“ After centuries of persecutions , pogroms , exiles , ghettos , pales of settlement , inquisitions , blood libels , forced conversions , discriminatory legislation , and immigration restrictions — and , no less , after centuries of prayers , dreams , and yearning — the Jews had come back home to be the masters of their own fate .”
I didn ’ t know what to expect , but I recall being quite emotional from the moment I boarded the El Al plane to the very first glimpse of the Israeli coastline from the plane ’ s window . As I disembarked , I surprised myself by wanting to kiss the ground . In the ensuing weeks , I marveled at everything I saw . To me , it was as if every apartment building , factory , school , orange grove , and Egged bus was nothing less than a miracle . A state , a Jewish state , was unfolding before my very eyes .
After centuries of persecutions , pogroms , exiles , ghettos , pales of settlement , inquisitions , blood libels , forced conversions , discriminatory legislation , and immigration restrictions — and , no less , after centuries of prayers , dreams , and yearning — the Jews had come back home to be the masters of their own fate .
I was overwhelmed by the mix of people , backgrounds , languages , and lifestyles , and by the intensity of life itself . Everyone , it seemed , had a compelling story to tell . There were Holocaust survivors with harrowing tales of their years in the camps . There were Jews from Arab countries , whose stories of persecution in such countries as Iraq , Libya , and Syria were little known at the time . There were the first Jews arriving from the USSR seeking repatriation in the Jewish homeland . There were the sabras — native-born Israelis — many of whose families had lived in Palestine for generations . There were local Arabs , both Christian and Muslim . There were Druze , whose religious practices are kept secret from the outside world . The list goes on and on .
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