Homeward bound: Why I’m making aliya

by Arsen Ostrovsky
July 30, 2012
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/home-at-last-why-im-making-aliya/

This coming Thursday, I will make aliya, fulfilling the ancient Jewish 
yearning to return to the land our forefathers, our homeland - 
the State of Israel.

For me, it has been a long, emotional journey. But as I prepare to leave 
the comfortable trappings of my life in Australia and New York, 
to start things anew in Israel at a time of great uncertainty and balagan, 
I know that I have never been more certain, or confident, of anything in 
my life.

Before making this decision, I worked as an attorney in Sydney, and for 
the past year, have been working in New York - focusing on Israel advocacy. 
In between, I also had the privilege - courtesy of the Jewish Agency and 
Masa Israel - to work in the Knesset. And throughout, I have, for as long 
I remember, been involved in just about every Jewish and pro-Israel 
organization.

I lead, by any stretch of the imagination, a very comfortable existence.

I recall on a trip to Israel, two years ago, a taxi driver in Tel Aviv 
asking me, "what’s wrong with you," when I told him I was contemplating 
aliya. He then proceeded to air a litany of personal grievances, ranging 
from the security situation, to high gas prices and the fact that his 
grown children still lived at home. He then asked me, "so what problems 
do you have in Australia that you want to move?"

Since then, the security situation has become perhaps even more 
worrisome, while on the domestic front we’ve seen everything from 
social protests, to demands for more affordable housing and a fairer 
draft, plus disputes between the religious and secular, Jew versus Jew.

In truth, relatively speaking, Australia is an oasis. The economy is stable, 
the bus drivers are polite, anti-Semitism is not the problem it is in 
Europe, and instead of Hamas and Hezbollah, the biggest concern 
weighing on our minds is the interstate footy rivalry.

Yet, as I replied to my inquisitive taxi driver - Australia is not Israel. 
Israel is home.

I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity and refuge provided me 
and my family by Australia when we left the former Soviet Union. 
Yet, for all my gratitude, it dawned on me that I was missing one crucial 
element - an emotional attachment that I can only feel in, and for, Israel.

When I hear the “Hatikvah” played, I choke up - without fail. Even though 
I speak next to no Hebrew, I know the words and what they mean by heart.

Every Yom Hazikaron (Remembrance Day), I cry, even though I’m 
fortunate to have not lost any friends or family. I know these brave men 
and women fight in defense of the State of Israel, but I feel as if they 
are also defending my right to live peacefully as a Jew, wherever 
I may be.

On Yom Ha’atzmaut (Independence Day), I am overwhelmed by an 
enormous sense of pride in what Israel has achieved, even though 
I’m not Israeli.

And when, earlier this month, a terrorist mercilessly took the lives 
of five Israelis in Bulgaria, my heart ached and I grieved with all of Israel.

I sometimes ask myself where my Zionism and attachment to Israel 
stem from. What draws me to this land and these people? The answer, 
though, is simple: Although I come from Australia, I consider myself 
first and foremost a Jew and a Zionist, and as such, this land and these 
people are also my land and my people.

Having been involved in a multitude of Jewish and pro-Israel organizations 
in Sydney and New York, both on a voluntary basis and, in the past 
few years, professionally, it also occurred to me that I could continue 
trying to do my bit for Israel from "the outside," or I could do it from 
here; that I could either watch history unfold, or be a part of it; that I 
could either sit on the sidelines, or help effect change from within.

Yes, I feel like I have something to contribute here; but honestly, 
I feel that Israel has so much more to offer me than I could ever hope 
to repay: a sense of belonging, of home, of pride, that I cannot find in 
any other place on earth.

Quite simply, there is nowhere I feel more alive or at home than in Israel. 
Whether it is the ancient stones of Jerusalem, the vibrancy of Tel Aviv 
or the majestic Negev - all are singularly entwined with my identity as 
a Jew and my connection to this land.

And when I close my eyes and think of my future, it is only Israel on 
my mind and in my heart.

I was asked by a friend recently if making aliya was a dream come true. 
In truth, in many ways it is. But mostly, it’s just the beginning of my 
dream.