‘I Began to Dream of Israel’
The Fellowship | August 27, 2024
Nedjma is a 94-year-old Holocaust survivor who lives in Israel after making aliyah (immigrating to Israel) with The Fellowship from France.
Nedjma was born in Tunisia, and she remembers a happy childhood, until the arrival of the Nazis during World War II disrupted the peace. “They sought to conscript every Jewish man over the age of 17 into labor camps.” Nedjma recalls the distressing sight of her father hiding from the Nazis. She, along with her sisters and mother, were responsible for bringing food home.
“It was a challenging time for me. One day, I overheard a neighbor speaking of escaping to Israel. At the age of 12, amidst the war, I began to dream of Israel,” she says.
After the war, hostility grew. Neighbors began throwing stones at Jews, and the atmosphere became increasingly hostile. “We felt that it was no longer safe for us to stay in Tunisia. We were living in fear.” In 1961, Nedjma’s husband decided to escape to France for a better future.
Recently, though, in the surge in anti-Semitism in France following October 7, 2023, the Jewish community started hiding their identity. Nedjma’s eldest daughter removed the mezuzah from her door, which Nedjma took as a sign to finally move to Israel.
Nedjma reached out to the The Fellowship for assistance in making aliyah with her family.
Today, as Rosh Hashanah is just around the corner, we visited Nedjma at her home with a box of groceries and honey, symbolizing the holiday’s significance. “Thanks to The Fellowship, my dream of living in Israel came true at the age of 94. I want to express my deep gratitude to everyone who supports this remarkable organization.”
