Snapshots of the People Behind a Young State

A Unique Display in Honor of 's 70th Anniversary From The Bernard H. and Miriam Oster Visual Documentation Center Beit Hatfutsot, The Museum of the Jewish People

Curator: Yaara Litwin | Concept & design: Neta Harel

YEARS

בית הספר הבינלאומי The Koret ע"ש קורת International School Ministry for Social Equality ללימודי העם היהודי for Jewish Peoplehood

- 1 - Celebrating Israel: Snapshots of the People Behind a Young State

A Unique Photo Display in Honor of Israel's 70th Anniversary From the collection of The Bernard H. and Miriam Oster Visual Documentation Center Beit Hatfutsot, The Museum of the Jewish People, Tel Aviv

This comprehensive exhibit showcases a selection Israel, online and around the world, through innovative of historical moments that embody the great exhibits, cutting edge technology and creative endeavor that was the establishment of the State programs. of Israel, as seen through the eyes of its people. Beit Hatfutsot maintains a digital database boasting Highlighted within are the experiences of from millions of items including family trees, films, and around the world who escaped hatred and fear to much more. The Database helps connect the Jewish live freely in a Jewish state. People to their roots and strengthens their personal Depicted are primarily new citizens who made and collective Jewish identity (immigrated to Israel; literally "ascended") The Bernard H. and Miriam Oster Visual Documentation to the young country. Their struggles and triumphs Center is an unparalleled catalogue of photographs and evidence how these immigrants overcame the films documenting Jewish life, heritage and history. challenges of running a new state with few resources. G2G: Generation to Generation, run by Beit Hatfutsot The panels and personal stories on display enable and the Israeli Ministries of Education and Social viewers to explore Israel’s major historical events and Equality, is a unique program connecting generations consider the lives of its early immigrants — what it took via high tech, history and mutual learning. Personal for them to reach the State of Israel and how they stories documented in the program are uploaded to adjusted to life in their new homeland. Organized the Beit Hatfutsot worldwide story collection. The sequentially and by theme, Celebrating Israel gives program connects thousands of students with older viewers insight into the country's formation. adults in Israel and around the Jewish world. Beit Hatfutsot, the Museum of the Jewish People in Visit our databases at dbs.bh.org.il Tel Aviv, is a vital global center dedicated to telling the entire story of the Jewish People on-site, in Visit G2G at Beit Hatfutsot website

YEARS

בית הספר הבינלאומי The Koret ע"ש קורת International School Ministry for Social Equality ללימודי העם היהודי for Jewish Peoplehood

- 2 - Through Locked Gates Illegal Aliyah to Eretz Israel

British soldiers on Bat Galim beach anticipating the arrival of ma’apilim (illegal immigrants) from the Haim Arlosoroff Haganah Illegal immigrants on board the "Dov Hoz,” port of La ship, Haifa, Eretz Israel, February 27, 1947 Spezia, Italy, 1946 Photo: L. Duenner, courtesy of Mandy Cotton Courtesy of Uri Vishnitzer

The story of Lea Aurbach

Born in Pabianice, Poland in 1925, Lea Aurbach lost many members of her family in the Holocaust. She herself — along with her sisters, Sarah and Dvorah — survived numerous concentration camps, including Auschwitz, and a death march. The Aurbach sisters were among a group of 500 women who persevered thanks to the Swedish Red Cross. After liberation, the Jewish community in Norrköping, Sweden embraced the sisters, aiding them until delegates from Eretz Israel arrived to arrange for their immigration.

The young women joined a group of illegal immigrants that sailed from Sweden to Israel on January 1, 1947 on the “Haim Arlosoroff.” The British captured the ship, however, and the refugees on board were sent to detention camps on the island of Cyprus. In detention camp no. 66 Lea met and married Jona Belassen, a Tunisian Jew.

On April 16, 1948, the newlyweds sailed to Israel. Illegal immigrants on board the "Jewish State", Haifa, Eretz Israel, October 1947 Photo: Martin Hauser, courtesy of Martin Hauser

Lea Aurbach and Jona Belassen and in Detention Camp No. 66, Cyprus, 1947, courtesy of Lea Belson

Named for a Zionist leader, the Haganah prepared the Haim Arlosoroff to bring illegal immigrants to Eretz Israel. The ship traversed Sweden, France and Italy carrying approximately 1,350 survivors. On February 27, 1947 the British spotted the ship and forcibly rerouted it to Haifa. It ran aground on Bat-Galim beach, directly in front of the British army camp. Following a battle, the British detained the refugees on the island of Cyprus.

