To Israel after all

In the early part of March 2016 we visited Alexander and Antonia Jacobson. Their only son made aliyah (emigration to Israel) years ago and he is doing splendidly. He would like his parents to come as well but they are doubtful because of their fairly advanced age, bureaucracy and other obstacles.

They had a severe traffic accident with their old car and Alexander was in a bad way. There is no such thing as health insurance here, so hospitalization and operations are at one’s own expense. That was given priority over the bills for heating and electricity for months and the family survived on food parcels. Ultimately on the advice of their son they started the aliyah process anyway.

We from Christians for Israel were asked to pay the overdue accounts (debtors are not allowed to leave the country for good) and by means of a small campaign on my Facebook page shortly after that all overdue accounts could be paid. The couple’s gratitude was beyond description. Everyone was hoping that Alexander and Antonia were able to make aliyah before Pesach (Jewish Passover), but personally I was pessimistic about it.

Alexander and Antonia Jacobsen with Koen Carlier from Christians for Israel Ukraine

Departure on Babi Yar commemoration day
We heard nothing for quite some time. Early September 2016, we received word that they had obtained all official documents. We took them to the Israeli Embassy in Kiev for consultation. Everything was in perfect order and their final departure was planned for Wednesday evening September 28, 2016, together with another large group of olim (people making aliyah).

Owing to certain circumstances their flight left sixteen hours overdue. The airplane finally left on Thursday afternoon September 29, 2016 exactly when the official commemoration took place at the enormous ravine of Babi Yar in Kiev, where on September 29, 1941, on Yom Kippur the massacre began that killed more than one hundred thousand Jews who were shot dead and children and infants were buried alive! September 29, 2016 is indelibly printed in our memories!

Watch some extra photos below.

Koen Carlier - Aliyah Fieldworker Christians for Israel

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The Jacobsons leaving their home in Ukraine

On their way to the airport in Kiev

At the airport in Kiev

Waiting for boarding and leaving Ukraine for good, finally on their way to Eretz Yisrael!

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