FEATURE
FAKE IT
Sometimes the best
way to learn is on the
job I BY ZAHAVA HIRSCH
till you make it
Immigration to Israel 1945
MY MOTHER WAS HUNGARIAN. MORE PRECISELY,
she was from Transylvania, the same
place as Count Dracula (a fact that my
husband, Mannie, never stopped reminding her of). My mother came to Israel
(then Palestine) around 1933, when it
was under British rule. At that time, immigration to Israel was not permitted to
Jews. She was on a boat travelling to
Egypt, from where she intended to smuggle herself overland into Israel.
My mother was very pretty and young
(18). When the boat landed in Haifa, she
saw her chance to slip away. She went to
the captain and begged him to let her
leave the boat in order to kiss the ground
of Israel. He objected and said, “Nobody is
allowed to leave the ship. You may run
away.” She handed him her purse and assured him there was nothing she could do
without her money. She fluttered her eyes