In April 1946 more than 1,000 Jewish refugees arrived at the La Spezia port to sail on the Dov Hoz. The Italians, thinking they were Fascists and Nazis, held them. The British then blocked their exit. The passengers began a hunger strike that led to international awareness, and eventually the British granted them passage. La Spezia highlights the trials of illegal immigration at the time and is remembered for its international attention and the bravery of the passengers. - 1 - Arrival Making Aliyah

European immigrants en route to Israel via Shanghai, Capetown, South Africa, 1949 Aboard the "Galilah," Jews who had been detained in Cyprus arrive at the Haifa port, Haifa, Israel, 1949 Courtesy of Yael Bilu

The story of Miko Levy

I was born in Bulgaria in 1939, a single, spoiled child. But I soon Iearned to appreciate small luxuries such as toys and food.

After the war, my Zionist father decided we would immigrate to the new Jewish state. We packed up what little we had and headed to the Miko Levy with his mother port of Burgas. After a week of sailing, on May 15, 1949, we arrived at the port of Haifa. It was Shabbat, and we were not allowed to dock until Saturday evening.

When the Bulgarian Jews in Haifa heard that a ship had arrived from Bulgaria, they surrounded us with small boats and brought food, sweets and challah. I still remember watching that bread crumble and float in the water.

We were taken to an immigrant camp in a small town where each family received a tent. I will never forget our first night, surrounded by the sounds of jackals. New immigrant disembarking at the New immigrants on the deck of a ship Haifa port with her baby, Haifa, entering Haifa port, 1950s Israel, c. 1949-1950 Photo: Herbert Sonnenfeld Photo: Herbert Sonnenfeld Sonnenfeld Collection Sonnenfeld Collection

During WWII Shanghai opened its gates to Jewish refugees. In addition to the small, extant Jewish community already living in the city, Shanghai absorbed more than 30,000 German and Austrian Jews. These immigrants arrived by way of Japan and the Trans- Siberian Railway, bringing science and technology with them. After the establishment of state of Israel, The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (a Jewish relief organization) arranged for several passenger ships to transport these Jewish refugees to Israel. Because Egypt refused to allow passenger ships carrying new Jewish immigrants to pass through the Suez Canal, their journey lasted two months, traversing South Africa, Italy and France.

- 5 - Under One Flag Two Stripes, One Star of David

Children with the national flag, Beer-Sheva, Israel, 1950s Kibbutz children during Shavuot festival, Israel, 1950s Photo: Leni Sonnenfeld Photo: Leni Sonnenfeld Sonnenfeld collection Sonnenfeld collection

The Emblem of the State of Israel

The new State was in need of an official emblem to demonstrate its sovereignty in the community of nations. Much importance was attached to symbolizing the continuity and fulfillment of the Zionist dream. Children with the national flag in The emblem includes three visual elements - the Kibbutz Nezer Sereni, Israel 1950s menorah, the olive branches, and the inscription Photo: Leni Sonnenfeld "Israel". The olive branches express the state's Sonnenfeld collection peaceful intentions; the menorah attests to the link of the Jewish people with its glorious past in the homeland and the return of the state to its former luster (through the metaphor of the restoration of the menorah from the Arch of Titus to its place in Israel), and indirectly, the beginning of the end of the Diaspora.

Stall selling Israeli national flags for Independence Day celebration, Israel, 1950s Photo: Leni Sonnenfeld Sonnenfeld collection

It took some time for Israel’s temporary government to reach an agreement regarding the Israeli flag. With its Star of David, the World Zionist Organization flag was a known symbol for Jews around the world, both in the diaspora and in the . Its two blue stripes were inspired by the stripes of the tallit — the Jewish prayer shawl. Also under consideration was a flag bearing seven gold stars that had been suggested in 1896 by Theodore Herzl, the forefather of modern . The image of children sitting on hay bales with the flag of Israel flying behind them embodies the idea of the “sabra” – a term for an Israeli-born Jew that comes from the prickly pear fruit of the cactus that is common in Israel.

- 6 - Unsteady Homes on Solid Land Life in the Ma'abarot

View of a ma'abara (refugee absorption camp), Israel, 1950s Photo: Herbert Sonnenfeld Sonnenfeld Collection

Family of new immigrants arriving at a ma'abara (refugee absorption camp)near Haifa, Israel, 1949-1950 Photo: Leni Sonnenfeld Sonnenfeld Collection

The Story of Ahuva Zaidman (Goldstein)

I was born in 1950 in Poland, the child of Holocaust survivors. My dad lost his first wife and daughter, and my mom was sent from the Łódź Ghetto to Auschwitz. When the two survivors met, they started a new family.

