Interviews with Olim

Q. Where were you born and where did you grow up?

A. I was born in London, UK and grew up there. Then moved to Montreal, Canada, where I spent most of my life.

Q. At what age did you come out? And how did it go?

A. I came out at the age of 21 and was very repressed. I needed a letter of introduction to my first partner from a mutual friend. I came out when my mother found a copy of a farewell letter I had written to a former lover. I had left it in my sports jacket that she was sending to the cleaners. My father then questioned me as to whether I was ‘homosexual’ and I admitted it. He was very sympathetic and accepted me. Unfortunately, my mother – until then my ally – was unable to accept me as I am. The tragedy of her life.

Q. Were you involved at all in the LGBT community in your previous country?

A. Yes, very much so a while back. In fact, I founded the second gay, Jewish group in Montreal called Yachdav.

Q. What is your involvement (if any) in the LGBT community in Israel?

A. Very little. I did/do enjoy the once-monthly, in-person, brunch meetings in Jerusalem, but living in Shoresh outside the city, I don’t have the convenience of attending other meetings there or in Tel Aviv.

Q. How long since you made Aliyah?

A. Just over one year.

Q. Did you move here on your own or with family/friends/significant other?

A. I moved here on my own.

Q. Why did you make Aliyah?

A. To be close to my brother and his family.

Q. How is it going so far?

A. The first year was a trial, but I managed to get through it with my brother’s constant help.

Q. What do you do in terms of work?

A. I am retired. I was a translator from French to English. Now I write as a hobby and have self-published a gay, Jewish, award-winning novel, Mourning and Celebration.

Q. How is your Ivrit?

A. Basic but getting better.

Q. What has been your biggest challenge so far?

A. Understanding my television system.

Q. How do you perceive the Israeli LGBT community?

A. I have little contact with the community. I do miss the gay friendships I had in Montreal. On the other hand, I have the support of my brother and his large family, of all ages.

Q. How is being LGBT in Israel different to where you lived previously?

A. In Montreal, I had a small circle of gay friends, Jewish and gentile. I miss that. There, too, I was no longer active in the gay community, and the gay Jewish community at large had no interest in taking part in Jewish activities. So there was no gay, Jewish group.

Q. If you were making aliyah now, would you do anything differently?

A. No.