As an education writer for the nonprofit organization, Kars for Kids, and as someone who made Aliyah from Pittsburgh 34 years ago, I decided to write about the challenges of Aliyah from western countries with school age children. See the previous piece in this series, Aliyah in the National Religious Path. Today I interview Aliza of Zichron Yaakov.
V: When did you make Aliyah? How old were you?
Aliza: I came to Israel in 1991 when I was 23. I didn’t officially make Aliyah until 1993, a month before my wedding.
V: Where did you go to school? Do you have a profession?
Aliza: I have a B.A. in Music Education from the Eastman School of Music, at the University of Rochester, in New York. I began my career as a music teacher. In 2000 I took a technical writing course and for the last 14 years I have happily served as a technical writer at a global high-tech company.
V: Tell me a bit about meeting your husband: when you married, his background and profession, how many children you have and their names.
First Generation Sabra
Aliza: My husband Arye is an Israeli from Haifa, the first “sabra” born to a family who came to Haifa from Vilna in the 1950’s. His family tree goes back to the Gaon of Vilna on his mother’s side. When Arye was a boy he sang in the choir of the Haifa Great Synagogue.
He is currently payroll manager and controller at a high-tech company, and is a certified tax consultant. Arye served in the paratrooper unit of the IDF until an injury forced him into a position less physically taxing.
We met through a mutual friend on the last night of Chanukah and got married on Tu B’Av of the same year (1993). We have 3 children, Yoni (almost 14) and Matan and Na’ama (9 year old twins).
V: I know you are one of triplets. Did you all make Aliyah around the same time?
Aliza: We made Aliyah in age order! Judi, the first born, made Aliya in 1987; Esther in 1988; and I, unofficially, in 1991, officially in 1993.
V: Was it hard to be separated from them?
Aliza: It was a bit traumatic the first year not only going to separate colleges, but also with Judi across the ocean. We wrote a lot of letters, sent care packages which ended up arriving 4 months late and moldy, and sent silly cassette-taped messages to each other (pre-Skype!).
V: I know your mother is gone, A”H. Did your parents make Aliyah prior to her death?
Aliza: My parents made Aliyah in 1988 after they saw that two out of three of their triplets were already in Israel. They made Aliyah from Toronto with the Tehila program for North American Dati Aliyah.
V: Tell me about your children and where they go to school.
Aliza: The twins go to Yavetz, the Mamlachti-Dati elementary school (1-6 grade) in Zichron. After graduating Yavetz, Yoni started going to the Yeshiva Tichonit Zichron Yaakov (the kids call it “YASHTAZI”), part of the “growth program” (Tochnit Hatzmacha) for the graduates of Yavetz. There is a parallel school for the girls called Pelech. The two schools are both in their fifth year, so there is, as yet, no 12th grade.
Talented Children
Yoni is an expert card trick performer and is working on his blue belt in Ninjitsu. He has a magical way with animals; a kind of a dog-whisperer. Matan is a wonderful artist, drawing mostly animals, dragons, and dinosaurs. Naama dances jazz and zumba, and is in the school choir. They all go to Bnei Akiva.