In 1957 we left Poland for Haifa. We arrived on Independence Day. That same day a ship arrived from Poland carrying my future husband, Zvi Zaidman. Ahuva Zaidman

We lived in the same ma'abara in Holon as my future husband. He was eleven and I was eight, and his family lived two huts behind us. Although our families had no resources, we had a fun social life. After a few Daily life in a ma'abara (refugee absorption years both families moved to apartment blocks and camp), Israel, 1950s stayed in touch. Photo: Leni Sonnenfeld Zvi and I were married in 1970. It was a matter of Sonnenfeld Collection a destiny. Our families lost their families but lived to see their children raise new generations in Israel.

The Miller and Rabinowitz Families outside their tent in the Hadera ma'abara (refugee absorption camp), Israel Courtesy of Miller Leo

Approximately 700,000 new immigrants arrived in Israel following the creation of the new state. This large immigration wave over a short period of time caused unique accommodation challenges for the young country. In response, ma’abarot (absorption camps) were set up throughout Israel. New immigrants arrived at these ma’abarot following their initial reception in Sha’ar Ha’aliyah, the country’s central absorption and transition camp near Haifa. By building the ma’abarot near existing settlements, Israel was able to provide work opportunities for new immigrants while minimizing requests for aid from the Jewish Agency.

- 8 - In Service of a Nation The Israel Defense Forces

Israeli soldiers during training, Israel, 1950s Photo: Herbert or Leni Sonnenfeld Sonnenfeld Collection

Israeli soldiers eating matzah during training, Israel, Passover, 1950s Photo: Herbert or Leni Sonnenfeld Sonnenfeld Collection

The Army Service of Uri Manor

I was born in 1945 and grew up on Kibbutz Gvat in Northern Israel. I wanted to be a paratrooper, but was Female soldiers eating matzah during training, Israel, 1950s accepted to the army’s prestigious pilot course. The Photo: Leni Sonnenfeld course was difficult both physically and academically (we Sonnenfeld Collection had to learn math, physics and aeronautics). It was also emotionally challenging because it involved practices of captivity.

I fought in the Six-Day War and then decided to marry my girlfriend Maya. When my commander heard, he Uri Manor and Maya offered to celebrate the wedding on our army base and cover the costs, on one condition — that I be married wearing my uniform.

When my wife was in labor, I was a flying instructor. I took her to the hospital then went back to the base for a practice flight. While in the air, I received the news that my son was born. I was so excited that I did aerobatics. Israeli paratroopers after jumping from a plane, Israel, 1960s Photo: Leni Sonnenfeld Sonnenfeld Collection

Ben Gurion intended that the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) be a “melting pot” and “people’s army.” He believed that the IDF was a critical educational framework (with a social function) that would “shape the pioneers of the nation” and integrate Jewish society. The Israeli army follows Jewish laws, and its kitchens operate under the requirements of kashrut, supervised by soldiers of the military Rabbinate corps. There is also a “Jewish-Israeli consciousness” unit in the IDF that has been an integral part of the army’s educational programming since 2016.

- 11 - Working the Land Planting New Futures

Young men removing stones from a field, Israel, 1950s Photo: Herbert Sonnenfeld (1906-1972) Sonnenfeld Collection

Workers preparing a field for planting, Israel, 1950s Photo: Leni Sonnenfeld Sonnenfeld Collection

Young avocado orchard in The Story of Michal Kaufmann the Galilee, Israel, c. 1950-1960 I was born in the 1950s to pioneer parents who helped Photo: Leni Sonnenfeld establish the agricultural settlement Moshv Avigdor. Our Sonnenfeld Collection family of five lived in a small, 500-square-foot house. In the first few years following the establishment of the State of Israel, there was a major food shortage. In order to absorb the hundreds of thousands of new immigrants, the young Israeli government instituted a policy limiting food and consumer products and restricting purchases to a government-issued stamp system. Michal Kaufmann

My family had our own farm. We received a cow from the Jewish Agency and milked it by hand. We provided milk to Tnuva, Israel’s largest dairy farm, grew our own fruits and vegetables and raised geese and hens. I was in charge of collecting the eggs. As I grew older, my duties increased. After school I would not only collect eggs, but also feed the calves and do some harvesting.

