On Thursday morning, Holocaust survivor Leon arrived in Israel and at the age of 95 fulfilled his dream of immigrating to Israel, through a joint operation of the Nefesh b' Nefesh organization, Israel's Immigration and Absorption Ministry, the Jewish Agency and Israeli flag carrier El Al. Upon landing in Israel, he had a moving reunion with his grandchildren, who serve in the IDF; one is a pilot in the Israeli Air Force.
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Leon was born in 1928 in Belgium and fled the Nazis at the age of 12. He wandered around Europe for over a year until he managed to reach Cuba with his parents in 1941. In 1947, he came to the United States. A Zionist activist, he even helped Israel's Haganah during the War of Independence to transfer airplane parts from the West Coast of the U.S. to Israel. He built a career for himself in the U.S., but all his life he wanted to immigrate to Israel.
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Leon is reunited with his grandson, a pilot in the Israeli Air Force
(Photo: Courtesy of the family)
"Precisely during this period it was important for me to express support for the IDF, my grandchildren and their families. Last week I wore a shirt with the inscription 'Kiryat Shemona' in Hebrew at a department store, and someone came up to me and told me: 'You should not walk around with Hebrew on your shirt in public.' I answered him: 'You have to move to Israel with me.' I still remember the feeling as a 12-year-old boy, seeing the Nazi soldiers walking down my street in Belgium. Now I am excited to be home, to be in Israel. Our people will never have to flee again!"
How do you make a decision to immigrate to Israel this age?
"The time has come. I wanted to immigrate to Israel all my life. I was involved in Zionist movements from a very young age and even visited the country on my honeymoon in 1960, and since then not a year has passed when I haven't visited. I have children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren here. It's time to come."
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Leon in the cockpit of the plane taking him on aliyah to Israel
(Photo: El Al Airlines)
Did you encounter manifestations of antisemitism over the years when you lived in the US?
"All these years there were antisemitic phenomena, but we got over it. My children were even attacked in the 80s because they walked around wearing kippahs. I don't believe that Jews should flee America because of antisemitism, but today's phenomena worry me a lot."
According to Capt. D, Leon's grandson: "My grandfather personally experienced a significant part of the historical Jewish events in the last 100 years. It is especially exciting that he chose to make aliyah right now, in one of the most significant moments in our history, when we are marching toward victory. It inspires me to know that my grandfather, now officially, is part of the home front I'm guarding."
'Feel safer here in Israel'
"There has always been antisemitism in Australia, but the situation is much worse now. Even in the past it was difficult to be a Jew here, but now it has already become impossible," say Shirley and Arnold Lerner, 77 and 79, who until recently lived in Melbourne, Australia.
"What broke us was an antisemitic incident during prayer in the synagogue on a Shabbat evening. Hundreds of Muslim protesters started marching toward our synagogue. In the middle of the Shabbat prayers, terrified and scared, we were all forced to evacuate by the police forces and the synagogue's security team. There was real danger to life. For us, this was the straw that broke the camel's back," they said.
The couple was shocked by the incident. "We have always been proud of our Jewish identity, but since the outbreak of the war we have received threats," the couple says.
They decided, suddenly, to leave the spectacular landscapes of Australia and, despite their advanced age, immigrate to Israel. The couple will join their daughter, who also immigrated to Israel three years ago, and will live in Rosh Ha'ayin.
Minister of Immigration and Absorption Ofir Sofer, a lawmaker from the Religious Zionism party, acknowledged that "there has been increased immigration during the war. We see a lot of interest from students and young couples from Western countries, who previously did not have much interest in aliyah."