Debby Shapira begins new life in Israel
צילום: מירי חסון
‘Nothing will prevent my aliyah’
Ynet correspondent joins American, Canadian new immigrants on El Al flight to Israel, during which they express their great love for the country, plans for getting hitched
TEL AVIV - When 22-year-old Eitan Konstin was a teenager, he constantly found himself in heated arguments with fellow students and teachers who did not understand what was really going on in Israel.
As he grow older, it became clear to him that he would spend the rest of his life in the land of the Jews – and even his mother would not be able to stop him.
“Israel needs people from all over the world,” he told Ynet last Wednesday just as he was about to board a flight from New York to Tel Aviv.
“How can I help the U.S.? In Israel I’ll join the army and give whatever I can.”
Some 200 new immigrants from Canada and the U.S. joined Konstin aboard the El Al flight, which was the fourth out of a planned six flights organized by the Nefesh B’Nefesh organization.
“When I was 13 I began to understand Israel’s importance after visiting Anne Frank’s house and the concentration camps,” Konstin said.
“It was then that I began to read about (Theodor) Herzl, (David) Ben-Gurion and (Yitzhak) Rabin – my hero.”
An emotional Eitan Konstin arrives in Israel (Photo: Miri Chason)
Konstin offered a detailed account of one argument that helped him realize his place was in Israel.
“I remember the day Rabin was assassinated. I was in class and the teacher told the students what had happened. She said Rabin was a terrorist that had to die,” he said.
“I got up and yelled at her, I called her a whore and I defended Rabin. I was expelled for this, of course.”
Konstin said that initially his parents were not supportive of his aliyah plans.
“At first they were angry with me. We fought and there was a lot of yelling,” he said.
“Then they offered to buy me a Porsche and give me USD 100,000. Eventually they understood. Dad thought I should be Jewish in America because he believes Israel is a dangerous place, but today he supports me.”
'American men are missing something'
Konstin said he plans to enlist in an IDF combat unit despite his fears.
“I am afraid, but you have to do what you have to do. My worst nightmare is to kill a Palestinian, but if I will have to protect the lives of Jews then there is no choice in the matter,” he said.
“I want to be a moral soldier, I do not hate Arabs.”
Debby Shapira, 23, another olah hadasha, said she prefers Israeli men.
“The American men are missing something, a certain maturity that the Israelis posses,” she said.
“I would not be surprised if I marry an Israeli.”
Former Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, who had accompanied the group from New York, addressed the new immigrants at Ben-Gurion Airport.
“I arrived in Israel 60 years ago; I had no other choice - I lost most of my family in the Holocaust,” he said.
“But I see a different picture today. 60 years later, I see families and bachelors who chose to come to Israel - their home.”
