ben Gurion signed the famous agreement with the religious parties, theres been a problematic status quo preserved to this day. Theres no question that we support the Jewish character of the country with all our heart and soul, but its infuriating when, for example, the religious establishment considers soldiers half-blooded, and wont allow their burial in in military cemeteries. <b>Maria Sher, 65, New Jersey</b> My husband and I arrived in Israel on February 7, 1991. The Persian Gulf War had just begun. Our relatives from the former Soviet Union were in shock. How can you live there while youre being bombed? they asked. And we really survived the gas masks and air-raid warnings. In the night, we panicked several times, and burrowed into our bedding whenever we heard the sirens. So we dont consider ourselves cowards or traitors. We had to live through many difficulties in the seven years we were there. But looking back, I can say with certainty: there was more good than bad. We love that beautiful country for its history, its natural beauty, its people. We learned Hebrew quickly, found work easily. And what amazing health care they have in Israel! So for us, Israel is our one and only love. This love is probably written into the genes of all Jews. Thats why its so painful to see everything thats happening there right now: the acts of terrorism, deaths of innocent people, betrayal of many European countries…but we didnt have a choice: like yarn through a needle, my husband and I stuck with our daughter. She took her family to Israel, so we followed her there. And we made it to America, thanks to her. Yes, were afraid, but not of Arab terrorists, but of loneliness in our old age. Israel is with us in our hearts. Well never give it up. <b>Alexander Babaev, 45, Brooklyn , N.Y. </b> The main reason that I left Israel is this: in such a small country, there are few opportunities to create a future for your children. There are other things that its hard to explain, but that I found really unpleasant. For example, the internal disputes between Jewslike how the Orthodox Jews believe that Israel shouldnt exist until that time when the Messiah arrives. The whole thing got even worse after the incidents when they burned the Israeli flag. In general, theres a genuine religious war. The Orthodox dont accept the reformists, the reformists cant stand the Orthodox. This is what I dont like about Israel. But other than that, there are a lot of things about the country that makes me love it. If it werent for my kids, I wouldnt have left. People know how to live there. They dont just sit around doing nothing, and arent concerned with such minor details like, for example, where to park their car. Every day is valued; life is really vibrant and full. We traveled a lot, saw our friends often. And my wife and I both had jobs we loved. She taught music in a school, and I worked as a television camera operator. We really were taking pleasure in our lives, and felt that, like nowhere else, we were home. We lived in Israel for 11 years. I really consider that country my homeland. And Im certain that Ill return there. And if that makes someone call us great patriots, then Ill say that in general, I dont love that word; it reeks of nationalism. Ill do everything I can in order to help my country thrive. Its possible to help, and not just when youre in the middle of the country. <b>Liza Mixer, 40, New York, N.Y.</b> My relationship with Israel changed in direct proportion to how well I got to know the country. At the beginning, it was just really difficult to put down roots in another world, in another country. And the fact that it was so different was a constant reminder that I lived there. Probably its easier for Jews from eastern countries to get used to it. This was not my country in an internal sense. I couldnt accept the mentality of the people, even the climate. It seemed like everything was unpleasant, at the time. But as I began to get to know the country, study the language, and meet people, bit by bit, it became my country. Many times I asked myself why? And I came to a sad conclusion: Everything in that long-suffering country goes in one endless cycle. War. A period of quiet. An intifada, or something like it, then a time of ostensible building of peace, and again war. It all gave me the impression that everything is connected to some kind of artificial education of the government itself. One of the philosophers said that you cant step in the same river twicesad thought. Jews had their own government a terribly long time ago. Someone decided to do it again. Truly a terrific idea. But with great sadness, weve got to admit that all the available data suggests that our timing is off. After the Holocaust, our people were weak, and you could say that a considerable part of the linguistic and cultural heart of our people really had disappeared. As for more ordinary things: attitudes to Jewish immigrants arent too friendly. For me, any manifestation of xenophobia is unacceptable. I was raised a different way. It seems to me that the government can only win when educated, passionate people who can help improve the country come to it. But the government is the government. Life means conflicts with real people. Its well-known that the country receives a lot of monetary aid from America every year. Imagine any other government financing itself with foreign money. How can it be self-sufficient? From here, it seems like theyre pulling Sharons strings, and before that, they did the same with Netanyahu. And so forth. Its hard to believe, but its a fact. Its a double standard. And on the other hand, whoever pays the piper is the one who chooses the music. No one cancelled that reality. I guess I just came to understand for myself that I dont want to be a grain of sand that just gets brushed aside on the road… <b>Evelina Pasmanik, 37, Queens, N.Y.</b> I arrived in Israel from Odessa. If I had spoken Hebrew, then I would have used the verb ascend instead of arrive. Its specifically this word that people use when the conversation is about moving to Israel. For nine years, my husband and son and I lived in that country. And for already three-and-a-half years, were here in New York. My husbands family is here, and he has long wished to be closer to them. Each year he entered the green card lottery. And this year he succeeded. And all the tiniest trivialities turned into one overwhelming feeling in methe feeling of love for Israel, for the land that hasnt disappeared. It has stayed with me, and will forever. In the beginning everything in Israel seemed foreign. For example, the language. Not one word of Hebrew called up any associations with Russian. Shesh, khamesh, mesh, whats with these words, this strange assortment of sounds? How can anyone learn or remember them? And then theres the strange climateeight months without rain. A heat which invades every little cell in your body. Blue sky; again, blue sky. Not one little cloud. Conversations of children through the window. Not understanding anything. The street closed to traffic. All vehicles stopped, passersby stopped and looking around, police everywhere. What is this, and what are they doing? Unfamiliar smells of eastern food, a totally different kind of hunger, as though the shouts of goods in the bazaar are coming from your stomach. I could talk about all this endlessly. Time passes, and the unpleasant things go away. You begin to understand something, and start looking at things through different eyes. After three years, I went back to Odessa to visit my relatives and friends. Thank you, Odessa, you helped me understand that I belonged to a different land. A little more time in Israel passes, and suddenly you begin to notice now already obvious things. It turns out that you have holidays. Not Soviet holidays, and not foreign holidays, but your own. There is a history of your people. The word Jew is absolutely normal, and everyone pronounces it normally, not in a context like: someone looks like a plucked chicken, or simple taunts of hebe, or kike, the way, as an insult, a classmate used to whisper at me behind my desk at school. Israeliswhose mentality I thought I would never be able to comprehendbecame close, like relatives. It filled me with a wonderful feeling to meet good, kind, intelligent people. I was happy. Every person has to feel a sense of belonging to somewhere. I could never say Im Russian, or anything close to it. But now I can say with pride, in Hebrew, Im Israeli, and I live in America. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-06-28 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 111 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource We all left Israel… 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. I could never say Im Russian, or anything close to it. But now I can say with pride, in Hebrew, Im I Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-06-28