Laura Ben-David, a gifted communicator, captures on paper the clarity and purpose that lead a family to uproot themselves from a very comfortable life in Boca Raton, Florida to move to a settlement town in Gush Etzion.
Ben-David’s book, called “Moving Up – An Aliyah Journal” is a chronological collection of the emails that she sent to friends and family leading up to the move and throughout the first year. These dispatches were forwarded onward to thousands of readers – many of whom were captivated enough by her family’s journey to begin considering their own Aliyah.
“Moving Up is not a story about me,” Ben-David writes in the very first words of the volume. “It is a chronicle about Aliyah as seen through my eyes and written with my pen.”
Ben-David’s book will put smiles on the faces of fellow olim (immigrants), as will her frank observations about Israeli life and descriptions of the moments that bring her back to the original decision to implement the dream. She describes shopping for the first time at Jerusalem’s Malcha Shopping Mall. “Because this mall is in Jerusalem, there happens to be a large percentage of obviously observant Jews. It’s really a hard thing for me to explain, it was almost like being at a synagogue, or a special rally for a Jewish cause, except that we are all simply ‘at the mall.’ The point here is that I became so emotional over the whole thing that I started to cry. It was just one more reminder of where I am and why I am here. Because this land is MINE.”
She also provides helpful advice for those planning their own Aliyah – on everything from packing a lift (laments bringing a 40-foot one rather than 20-foot) to dealing (patiently and persistenly) with direct insurance companies after an Arab construction vehicle totaled their parked van.
And for those not yet planning the move, Ben-David shies away from preaching but allows subtle jabs in the form of quotes from her kids. “My daughter Lexi made a great comment today,” she writes. “She said, ‘I don’t get why people say that they are so jealous of us making Aliyah. If they feel that way, they should pack up and make Aliyah too!’ Right on Lexi!”
The Ben-Davids arrived in Israel on the first chartered plane organized by the Nefesh B’Nefesh organization, which seeks to remove the logistical obstacles facing Western olim. Laura’s story, though seemingly dealing with personal experience – raising kids, shopping at the local grocery and learning Hebrew – is truly one very clear part of the chronicle of the American Jewish return to Zion.
The book is an invaluable primary source for those seeking a glimpse into the phenomenon of Aliyah-by-choice from Western countries specifically during these most violent and turbulent years in the State of Israel. These Jews are a mystery to many. They arise, amidst the apex of Western civilization and decide to move to a perceived war zone with third-world cronyism and minuscule salaries – with no anti-Semitism or persecution to account for the decision to become immigrants. This book offers a glimpse of why they are coming, and why more will follow.
For more information, to read excerpts or to order the book, visit AliyahBook.com