The best family reunions often take place on the runway at Ben Gurion Airport. While many olim rush to set foot in their biblical homeland, others hurry into the arms of family members who made aliyah years before them. Even as the Holy Land faces crises, they make the journey because of the loved ones waiting for them. This was the case for 55-year-old Patricia from Argentina.
“I feel like I was the last to go,” she told Fellowship staff, “My brother made aliyah 22 years ago, my oldest son made aliyah 18 years ago, and my mother and my youngest son came in 2021. Israel has always been a huge part of our life. I visited the country in 2024 to see my youngest son. He was in the army and had been deployed in Gaza, so I felt that I needed to be with him when he returned home. That visit just really drove the point across that it is here where I need to be.”
Determined to join her family in Israel, Patricia reached out to The Fellowship. She was scheduled to fly from Argentina in mid-March, but the war with Iran changed those plans. Following the ceasefire, Patricia was finally able to board a Freedom Flight.
She describes that period as a time of limbo between her old life and her new one. There was no work, no routine –just watching the news and waiting for signs of what would come next. Even with the ceasefire in place, Patricia is not entirely out of harm’s way, but she does not see it that way.
She says, “I live only 6 miles from the border with Lebanon. It is an area that is vulnerable to attacks from the north, but I knew where I was coming. I feel safe and I have hope for the future. If the war starts again, I’m just happy that I get to be near my children and the rest of my family in a place that already very much feels like home. It is very difficult to be so far away when things get difficult, especially with a son fighting in the war.”
Despite the ongoing challenges, Patricia and her family are happily building their lives in Israel. Most importantly, they are together. Her youngest son is studying at the Technion—Israel’s oldest university specializing in science and technology—in Haifa, while her oldest son lives in Kibbutz Hulda in central Israel. Patricia lives in Nahariya, where she will continue her Hebrew studies through December.
“I really love this city. I hope I can stay here because I think it is a great place to live, but we’ll see what the future has in store for me. I came here to start a new life and I am so, so grateful to everyone that helped me get on this journey. The Fellowship is a wonderful organization, and I feel very supported now as I take my first steps in my new country,” she said.
