Interviews with Olim

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

A. I was born in Cleveland, Ohio but lived and worked most of life in Washington, DC and Boston, Massachusetts.

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

A. I was about 22 years old when I started to come out. It was and continues to be a very positive and empowering experience for me with the exception of coming out to my father. Over time, he was able to come to reconcile his personal challenges with my identity. 

Q. Were you involved at all in the LGBT community back home? 

A. I was highly-involved in the LGBTQ commumnity in the US. I was a senior staff member for many years at the Human Rights Campaign, working with amazing volunteer leaders all across America. In addition, I was involved with Cleveland Stonewall Democrats, the LGBTQ Community Center of Greater Cleveland, the (LGBTQ) Victory Fund Training Institute, PFLAG Cleveland, Chevrei Tikvah (LGBTQ synagogue), and others.

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

A. Shortly after arriving, I participated and hosted a few events for LGBT Olim and attended the Qulpan program at the Tel Aviv Municipality’s LGBTQ Community Center.  During my first year, I joined up with the LGBT TLV Sports Club’s delegation to the Gay Games in Paris, where I competed in a few track and field competitions. Over time, I have volunteered with the Aguda, the Association for LGBTQ Equality in Israel, including helping to provide guidance for their programming with municipal governments and the corporate sector in Israel. For the past two years, I have been a member of the Board of Directors of A Wider Bridge.  

Q. How long since you made Aliyah? 

A. I made aliyah with a Nefesh B’Nefesh group flight on November 29, 2017.  

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

A. I moved to Israel on my own, although I do have many family members here with whom I feel close.

Q. Why did you make Aliyah? 

A. Invite me for a coffee or a drink or coffee and we can talk. But, in a nutshell – Israel feels and has always felt like my home. 

Q. How is it going so far? 

A. Making the decision to move to Israel is among the best decisions I have ever made. Being patient is not one of my character traits; but, I committed to being patient and understanding that I now live in a different place, with different customs, traditions, rules, ways of life, etc., that are no better or worse that those of the life I left behind. And so, while some things may come across has negative to some, I feel those same items are interesting and peculiar – just like many things I did in the US may have been perceived as peculiar to immigrants there.

Q. What do you do in terms of work? 

A. My full time job since arriving has been to work as hard as I can to learn as much Hebrew as I can, before venturing back to my career path. I do believe, no matter what other people tell you, it’s quite difficult to be integrated fully into Israeli society if you don’t acquire the ability to listen, speak, read and write Hebrew. Moving forward, I’m considering various options as to how I will spend my time professionally.

Q. How is your Ivrit? 

A. I knew going into this adventure that learning Hebrew was going to be my biggest challenge, as I have never had an easy time picking up a foreign language. I am very proud that I just passed the Level Dalet exam for Hebrew as a second language from the Ministry of Education.  I have enjoyed learning Hebrew in a variety of schools and methods. I did the complete voucher program with Ulpan LaInyan first, then I took levels Bet through Gimmel++, in addition to two short courses on music and accent at Ulpan Bayit. At the end of November 2020, I completed my studies at Ulpan Gordon, where I completed both their Bet+/Gimmel and Gimmel +/Dalet courses. And, this month, I started course at Citizen Cafe. Four days a week, I meet with a friend and we study Hebrew for about half a day together. I have also had four amazing tutors with whom I worked through the past few years. 

Q. What has been your biggest challenge so far? 

A. See Ivrit. Making progress on my integration during COVID.

Q. How do you perceive the Israeli LGBT community? 

A. The community is very socially oriented and many are engaged in one or more of the 20+ organizations in the country.