Here I Am Again, Alone.

By Sharon Amov and Earl Shugerman: Sharon is an eighty six year old widow and recent immigrant to Israel. I immigrated to Israel at the age of fifty nine alone as well. She is from California. My home was in Colorado. Below Sharon tells her story:

My dear husband died a few years ago. I was desolate. The loneliness was overwhelming. I missed him terribly. For many years I struggled to regain my balance, and then I decided to move to Israel, to live near my daughter and family. They made aliyah or immigration to eretz Israel fifteen years ago.

I remember my flight to Israel, peering out of the airplane window, viewing the outline of Israel's shoreline. Many people in the plane were clapping as we approached the landing field. My response was a combination of quiet joy and apprehension.

“What will it be like to actually LIVE in Israel” I thought to myself? I have visited my daughter and my family s often, but always with my husband. To reside alone in Israel....although I had made the decision seemed absolutely unreal to me.

Southern California was my home since birth. I was eighty-four years of age and frightened. Terrified might be a better description.

My daughter and son-in-law would be waiting for me in the public area. I picked up my luggage and off I went to my uncertain future.There she was, my one and only daughter....waving at me, all smiles. Perhaps she expected me to be exactly as she had last seen me, a year or so ago. And I expected her to be as I had last seen her. Oh our expectations--how very difficult, if not impossible to meet.

How unprepared I was for the depth of pain, separation from relatives in the United States, and lifetime friends, along with familiar voices and places. I missed the beautiful beaches, the familiar shopping malls, and even the traffic jams at rush hour.

We manage to arrive at the car in the airport parking lot, numb with our own overwhelming feelings. We drove to the nice little house that my daughter and son-in-law had prepared for my arrival. The physical work of making a house into a home ahead lay ahead of me. The mental and emotional work would be a daily project.

I plopped right down in the middle of relationships and lives that have been going on without me for fifteen years. I knew that my main priority would be to keep myself separate and still stay close to my loved ones. How very difficult that is especially in a new homeland.

We went for a drive, to once again see the lovely Israeli countryside. I lost my way in the twisting roads, unfamiliar buildings and lush green fields. The people seemed helpful but not overly friendly.

We returned 'HOME'. I sat alone and the enormity of my move to Israel engulfed me. How would I find a comfortable place within my family again? How would I make new friends, develop interests and start anew at my age Well, we shall see what the future shall bring.

However, in the meantime, here I am again, alone...

Flat on My Back in Israel: Part 1 (by Jonah and Earl)

My massage therapist and I are both new immigrants to Haifa Israel. We both trace our roots back to Colorado in The United States. This story is both about Jonah's experiences and about the cultural challenges faced by immigrants to Israel.




 Haifa, Israel from my window

When I was in the United States explains Jonah, I studied massage and reflexology at the Colorado School of Reflexology in Denver, and at Harbin in California. Although I had the training, I never worked professionally as a massage therapist because I wanted to do something more important with my life, but it looked like that’s never going to happen. Moving to Israel and not speaking the language, has me doing massage therapy. It would seem to be a perfect way to make an income especially until my husband David finds a job.

Also, since I’m older now, and my youthful beauty has been replaced by a big fat stomach the likelihood of getting hired for a “real” job is greatly diminished. Sadly, many of our friends and neighbors have experienced age and gender issues in seeking employment in Israel. Human behavior is the same everywhere.


We chose a two bedroom/1 bath apartment, which in Israel is called a three room apartment. The three rooms are the living room and two bedrooms: the kitchen and bathroom are assumed. The building is on what deceitfully appears to be a quiet street. It is quiet in the evenings — after say midnight — and all day on Shabbat. The rest of the time it is pretty noisy with cars, buses and people. What’s weird is the street really isn’t that busy, but it is still loud here nonetheless. Israelis are not quiet people. They love the "brogus" which is a mild dispute accompanied by lots of loud yelling and animated body language. The brogus is a public display most often found in grocery stores, the post office and in any situation involving motor vehicles. Driving is a night mare in this country. I and many of my friends will not buy cars or even drive in this place. 

