This is my brother Shymon's wife Pnina Sofar. This photo was taken in Jerusalem in the 1950s. This photo was sent to me by Shymon.
When Shymy's dream came true and the Jewish state was established, Shymy took part in the war for independence in 1948, when the armies of five Arab states attacked Israel. Shymy got married before Israel was established. His wife, Pnina, arrived in Palestine from Poland with her parents at the age of eight. She got a medical education and worked as a cosmetologist. Later, she quit her job and became a housewife. They have no children. Shymy became a professional military. He participated in the Six-Day-War in 1967, and in the War on Judgment Day in 1973. He took part in four wars. They live in Rishon Le Ziyon.
In 1990 I visited Shymy in Israel. It's impossible to describe how we met, 52 years after we parted. I can't find words for it. I can only say that we sat in a restaurant in Rishon Le Ziyon, when they played the tango. Shymy turned to me and said, 'You will dance, you remember, Poli.' All I could dance was the tango, which he had taught me when I was just a girl. And we danced. Shymy showed me around Jerusalem and Israel. I admire this country. It's a pity that the current immigrants hardly resemble the halutzim, with whom my brother arrived in Palestine. In 1995 Shymy visited Kishinev. I was happy, but there was also sadness in my brother's meeting with the town of his youth. We couldn't even go to the graves of our parents; there are no graves. Shymy calls me every week. He is 86 and he doesn't look like himself. He and Pnina are very thin, they don't eat, damn it.
