Israel can be a challenging place to start anew, but the rewards of contributing to a secure, thriving homeland for the Jewish people make it worthwhile for so many Arizonans who choose to call Israel home. While ideology may be behind the drive to make aliyah, there must be a stronger pull to stay there long term. We’d like to introduce you to a few Arizonans who are putting down roots and doing their part to keep Israel moving forward.
David Abraham
David is the assistant director of Nativ for Yozma, the first inclusion program for a gap year in Israel. Yozma provides support for those with cognitive or social challenges so they can experience a gap year in Israel the same way their typically developing peers do. He made aliyah in 2008 after earning a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Arizona, returned to the States to complete his master’s in rehabilitation counseling in 2012, and moved back to Jerusalem in 2015. David’s parents, Marlene and Bill Abraham, live in Tucson.
Max Gan
Max is in his second year of studies at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya’s International School. He is studying communications with a minor in business. He is class president and volunteers as a Big Brother in Herzliya. Max teaches yoga at the student union and in private lessons. He made aliyah in 2010 and served as a paratrooper in the IDF. His mother, Jami Ober Gan, and father, Scott Gan, live in Tucson.
Jennifer Rubashkin
Jennifer is a midwife at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (also known as Ichilov Hospital), where she helps thousands of woman give birth each year. In 2006, after graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, she went to Israel on a 10-month volunteer program called Ozma. After the program was over, she decided to make aliyah so that she could stay a little longer. She now lives in Tel Aviv with her husband and two children. Jennifer’s parents, Charles and Pamela Matlin, live in the Valley.
Joey Poreda
Joey is a paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces. He visited Israel for the first time on Taglit-Birthright Israel in 2014 … and never left. “In that 10 days, I completely fell in love with Israel. After Birthright was over everyone loaded up on the plane to go home, and I refused. I wasn’t ready to leave,” Joey says. Vered Otmy, an artist from Tucson’s Partnership region, and her husband, Doni, “adopted” him. He made aliyah and joined the IDF as a lone soldier. Joey’s parents, Marcy and Ken Poreda, live in Tucson, along with his sister, Jamie, and brother, Danny.
Lisa Silverman
Lisa’s goal is to help build the philanthropy culture in Israel as a fundraising and management consultant for non-profits. She currently does pro-bono work for an orphan disease organization and a school that teaches Sudanese refugees computer and English skills. Lisa plans to launch a consulting firm and has already engaged with several non-profits, including Leket Israel and the Jewish Agency for Israel. Lisa made aliyah in 2014 with her husband and four children. They now live in Modi’in. Her parents, Linda and Shelby Silverman, live in Tucson.
Sinead McIntyre
Sinead lives in Tel Aviv and is studying for her master’s degree in organizational behavior and development, in Hebrew, at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. She moved to Israel in 2013 and aims to contribute to the start-up nation in the realm of consulting and marketing. Sinead also works full-time as a content manager in an advertising startup that specializes in in-image advertising, helping publishers “boost their revenues with their untapped real estate: their images,” Sinead explains. Her mother, Mila McIntyre, and stepfather, John Eastin, live in Phoenix.
Michelle Wolfe
Michelle is a physician specializing in obstetrics and gynecology at Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center in Bnei Brak and at an outpatient clinic. She lives in Giv’at Shmuel with her husband, Amir, and three children. They also have a recently-married son in the IDF and a daughter at Bar Ilan Unversity, who is getting married this month. When asked why she and her family made aliyah in 2014, Michelle replies, “For Zionism!” Growing up in Tucson, Michelle attended Tucson Hebrew Academy and University High School. Her father, Jack Pinnas, lives in Tucson.