We wanted a place with an extra bedroom so that I can do massage. It is a good room for massage in being away from the street and having a tremendous view of the Mediterranean Sea and the Haifa port.


Purchasing a massage table was another story. One woman wanted to sell me a table that she used for facials. It was a fine table but not a real massage table. I wisely decided to keep looking and found a massage table dealer in Tel Aviv. He made it sound like he had a warehouse full of massage tables and we schlepped to Tel Aviv to purchase to look at it. His warehouse was a small one-room apartment with about five boxes of new tables. He demonstrated the table and promised it was sturdy and came with a year guarantee. The table was made in China so I had my doubts, but we couldn’t find a table anywhere else so we bought it. I’ve done enough massages to pay for things and now I am in the process of buying sheets and sheets and sheets just in case I actually get busy. Unfortunately, it creaks and squeaks and gives me concerns about breaking and I really doubt the table has a warranty.

What’s more, the dealer said the table was very light-weight and transportable. He carried it for me to the bus stop, and then it was my turn. What was he talking about? That thing weighs a ton. I almost fell over getting on and off the train with that thing. Anyway, it’s home now and business is coming in drubs and drabs.

The good thing about having clients come to the apartment is you have to keep it clean. The bad thing about having clients come to the apartment is you have to keep it clean all the time. Let’s face it, I’m not busy enough to schedule clients at my convenience so I have to give massages at their convenience. In Israel it is a habit to call and want to show up in the next hour or so. If the place is dirty, David and I have to scramble to get the room ready and make the place presentable. I have this toilet thing and won’t do bathrooms. Ick. So that’s David’s job.

Well anyway David’s nephew, Zack, called and wanted to know what we were doing. We knew that meant he was coming for a few days. David asked me if I wanted him, and I said okay. Two hours later Zack arrived. In spite of Zack’s good upbringing, he has turned Orthodox. Israel is a very non- sectarian society in day to day life. Sixty per cent of Israelis refer to themselves as "Hilonim" or not observant. Ten per cent of Israelis are orthodox or "Haredim".  That being the case, Zack can’t eat our food or even use our kitchen supplies. Actually, this is good because I don’t have to cook for him. We have a couch that folds out into a bed, and we were somewhat set for company.

In repayment for our hospitality Zack made a massage flyer for me to post at different areas in town. I did, and received two phone calls. When it comes to advertising, there’s one little problem. I don’t speak Hebrew well enough to understand what someone is saying. The first call was blown. The second call, however, was from a guy who spoke broken English. With my broken Hebrew and his English we managed to make an appointment. It was one of those things where he would be there in an hour.

We hadn’t really cleaned the place up since Zack left and scurried to make the place presentable and the client was here before I could put sheets on the massage table. He looked around and said he would call again in an hour and seemed more curious about the bedroom than the massage room.

Uh-oh. It’s a good thing David was home and he said, “That guy wasn't interested in a therapeutic massage, he wanted the other kind.”

Oh boy, I’m a " professional" now. Well, not really but apparently some people who are reading my sign think so.
jona@greenwolfconsulting.com

Israel's Clandestine Army

I immigrated to Haifa, Israel five years ago from Colorado in the USA. My permanent move came at the age of fifty eight. This morning I went to visit the Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum located in Haifa.. The museum faces the Mediterranean Sea close to the Shrine of Elijah The Prophet. The museum features the story of the hardships of fighting for the right to live in our homeland and the history of the Israeli Navy. The immigration story is told by documents, articles of the time, models, photos, sound shows and diagrams. The ship "Af-Al-Pi-Chen", which ran the British blockade during the mandatory period, brought 434 immigrants to the country, houses most of the museum devoted to the clandestine immigration and to the history of Israel’s Navy up to the Yom Kippur War. The most famous clandestine immigration ship was the Exodus which docked here in Haifa.

