Arriving in Israel Full of Hope
"I started thinking about how dangerous the explosions could be and I couldn’t live there anymore..."
Anna was surprised at how quickly she learned to tolerate life under fire in Ukraine. In 2014, she and her husband, Anton, watched in horror as militants invaded Ukraine, trying to capture their city, Donetsk. But as time went on, so did their lives. The couple continued to raise their kids, and they even had another child, despite the fact that many of the reputable doctors had left the country when the hostilities started. While life as they knew it had changed dramatically, they had no choice but to try to keep moving forward.
“Surprisingly, you get used to war, understanding that nothing will ever change,” said Anna.
When Anna reflects back on this time in her life, she realizes that her attitude is probably what allowed her to keep going, even as shells exploded dangerously near their home. But after a while, the war took its toll on her. “I realized that so many people, including me, were getting used to the idea that constant danger is a normal way of life. I started thinking about how dangerous the explosions could be. Often nobody warns you about the upcoming danger. And I thought about how this war could last for ages. At that point, I realized I couldn’t stand living there anymore.”
Then Anna’s uncle made aliyah (immigrated to Israel) and she started wondering if her family should make aliyah, too.
Since Anna and Anton both come from Jewish backgrounds, they started talking about moving to their spiritual homeland. Eventually, they contacted The Fellowship, and planned to make aliyah on a Fellowship Freedom Flight. “We didn’t have that feeling that we will lose something. Life just begins and we will gain much more ahead,” said Anna.
After living life in such uncertain and dangerous circumstances, the family feels truly blessed to begin new lives of hope in the Holy Land. “The Fellowship showed great understanding for our difficult position,” said Anna. “We did not have passports or visas and The Fellowship help us so that we safely made it to Israel. Thank you!”
Help fill our Rabbi Eckstein Memorial Freedom Flight and bring a Jewish person home from the “four corners of the earth.”
