EZRA INTERNATIONAL
Rescue, Return, Restore – Poor Jewish People to Israel
Stories from the Field
Stories of Jewish people we’ve helped make aliyah (emigrate to Israel).
Sérgio S from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
“My name is Sérgio from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I am making Aliyah with my mother Elza. “Aliyah to me means to revive anew. I decided to make Aliyah after having no more expectations in Brazil. Israel offers a very high standard of living for my mother and me. We hope...
Valentina K from Kyiv
“I have lived all my life in Kyiv. My husband was a wonderful man, and we had a happy life together. We had one daughter and now I have two grandchildren. My husband died last year, and I was left a widow. My daughter’s family and I started to live together as we...
Oleg and Elena B from Kyiv
“My wife, Elena, and I are residents of Kiev. I am a photographer by profession and my wife is a Russian language teacher. We have raised a son and already have a granddaughter. My son and his family live in Israel. He went there to study on a student program and...
Raul and Carolina Y from Buenos Aires
“My name is Raúl, I´m from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I’m making aliyah along with my wife Carolina and our children, Naomi and Ariel. Aliyah means the possibility of continuing our lives in the Promised Land and together with the people to which we belong by origin...
Micheal and Joeleide A from Sao Paulo
“My name is Micheal, I am from São Paulo, Brazil. I am heading to Israel with my wife Joeleide and son Benjamin. Aliyah means a divine call, within the soul, to rise and live in Israel, to participate in the flourishing of the country.” “Since I was 13 years old I...
Jessica and Nicolas A from Buenos Aires
“We are Jessica and Nicolas from Buenos Aires, Argentina. For us aliyah means growth, projects, future, family. The first step to improve our quality of life in a country that allows us to progress. We made the decision as a family, so that we can both develop, both...
Stories
Ioram and Marcela from Sao Paulo
“My name is Ioram. My wife, Marcela, and I are from São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil. Aliyah means being able to have the possibility of living in the state that we have felt throughout our life to be our country. It means living a Jewish life, giving Jewish...
Yuri and Yulia B from Novosibirsk
“For my wife, Yulia, and I aliyah means a return to the historical homeland of our ancestors. I have always been interested in Israel for its unusual (in comparison with other states) history, education, and laws. Yulia and I met at a party given by mutual friends –...
Tatyana and Aleksandr T from Ufa
Making aliyah for this family means being closer to their loved ones. Eight years ago, Tatyana and Aleksandr’s daughter left for Israel on a special program for young programmers. She liked living and working in Israel very much and now works at the health insurance...
Yoram and Alexandra A from Paris
Yoram and Alexandra made aliyah with their three children – Meir, Tsvi and Avigayil. Yoram tells their story. “After the doors of our post-quarantine homes opened, we wanted to do something to bring us closer to the life we wanted to have that had seemed long term to...
Pavel and Anzhelika K from Odessa
Pavel tells their story: “The most precious thing in this life for me is my family. I want to take care of my girls – my wife Anzhelika and my daughter Alina – so that they have a better life and that we have a future!” “I was born and raised in Odessa by my mother...
Eduardo and Miriam G from Goiania
“My name is Eduardo, I am from Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil. I am making aliyah with my wife Miriam and daughter Helena. Aliyah means a fresh start and the realization of a dream.” I decided to make aliyah after the birth of my daughter, and I am looking for a better...
Maia and Kakha T from Gori
“Israel is a very promising country, and my Jewish roots allow me to go there with my husband Kakha and son, Sergo. Israel is my ancient homeland.” “We live very poorly here in Georgia and that pushed us towards the idea of making aliyah. Here in Georgia, we tried...
Alan and Dalia R from Buenos Aires
“We are Alan and Dalia from Buenos Aires, Argentina and we are making aliyah with our small daughter, Tamara. Aliyah is to fulfill a dream that is ours, as well as that of our ancestors who could not fulfill it. I (Alan) made the decision by talking as a family,...
Bukuri Tornike
“I feel what I do is right. The minimum reason why I’m moving to Israel is my family and little kid. I want to create a successful future for them. I always wanted to go to Israel but was looking for right time and I lacked some documents. When my uncle received a...
Souli and Perla M from Sao Paulo
“My name is Souli, I am from São Paulo, Brazil. I am making aliyah with my wife Perla. Our connection with Israel goes back a long time, as most of our families live there. We have had a very strong connection with Judaism for a long time and our roots are very...
Gabriel F from Sao Paulo
“My name is Gabriel and I am from São Paulo, Brazil. I decided to make Aliyah, because for me it means being able to reconnect in Israel. Here in Brazil I can't be myself, and in Israel, I can. My hope is to get a job, have a better future within my Jewish land. I...
Boris and Inessa Y from Angarsk
“For us as a family making aliyah is primarily an opportunity to reunite with a brother who already lives in Israel. Secondly, we see opportunities for our three children (Mark, Evgenii and Ivana). And thirdly, the opportunity for us to start a new life. The...
Miriam and Luis G from Salta
“My name is Miriam, I´m from Salta, Argentina. I am making aliyah with my husband Luis and my children, Tomas and Tali. For me – aliyah means realizing myself as a Jew. We want to make Aliyah to reunite the whole family, because we are Jews and we want to continue...
Kirill and Olga B from Omsk
“My parents live in Israel, so along with my wife Olga and son, Ilya, we decided we would go and join them. For me aliyah is something new – I want something better or different. I also see aliyah as the future for my son.” “Once we arrive, we will go to Ulpan. ...
Mark K from Feodosia
“My mom and younger brother have been living in Israel for twenty-five years. And three years ago, my elder daughter also moved there, to study under the NAALE program. By the way, you also helped her in this move. And this year my younger daughter will be traveling...
Dan and Avital S from Marseille
Dan and Avital are making Aliyah with their daughter Avigail. Dan tells their story. “Aliyah for us represents a return to our Holy Land of Israel that God gave us to live in in order to fulfil all the commandments of the Torah. We visited Israel 6 years ago as part...
Nicolás U from Buenos Aires, Argentina
“My name is Nicolás, I´m from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Aliyah means a great opportunity to change my life. I decided to make Aliyah by talking to my sister (who lives in Israel). I am practically alone in Argentina and having the possibility of improving my life with...
Elmira and Nukri I from Tbilisi
“The main reason we are making Aliyah is thanks to my Hebrew roots. The second reason is that we are still young to try something new. It’s not easy now, but it’s a chance to change our life and have a better future for our family. We lack many things in Georgia...
Sofia O from Irkutsk
“I have two sons who already live in Israel so I’m going to be reunited with them. I plan to help them. I have known Ezra International for a long time. We attended concerts organized by them on Jewish holidays. When I decided to make Aliyah, I turned to Ezra and...