From the end of World War II until the establishment of Israel (1945-1948), illegal immigration was the major method of immigration, because the British, by setting the quota at a mere 18,000 per year, virtually terminated the option of legal immigration. Sixty­ six illegal immigration sailings were organized during these years, but only a few managed to penetrate the British blockade and bring their passengers ashore. In 1947, 4500 immigrants on the Exodus were sent back to Europe by the Mandatory government. The British stopped the vessels carrying immigrants at sea, and interned the captured immigrants in camps in Cyprus; most of these persons only arrived in Israel after the establishment of the state. Approximately 80,000 illegal immigrants reached Palestine during 1945-48.

Forty four years ago, I was a communications student at the University of New Mexico. The year was 1968 and like many youth of my era, I sought something rewarding and exciting to do with my life. I still had two years of studies to finish, but was unsure of my goals for the future. I volunteered to do a six month work/study program at a kibbutz (collective settlement) in southern Israel, named Hatzor. The primary purposes of such programs was to promote Aliyah or immigration to Israel. Participants split the day evenly between work at the Kibbutz and Hebrew study in an Ulpan. 

Kibbutz Hatzor (taken from the blog Tiyul Bair - a tour of the city)

I soon discovered that sitting in a classroom was unsuitable for me. Conversely, my job as assistant Kibbutz caretaker was a perfect match. I delivered supplies throughout the settlement, did the gardening, collected the garbage, and did general maintenance. My supervisor, Shmuel, was a forty+ American born Kibbutznik. Shmuel was a short thin fellow with a moustache, slight limp, and ever-cheerful smile. He was very friendly, but said little about himself. He mentioned that he had come to Israel in 1948 from New York as a volunteer, was married, and had a teenage son. He had studied journalism in New York and limped as the result as a car accident in “The Big Apple”.

My six months at the Kibbutz went quickly. I did not acquire a lot of Hebrew; nonetheless, I made many wonderful friends and learned to be a pretty fair maintenance man. The Kibbutz members were the most wonderful people. Many were survivors of the Holocaust. A number came to Israel as volunteers in 1948, primarily from The United States. They came to protect and build a new nation. At my “Going Away” party, I was stunned to learn that Shmuel and several of the other Kibbutz members were crew and passengers on the famous immigrant ship “The Exodus”. They had braved the British embargo to bring illegal immigrants into "Palestine." Some were interred in British prisons. For their first decade in Israel, they often lived in treehouses and tents. The situation was further compounded by conflict with the Arab legions during the struggle for a safe Jewish homeland. Some of their comrades died, or suffered serious wounds during their fight for freedom. Yet, they were warm, humble, and generous souls. Many of the volunteers had been members of Mahal.

The Mahalniks were mostly World War II veterans from American and British armed forces. Allied armies were reduced considerably after the end of the war and many soldiers were demobilised; moreover, the service experience became mundane and did not resonate with some servicemen, particularly pilots. In various circumstances they were invited, or heard of the Jewish state’s struggle for independence and enlisted. There were Jews and Christians, both ideological supporters of Zionism and just plain idealists. 

The Ha’apala movement, also called “Aliyah Bet”, which attempted to evade the 1939 and 1948 British Naval blockade restricting Jewish immigration to Palestine, was assisted by 236 Mahal former servicemen of the Allied Navies as crews of ten clandestine Jewish refugee ships, out of sixty-six participating vessels.The Exodus was the most famous of the clandestine fleet.The story was told in both print and in film. No one can accuse history of not having a sense of irony. Sixty-six years ago, in July 1947, a passenger ship destined for Palestine and named the Exodus was stopped and boarded by the British navy. 

Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum in Haifa

The ship was crowded with Holocaust survivors determined to make a new life for themselves in British-controlled Palestine. The British, facing Zionist terrorism and trying to keep promises made to the Palestinian Arabs to limit Jewish immigration, were determined to stop it. Accordingly, when the Royal Navy boarded the ship twenty miles out from Haifa, a full-scale battle ensued. Three immigrants were killed and dozens injured as British troops beat the passengers on to three separate prison ships. From there these Holocaust survivors were transported back to Germany and were once again placed in camps. The world was horrified. Since then, the fate of the Exodus has achieved legendary status: Leon Uris used it as the basis of his 1958 bestseller of the same name; an award-winning film. It was "The Ship That Launched A Nation".

The 1948 Arab-Israeli War saw approximately 3,500 foreign volunteers from forty-three countries among the Jewish forces, out of an estimated 29,677–108,300 total (its size grew considerably in later stages of the war owing to immigration into Palestine). A total of 119 Mahalniks were killed in battle.

One of the most senior Mahal personnel was Mickey Marcus, a Jewish United States Army colonel who assisted Israeli forces during the war and became Israel’s first Brigadier General. Marcus’s wartime experience was vital in breaking the 1948 Siege of Jerusalem. He was killed during the war. 

" The Machal forces were the Diaspora's most important contribution to the survival of the State of Israel " "David Ben-Gurion, Founding Father and first Prime Minister of Israel"

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Finding Faith: Abraham Risked all for the Promised Land

Many Israelis follow the age old tradition of the Friday night dinner and prayers to honor the beginning of the Sabbath. Friends and family meet to share companionship and pray together. This Friday I celebrated the start of the Sabbath with my friend Zehava and her family.

Zehava and her husband Leon are French born, old timers in Israel. They immigrated to Israel in 1980. They have two teenage sons and a six year old daughter Shira who is the “Apple of My Eye.” They also invited their American cousin Linda to join us.

Linda is a fifty’s year old single female with a sixteen year old daughter. Linda was born, in France, but lived in California most of her life. We enjoyed a wonderful meal and then went to sit on the veranda to drink coffee and chat.

Linda was married to a “wonderful Christian man for 14 years.” “We respected the differences in our spiritual backgrounds and praised our daughter for exploring faiths independently”, added Linda. ” I belonged to a Reformed Jewish Congregation when we married and my spouse was a self proclaimed agnostic”.

“However, in the course of time I found that I needed to be more in touch with my Jewish roots. I took classes in the Talmud and Torah through Chabad House and found [the] spirituality that I had been missing in life. My husband explored his Catholic heritage. I found myself, after a two-year process, even considering a life in Israel. I lived in a beautiful home, had a great job, and a fine partner but decided to risk it all to try life in Israel”.

“My husband insisted on staying in the States. We agreed to a one-year trial separation period to see how we did on our own. [This would] allow me to taste the life in Israel”.

“Three years later, I am still in Israel, employed as a clerk in a Tel Aviv bank. We decided to end our marriage and allow our daughter to spend the school year in Tel Aviv. She stays in California during her vacations. She sees this as a great adventure, and loves learning about new cultures and languages. Arabic is her second language in school”.

“Did I make a mistake?” I ask myself that question many times a day. “Time will tell”. “Life here has many challenges”. “We need to learn a new language, a new culture, face a less luxurious lifestyle and there is still the struggle for peace”.




It is impossible to understand the invisible Hand that shapes our destiny. However, many Jews have felt the magnetic allure of Israel. The patriarch Abraham was the first. He left the comfortable trappings of ancient Babylonia to undertake an arduous emigration to the “ land that G-d would show him”. Evidently this demanded a great deal of faith. To mere mortals of the modern age, doubts can always surface to challenge our thinking.

Although Israel is not a Utopian society where the streets are paved with gold, it is an integral part of Jewish heritage. Today record numbers of Global Jewry are returning to their ancestral homeland. They are undeterred by the challenges that face them. The obstacles are merely there to be overcome. And after sixty five years in the remaking, Israel continues to thrive thanks to the new found faith of Linda and many others like her.

Chelm Exists in Haifa, Humor in Israel!

