At times it seemed to Ida that she alone might never get her visa. Ida’s family – her sister Lena, brother-in-law, and young nephew – had received their exit visas a few years after applying but it took Ida 16 years of hell before she was finally on the plane to Israel.
A Hand in the Darkness reveals the depth of sadism and torture the Jews of Soviet Russia endured during those years but it is also a tribute to the incredible strength and special soul of one remarkable woman and the triumph of her faith and indomitable spirit.
That triumph is spelled out in the closing chapter of her book as Ida describes her arrival in Israel. It was October 15, 1987. Thousands had gathered at Ben Gurion Airport to greet her, including the actress Jane Fonda, who had championed Ida’s cause and flown in to be part of the joyous event.
“My face,” she writes, “was burning and my eyes sparkling; it seemed as if I were melting in the fire of superhuman joy…. In a dense crowd we proceeded into a sparkling hall filled with many people; I saw smiles and cameras flashing everywhere like magic lights…. In my honor people were singing songs, delivering speeches, floodlights were lit and cameras were clicking, people were smiling and waving their hands and flags.
“I had returned Home.”
I did not really know a lot about Ida Nudel when I sat in her apartment. Having read the story of her life I am humbled in the knowledge that for a brief moment I was in the presence of greatness.