Iair and Sara, along with their two children Clara and Jaim, made aliyah with The Fellowship last month from Argentina. Now, they are celebrating the High Holy Days, and the children have started school. Iair always dreamt of moving to Israel, growing up in an observant Jewish household that was very connected to the Holy Land. While Sara’s upbringing didn’t engage her in Israel as much, they both became involved when they joined a new synagogue in Buenos Aires.
Their congregation would often host travelers from Israel, most of whom were traveling the world after military service. Iair says that they received over 450 Israelis at their home. After Sara visited Israel, she wanted to make aliyah just as much as Iair did. Her husband was overjoyed—what he’d tried to persuade her to do with him for the last 12 years had been accomplished with just one trip. Once their decision was made, the family reached out to The Fellowship.
Iair said, “The Fellowship staff was incredible, answering all the questions that we had right away and with much wisdom and patience. The Fellowship staff sent us material and guided us along the way, making the experience so much more friendly. That contact did not end once we reached Israel. In fact, by the time we turned on our phones after the plane landed in Ben Gurion airport, I already had messages from The Fellowship’s Israeli staff introducing themselves and making themselves available for whatever we needed.”
Sara is able to continue her role job in Argentina remotely, while Iair is looking to join the local police force in Nave Sha’anan. Having hosted Israelis in their home, the couple already has a grasp on Hebrew which helped make their integration a bit easier. Seven-year-old Clara has started learning Hebrew in school, while five-year-old Jaim has happily started preschool. Iair’s upbringing of celebrating each Jewish holiday has come full circle as he and his family observe the High Holy Days with their new neighbors in Israel.
“It feels magical to be here,” Iair told us. “This was a dream that I thought would not come true until much later. Every day here is a blessing for us. The High Holy Days will feel more magical than ever, and we know that we won’t be alone as we have a big community of fellow olim families to celebrate with us.”