j. asked, and these people responded.
Prelude to a marriage
June 7, 1998 was a very cold and foggy Sunday in San Francisco. I had signed up to volunteer at the 50th Yom HaAtzmaut Celebration in Golden Gate Park. My shift was to begin at 8 a.m., which for me at that time was very early, but that’s when they needed people. I checked in and was told to go over to help direct vendor traffic for drop-off and parking.
There was another volunteer already standing out there who would show me what to do. I found Moshe already directing people where to go. We started talking and jumping up and down trying to stay warm. Our shift was over at 10 a.m., but the celebration didn’t start until 11. We decided to go get some coffee to warm up.
We walked to Starbucks, had a cup of coffee, went back to the celebration and he followed me around all day in the rain! Now, nine years later, we just celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary and are proud parents of two wonderful children. That was the most memorable Yom HaAtzmaut either of us can remember!
Linda Oberstein | Foster City
Proud, and worried
We have a map of Israel up on a cupboard in our kitchen, and on Yom Ha’atzmaut I feel proud, and a little worried for Israel’s future.
I am just a few years younger than Israel, and to tell the truth, when I was a young leftist, I was rather anti-Zionist. Then, however, I grew older and I like to think smarter, and converted to Judaism.
Three of my four children also converted. That was 11 years ago.
Now my oldest son, Benjamin, has made aliyah and will be starting his IDF service this year. He enjoyed Yom Ha’atzmaut in Haifa. Since Ben is an Israeli, I think about Israel all the time, and wish it peace and prosperity.
I work administering a synagogue (Congregation Sha’ar Zahav), so I realize how integral Israel is to Judaism, and I am very thankful for the centrality of both Judaism and Israel to my life and my family’s life.
I have visited Israel once, a couple years ago, with a Jewish professionals exchange. I can’t wait to go again, hopefully bringing the family to visit Ben.
Regina Wurst | San Francisco
Deepening the connection
The annual commemoration of Yom HaAtzmaut here in the diaspora allows us to deepen our connection to the Zionist enterprise. Despite all the dire headlines, Israeli society, culture and economy are flourishing. The shekel is so strong that there is concern about reduced competitiveness. The Winograd Commission report and the resulting shakeup in political leadership is only the latest example of this vital democracy functioning as it should.
From my first visit to the country in 1971, I noticed a pronounced, natural openness to gay people. As elsewhere in the western world, the strides forward since those days have been breathtaking. Gay, lesbian and transgender Israelis are thriving and we are well integrated into all echelons of society including, notably, the military. The only exception is the religious establishment. Tel Aviv’s Pride celebration, the largest on the Mediterranean, takes place June 8 this year.
As I become a bar mitzvah at Congregation Sha’ar Zahav May 25, one of my primary thoughts will be to glorify God for the future date in June 2009 when I will finally be able to permanently join all my homies in our homeland.
Kol hakavod lach, Medinat Yisrael, bat 59!
Daniel Ezekiel Dennis Ybarra | San Francisco
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