The Happiest Place on Earth

August 13 – Aliyah Day

There we were, descending through the clouds off the coast of Israel, only minutes away from landing as Israeli citizens. We watched our TV screens closely as the map showed the plane drift onto land and our eyes then caught the first buildings in the country. This was actually happening. Once a dream, now becoming a reality.

As the plane landed, all of us erupted into loud cheers while my fellow future soldier and friend Gilad and I asked ourselves, “What the **** is happening?” Being a special chartered flight of only people making Aliyah, passport control came to us. I was mere sconds away from walking out of the plane and peering out at the view of my new home.

I was cleared to go and I ventured toward the open door with my backpack and pillow behind me and a flag and a camera in my hands. All I could do was smile and photograph. We walked down the stairs and were greeted by photographers as if we were the USA basketball team. Flashbulbs everywhere made it hard at first to grasp what was taking place around us until we took a picture of everyone coming to do their army service – 43 people overall!

We boarded the bus which was to take us to the old terminal of the airport where a welcome ceremony was to take place. I started thinking about the first time I came to Israel at the age of ten and it felt special after all I had learned from classes and my mother. This time it was magical. In the distance were many Israeli flags and as we got closer, my friend Michal asked, “Is this all for us?!” Indeed it was.

As the bus pulled into where it was stopping I saw Justin and David, the former being one of my best friends and roommate and the latter being one of my best friends who made Aliyah last year, one of my inspirations. Their eyes opened big and my mouth opened wide and I pointed to them and the excitement was reaching a new level.

The doors of the bus opened and Heyveynu Shalom Elechem – “May peace be upon you” was booming from the loud speakers. Sari Roy, another close friend who did what I was doing only a few months prior was right there to hug me. Hundreds of people were singing and dancing and greeting all of us with open arms. Then I saw JJ Jonah, my Israeli dad and a big voice of reason in my decision and we embraced. O kept walking over and found Justin and David and the smile wouldn’t leave my face. They hugged me and we danced together and we were simply happy.

After many minutes of this Justin lifted me on his shoulders and I felt like I was on top of the world. Spur of the moment people began dancing around us and singing in joy. Next we made our way inside and prepared for a ceremony filled with many speeches from many important people. One of these people was Tzipi Livni, the foreign minister and assistant prime minister and possibly Israel’s next prime minister. If any other thing could make this even more real it was having her there to welcome us.

It was dawning on me – I was becoming a new citizen of the country. And the speakers certainly couldn’t let me forget what I was doing here as they recognized people joining the army seemingly every other sentence. We left the ceremony and moved upstairs where I was going to be receiving my first documentation as an Israeli – my Teudat Oleh, Certificate of Immigration. A nice lady handed over the passport-like booklet and I looked inside to see my picture with Hebrew writing and my date of Aliyah – August 13, 2008 – a day that will never leave my mind or my soul. This was the day I took a step towards following a dream and at that moment I felt proud of myself and fellow immigrants.

As I then walked downstairs to get my bags I came across the oldest immigrant on our flight, a kind and gentle 96 year old woman. If only we could all know how long this has been her dream. She was more than ten years older than I am now when Israel was still being fought for to become a Jewish state. I was gladly sharing this experience with such an motivating woman.

The rest of the day went as most in Israel do for me – resting, eating, and playing with JJ and Shira’s kids. But this day was different. It felt different. This was my day. My day of Aliyah. It actually had happened. I carried my Teudat Oleh with me to downtown Jerusalem and every time I reached in my pocket usually feeling my cell phone, I felt my teudah, constant reminders each time of what had transpired. In life, there are always ups and downs, and this is surely true here in Israel, too. The goal is to make sure I turn downs into ups to keep my spirits high in times of hardship. I don’t think I’ll have to do much more than remember the moment I walked off the plane and was able to say to myself a line I’ve wanted for sometime – “I’m Israeli now.” Yes I am. Yes I am.