Iosif Samoil Tucarman with relatives in Israel

Iosif Samoil Tucarman with relatives in Israel

This photo shows my father before the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem during a trip to Israel in 1969. First from left is my sister, Betty Laib (nee Tucarman), next to her is her husband, Sammy Laib. First from right is my brother-in-law Lica Klinger. Next to him are his wife, Fany Klinger (nee Tucarman) and my father's sister Mali Crowen (nee Tucarman).

My youngest sister applied for emigration in 1958 and left in 1960. Because she was a housewife she had no problems to face. On the other hand, some friends of ours that had applied in 1958 were demoted and their salary got as low as a janitor’s. On 30th December 1970 we saw them to the airport. Twelve years after they had applied for emigration! It was very hard. You couldn’t take more than 70 kilos of luggage and part of the furniture could be taken away. My brother-in-law, who had left Iasi, had a two-room apartment with a kitchen and a bathroom that cost him about 80,000 lei. He gave it to the state and received 46,000 lei. I remember it as if it were yesterday, the day I went with them to the CEC Savings and Loan Bank.

I thought about emigrating but I thought the consequences through. I am very sensitive to heat and I realized we could not get accustomed to the climate there. Secondly, the language is quite difficult. Thirdly, since I was born and grew up here, the age when I could have left, was, let’s say 55 in my case. This is not an age to start a new life. Fatherland is not just the country where you were born. Fatherland is the language as well and I do care very much for both of them. So I have gone on visits six times so far. The first time I was allowed to leave was in 1977.

Israel is a jewel and I’m not saying it because I’m a Jew. The agronomist in me was deeply impressed because I saw a lot of green in a country that was built in the desert. You couldn’t find a house without a garden, without flowers or trees. You look and wonder. Everyone has a drip irrigation system because water is very expensive there. I analyzed more this beautiful part that I saw in 1977 and 1980. I visited a city called Arad. You can see the Dead Sea from there. An astonishing view. There were 15,000 people living there, mostly intellectuals. A city built from scratch, on the sand. Today it has about 30-40,000 inhabitants. I saw Karmiel when it had only a few thousand people and years later when it had several tens of thousands. So, it’s possible! 

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