Interviews with Olim

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

A. I was born in Jersey City, NJ but grew up in Des Plaines, IL (mispronounced, of course) just outside Chicago.

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

A. I came out in 1977 though everyone always knew. I was one of those poor souls who was beaten up and teased a lot as a kid. To the point that when I was 13, I committed myself to a psychiatric hospital rather than go to school.

Q. Were you involved at all in the LGBT community back home? And what is your involvement (if any) in the LGBT community in Israel?

A. Back in the late 70s, I was briefly involved with a gay rights group in Chicago and I marched (in drag!) in my first Pride Parade in 1979. I acted with the Lionheart Gay Theater in Chicago in the early 80s, and starred as Trixi Biloxi, The Dixie Doxie in the fabulous play Gunsel. I spent some time hanging out at the LGBT Center in Chicago, but was actually pretty quiet in the community for years. I never really felt like I fit in. I guess it was my social anxiety kicking in already. I did play softball in a gay league in Chicago, though, and that was fun. My dad was happy I was a jock. And then when I moved to NYC in 1996, I got involved in a gay bowling league; I got good enough to win a Bronze Medal at the 1998 Gay Games in Amsterdam. And then unfortunately, I got involved in drugs which eventually left me homeless and in a long term residential treatment facility in the Bronx. I became a counselor and that became my whole life, to an amazingly unhealthy extent until 2009. So I didn’t have or, rather, allow myself enough time to be involved in the Gay community. Even after leaving full time work, I didn’t reenter the Gay community, other than briefly attending a gay play-writing workshop. And then I decided to move to Israel and I discovered LGBT Olim on Facebook. You were kind enough to organize a dinner for me during my pilot trip in March of 2017. I occasionally attended Qulpan and other LGBT Olim events but I’m really not comfortable in big gatherings, as we now know. 🙂

Q. How long since you made Aliyah? Did you move here on your own or with family/friends/significant other?

A. I arrived in Israel as an Oleh on July 19th, 2017 and came all by my little lonesome.

Q. Why did you make Aliyah?

A. I never planned on moving to Israel. The original plan, after 20 years of miserable NYC winters, of 0F and 5 feet of snow, was to move to LA. But subsidized housing for people with AIDS in LA is in such short supply that the waiting list is 10 years long. And there really isn’t another city in the US with great transportation other than Chicago, where winters are just as bad as NYC. I considered Vienna, Austria and Budapest. And then someone suggested I contact Nefesh B’Nefesh and the rest is history. I’d never been interested in even visiting Israel. Now I can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Q. How is it going so far?

A. I love Israel. I don’t find it any more expensive than NYC and the weather is definitely better. Although, right about now (August 26th), I’d kill for a day with 65F and rain. Just one day! I hang out in dog parks every day with my dogs Sam and Minnie. I knit in the dog parks when the weather is good.

Q. What do you do in terms of work?

A. I wanted to sing opera again when I moved here but my audition for the Israeli Opera chorus did not go as well as I wanted. So I basically retired. But then I started designing sweaters and that has now become a business. I recently obtained my Osek Patur (business registration), I opened my online store, I’m making ceramic yarn bowls, and I’ve begun making YouTube videos related to knitting.

Q. How is your Ivrit?

A. Ivrit? What’s that?

Q. What has been your biggest challenge so far?

A. My biggest challenge is still dealing with my medical issues, and they are myriad. I just find it so hard to follow through with making appointments. And then it took a long time to follow through on applying for Bituach Leumi. I finally got approved in February of 2020 and could afford to travel (I love to travel) just in time for Coronavirus.

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

A. I’m not sure I’d do anything differently. It was pretty smooth. Nefesh B’Nefesh really has the process down to a science. Thanks to LGBT Olim, I already knew some people when I arrived.