Page 26 - Issue 21

“The States is going a bit haywire right now,” he
said. “If you look at history, things are good for Jews
in a country until they aren't, and there's not much
warning between the are and the aren't.”

He ended his lease in preparation for making
aliyah, and has been staying with family.

“It makes for an awkward situation when discussing
that I might have to stay longer,” he said. “My
mother's cat hisses at me.”

“I don't want to downplay taking measures to curb
the virus, because it is a serious thing. But there are
ways we can deal with preventing the spread. We
are getting tested, we are going into quarantine,”
said Tamura.

Still, she added, “it feels very strange to have such a
specific milestone in my life not have a concretized
date and to just be in limbo.”

“It's okay for me to feel sad and also recognize that
out of many soon-to-be olim, I am relatively
privileged. It's hard to not think about other olim
who are coming from places where it's really not
simple to wait, and the limbo period can actually be
really dangerous,” she said.

“I fear for her life”

Meanwhile, for Jews waiting to make aliyah from
Ethiopia, delays imposed by the Israeli government
are unfortunately nothing new. Although