National Water Carrier project (Ha’Movil Ha’Artsi) workers, Israel, 1963 Photo: Leni Sonnenfeld Sonnenfeld Collection

Following the establishment of the State of Israel, large immigration waves dramatically increased Israel’s agricultural needs, and agricultural development was a high priority. The major achievement of early Israeli agriculture was drip irrigation. In the late 1950s, Polish-born Simcha Blass developed this technique, revolutionizing agricultural watering systems. Soon becoming the trademark of Israeli agriculture, Blass’s drip irrigation technology was embraced internationally.

The largest water project in Israel’s history, the National Water Carrier took five years to complete, employing 4,000 workers. Finalized in 1964, Israel’s water lifeline linked the country’s regional water projects into a single network. Eighty percent of the project’s water was allocated for agriculture and twenty percent for drinking water. To this day, the carrier transports water from Lake Kinneret in the north of Israel to the Negev in the south via 15,000 pipes. - 13 - The Roots of the Startup Nation Growing Industries

New immigrants working in the Argaman factory, Bnei Brak, Israel, 1948-1950 Courtesy of Rosenbaum family

Worker in the Kitan Textile factory in Dimona, Israel, 1960s Photo: Leni Sonnenfeld Sonnenfeld Collection

The Story of Marcel Cohen (Shriki)

I was born in Casablanca, , in 1944 and was happy there until political changes in 1960 caused tension. One of my friends disappeared, and even our own neighbors became hostile. I told my parents that I could no longer bear to hear the term "sale juif" (“dirty Jew” in French). In 1961 we left Morocco with the help of Zionist activists and sailed for a month through Spain, Italy, and France before arriving in Haifa. We wanted to Marcel Cohen move to Jerusalem, but somehow ended up in the settlement town of Beit Shemesh. We lived without electricity for a long time and it took us some time Worker in the Kitan Textile to adjust. factory in Dimona, Israel, 1960s My parents started working, my younger siblings Photo: Leni Sonnenfeld went to school, and I looked for work. Eventually Sonnenfeld Collection I found a job in the Jerusalem Threads textile factory where I met my husband Salim. In time we had five children. The Harsa ceramic factory, Be'er-Sheva, Israel, late 1950s Young woman painting pottery Photo: Leni Sonnenfeld Sonnenfeld Collection

The Kitan factory was founded in 1958 in Dimona, a Negev desert town settled in 1955, mostly by North African immigrants. Its location was chosen per a governmental effort to create jobs for Israel’s peripheral populations. After being a symbol of the Israeli textile industry for decades, the factory met its demise in 2012 when globalization made competitive product pricing unfeasible.

Also in an effort to create jobs for Israel’s immigrants and peripheral residents, the Argaman textile factory that supplied wool to the British army was relocated to Yavne, and the Harsa ceramic factory was relocated from Haifa to Beer-Sheva. In 1956 the relocated Harsa factory established a department for artistic ceramics. - 15 - Let My People Go Behind the Iron Curtain

Farewell party for Zionist activist Tina Brodetsky after she received her exit visa to Israel, Moscow, The Soviet Prisoner of Zion in exile in Siberia, The Soviet Union, August 1970 Union, 1978 From left, standing: Sofa Zaritsky (Vilnius), Baruch Kerler, Nadya Drabovsky, Marina Polsky, Vika Drabkin Courtesy of Yona Schwarzman From left, seated: Semion Gelfond, Balabanov, Tina Brodetsky, Lena Polsky Courtesy of Tina Brodetsky

The Story of Lena Stekalov

I was born in 1947 in Leningrad. In first grade the children said they didn’t want a Jewish friend. At summer camp, the campers yelled "We don’t want the Jew!" I was rejected by a music school that “had already accepted enough Jews.” I learned about Judaism from my grandparents. My grandmother used to bake matzah herself because there was none in Leningrad, though she did not understand their symbolism. When I went to University, there was a sense of awakening and a search for identity among young Jews. My husband and I were married in 1970 and had two children. In 1979 we began to think about making Aliyah. The permit we were issued, Lena Stekalov however, was to Australia. We had to surrender our Russian citizenship and say goodbye to my in-laws who we knew we would never see again. Eventually we made our way to Israel. Prisoner of Zion Sylva Zalmanson (right) with actress Ingrid Bergman (left), who worked for Sylva’s release from prison, London, England, 1974 Courtesy of Sylva Zalmanson

A 1957 Moscow youth festival inspired a wave of Soviet Zionism, but several attendees were arrested. Among them, Tina Brodetsky served a three-year sentence in a Siberian work camp. A “Prisoner of Zion” (one who was detained, arrested, or deported for Zionist activity), in 1970 Brodestky was permitted to leave for Israel.

