As the regime began to crumble, Alla made her plans to leave for Israel, where she could begin to practice Judaism free of the oppression she knew all her life. A few years ago, her dream came true, and she arrived in Haifa to take up her new life in freedom and safety, never again to worry about government agents looking over her shoulder.
While she could not find work in her field, for which she was pre-eminently qualified, she did manage to find a good enough job to keep her comfortable. Remarkably, she was able to master the Hebrew language quite quickly, so that within a matter of a couple of months, she could find such employment and not have to worry about a language barrier. And so, she began her new life in Israel without too much trouble.
That is, until an Arab terrorist stabbed her on the street on her way to work one morning. She was rushed to hospital with serious injuries, and spent the next month recuperating there. She was lucky twice that month. First, in that she survived the attack, and second, in that her workplace kept her job for her upon her return. And return she did. She went back to her old apartment, to her job, and to her life, just as before. She was comfortable in the knowledge that the Jewish government, in the Jewish State, had arrested and imprisoned her attacker. She was confident in the knowledge that here, in Israel, it was a crime to attack Jews for being Jewish. She was confident that in Israel it was safe to be Jew in public, which was, after all, her whole reason for leaving Russia in the first place.
Earlier this year, however, all that changed. Prime Minister Rabin allowed Alla's attacker to be released from prison after serving barely a year of his lengthy sentence. He did so out of the magnanimity that has come from the Oslo negotiations with the PLO. Her attacker signed a pledge that he would no longer participate in anti-Jewish attacks, and that was enough for Rabin. For Alla, however, it was a very different story.
For Alla, the release of her attacker back onto the streets of Israel shattered her every dream of Israel and a new Jewish life. She no longer felt safe on the streets of her city, nor on the bus to work. She no longer felt safe being a Jew in public. For Alla, the pledge of the criminal now once again on her streets meant nothing. Her life, which she thankfully managed to retain, was now in danger again. For Alla, Israel was now different than what she had dreamed for. For Alla, Israel was now no different from Soviet Russia, where she had to hide her Jewishness.
So Alla left home once again. She took her immense knowledge of four languages, her high level scientific training, and her talent for quickly adapting to new surroundings and new societies, all qualities which could have been tremendously beneficial to the growing economy and society of Israel, and she left.
Alla brought these amazing qualities with her to a new home, and a new life in Canada. Here, you see, she can still practice her Judaism in peace and safety. She can even learn to be more observant, and to appreciate more about her nation and her culture. Of course, Canada is not Israel, and no appreciation of Judaism can be complete without experiencing the special qualities Israel adds to our way of life. Alla may still return to Israel one day, but only when it is once again safe to do so as a Jew: when she no longer has to fear for her safety because of who she is.
Alla has only been in Canada for a few months. She is now reasonably proficient in a fifth language, and she is beginning to think about applying her immense talents to Canadian society, so that she can become a full participant in the vibrant life around her.
As she sat at our table on Rosh Hashanah, telling us her story, I could not help but reflect on the tragedy of the situation. Of course, Alla is a very fortunate person. She was able to retain her faith under the most horrendous of circumstances, and her life while under attack. But she is not where she belongs.
This is not Alla's fault. For Alla, Israel failed its mission. I am sure that Alla is not the only person for whom this is true. These people, hundreds of thousands of Jews still oppressed in the modern world of hate, are tired of fighting. How much more tired must they be now that they no longer have to fight outside oppression, but rather oppression from their own people, and their own government.
At this time of public accounting and repentance, Yitzchak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Moshe Shahal, and all the other cowards who are responsible for the current sell-out of Israel, have much to be ashamed about. They have much to be repentant for. Alla is not the only person whose dreams have been shattered. Hundreds of people have had their lives taken away from them, and thousands have had their families ruined, all for the same reason.
Israel's failure over the past few years is the tragedy of the entire Jewish nation. On Alla's behalf, on the behalf of all the other immigrants who only wanted to live as Jews in safety and self-determination, and on behalf of the hundreds of victims of Arab hatred, it is our duty to tell the Israeli appeasers "Ad Kan". We have endured enough tragedy, for far too long in our history. It is far beyond time to put an end to it all and take our own future, and our own security, in our own hands. Those who think differently need to be removed from any position where they can continue to threaten the Jewish future. Rabin and his government must go, so that a real Jewish government, with Jewish concerns, can take over and rebuild the Jewish dream.
Copyright 1995. Reproduction in electronic or print format by permission only.