Panoramic view of the bay of Haifa

The City of Chelm, Poland

The town of Chełm decided to build a new synagogue. So, some strong, able-bodied men were sent to a mountaintop to gather heavy stones for the foundation. The men put the stones on their shoulders and trudged down the mountain to the town below. When they arrived, the town constable yelled, "Foolish men! You should have rolled the stones down the mountain!" The men agreed this was an excellent idea. So they turned around, and with the stones still on their shoulders, trudged back up the mountain, and rolled the stones back down again.


Allow me to introduce myself. I am Earl Shugerman, a proud immigrant to Haifa Israel of five years. I moved to Israel at age of fifty eight from Colorado. Why did I make this dramatic change in my life? There are many reasons. The most important is that I firmly believe that the return of the Jewish people to the land of our roots is destiny. It is a destiny with spiritual, religious, social, and political implications that have already proven to have historical implications. Haifa was my choice of city in this incredibly complicated and diverse nation.Haifa (Hebrew: חֵיפָה‎‎, Hebrew pronunciation: [χeiˈfä], Ḥefa; Arabic: حيفا‎ Ḥayfā[2]) is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Haifa is a mixed city: 90% are Jews, more than a quarter of whom are immigrants from the former Soviet Union, while 10% are Arabs, predominantly of the Christian faith. It is also home to the Baha'i World Centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


Built on the slopes of Mount Carmel, the history of settlement at the site spans more than 3,000 years. Over the centuries, the city has changed hands numerous times. It has been conquered and ruled by the Phoenicians, Persians, Hasmoneans, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, Ottomans, British, and the Israelis. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the city has been governed by the Haifa Municipality. The weather is balmy although a bit cold at times in the winter. There are two major universities, a large and well known tech center and lots of parks and fun things to do. My famous place to hike is Park Carmel. Our region’s most famous resident was Elijah the Prophet. He reportedly lived his nomadic live in the Carmel Mountain Range. 

I have enjoyed many blessings and faced many obstacles in adjusting to my new home. One of the greatest obstacles to overcome is to learn a new language especially at my age.


Israel offers newcomers the opportunity to study in an Ulpan. It is a four hour a day program where new immigrants study Hebrew and receive some orientation to their new homeland. Private tutoring is available at a fee. I chose to both attend the Ulpan and receive private assistance. My tutor Elinor Kimmel used the children’s stories about the citizens of Chelm as our study guide. 

Almost every culture around the world has developed stories about fools in their midst. It’s a way of gently poking fun at themselves. In Jewish folklore we find a wonderful mythical town in Poland called Chelm located in Poland in the days of old. The residents are usually happy, gentle folk who also share another virtue – they are considered fools by everyone living outside of Chelm. But the Chelmites know they are the great sages of the world, the brightest of bright. Stories of their antics have adorned Jewish humor and folklore for centuries.

...Two men of Chelm went out for a walk, when suddenly it began to rain. “Quick,” said one. “Open your umbrella.”It won’t help,” said his friend. “My umbrella is full of holes.”

“Then why did you bring it? “I didn't think it would rain!”…
My favorite cafe in Haifa is the Ego Panorama. The owner is a long time resident of Haifa named Hannah. Hannah’s family came to Israel in 1948 from Poland. They were fortunate and thankful to have escaped the horrors of the Holocaust. I sat down yesterday to eat and study my beloved Chelm stories at The Ego. Hannah came over to me and began to giggle in a good nature way. “My family is from Chelm” she informed me with great glee. The city really exists! It is a nice sized community in Poland of no particular distinction other than its contribution to the world of humor.

Britt, Katia, and Danit

The greatest joy that I have derived from my immigration to Israel is learning about the great diversity of culture and history that this nation has to offer. I can visit the Sea of Galilee, Jerusalem. And Tel Aviv in the same day! Israel is a nation of Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Druze and other citizens. In many cases we manage to live together with a fair degree of harmony. Israel is a nation of immigrants from virtually every nation on earth. It is common to sit at The Ego and listen to fellow diner’s converse in several languages!