Ida Nudel dedicated her life to and Prisoners of Zion after being denied an exit visa in 1971. In 1978 she hung a poster on her balcony and was exiled for four years to Siberia. Nudel received her exit visa in 1987.

Sylva Zalmanson was among a group of activists who planned to hijack a plane to raise awareness for Soviet Jewry. Sentenced to four years in a labor camp, she received her exit visa in 1974. - 18 - Story of a Journey Arrival of the Ethiopian Jews

Group of young boys who arrived via Operation Moses wearing their new clothes at the absorption center, Ashkelon, Israel, 1984 Photo: Doron Bacher

The Labasi family, immigrants from who arrived via Operation Moses, following their registration at the absorption center, Ashkelon, Israel, November 28, 1984 Photo: Doron Bacher

The Story of Shmuel Yosef

I was born in 1975 and in 1984 my father began preparing for our journey to Jerusalem. Our neighbors Reunion of Ethiopian brothers who arrived via Operation Moses at the informed the authorities that we were selling our absorption center, Ashkelon, Israel, November 1984 possessions, and my father was jailed for two weeks. Photo: Doron Bacher One rainy night we began our journey wearing sandals improvised from tires. I couldn’t keep up. When my Shmuel Yosef family finally found me, I was starving. We got to the Sudan with the help of a cattle merchant who was soon after robbed by Ethiopian rebels. We paid fishermen to ferry us across the border. We continued on, protected by Sudanese with bows and arrows. I had an infection in my leg but still had to walk. First day in Israel: New It was so severe that within two weeks of our arrival at immigrants from Ethiopia who arrived via Operation Moses at the refugee camp we received airplane tickets and fake the absorption center, Ashkelon, passports to seek medical treatment Israel, November 27, 1984 in France. Photo: Doron Bacher When we finally arrived in Israel, we kissed the ground!

8,000 Ethiopian Jews came to Israel via Operation Moses, flying from Khartoum in the Sudan to Europe and then Israel. Many more died trying to reach Israel, with the human toll felt widely. 1,500 of the survivors were young people who arrived without their parents. Before Operation Moses, Ethiopians that hoped to start a new life in Israel faced a long and dangerous odyssey en route to the Sudanese border. They voyaged on foot for up to four weeks and were vulnerable to many life-threatening dangers along the way.

- 22 - Breaking Through the Iron Curtain En Route to Israel

Young girl from Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on a railway station platform while en route to Israel, Budapest, Hungary, June 1990 Photo: Doron Bacher

Jewish family from Azerbaijan en route to Israel on railway station platform, Budapest, Hungary, June 1990 Photo: Doron Bacher

A farewell to a family that is leaving for Israel, Moscow airport, The Soviet Union, 1990 The Story of Felina Winestein (Dititakovsky) Photo: Doron Bacher

I was born in 1940s Ukraine. In 1972 we wanted to make Aliyah, but needed an invitation from Israel. We worked in a military factory and the Soviet government used to check our mail, reading invitations from Israel in front of us. In 1990 my cousin immigrated to the US. He paid $150—my annual salary! for our Israel invitation. We had to rush to Moscow because there was only one flight per month to Israel. Leaving was extremely hard. Everyone we knew came to say goodbye, and we didn’t know if we would ever see them again. I bought train tickets so everyone could take the train with us to the Moscow airport. During the emotional farewell, my son disappeared. It turned out he had returned Felina Winestein home—four hours round trip—for a forgotten camera. I convinced the station manager to delay the train until he returned.

Nehemya Nisanyov from Azerbaijan boarding a plane to Israel, Budapest, Hungary, 1990 Photo: Doron Bacher, Israel

The 1991 Soviet collapse lifted all remaining prohibitions against emigration, allowing the region’s Jews to leave. This, combined with a troubled economy and rising anti-Semitism, caused an immigration wave. A second exodus followed, with many joining friends and family in Israel. With no direct flights from Russia to Israel, new immigrants traveled to Budapest then boarded the Israeli airline El Al. Doron Bacher, Beit Hatfutsot's former house photographer, documented the Aliyah (immigration) of Russian Jews to Israel for the Museum.

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For more information, please contact:

Yaara Litwin Project Manager & Curator [email protected]

USA Shula Bahat, CEO Beit Hatfutsot of America, [email protected]

Europe Enia Zeevi Kupfer Director of External Relations, Israel and Europe Desks [email protected]