"Don't tell anyone that you're Jewish" – Evgenia Pisman's grandmother repeated again and again
Having gone through the Holocaust and Jewish persecution in Eastern Europe, Evgenia’s grandmother didn’t want Evgenia to suffer a similar fate, and so decided to conceal her religion.
“I remember my grandmother praying”, Evgenia recalls. “She never told me anything about it. Her lips were moving, her look was directed inwards. Once I asked her – ‘in which God do you believe, grandma?’ In the Jewish God – she answered quietly.”
ABOUT THE AGENCY
For more than 65 years, The Jewish Agency has kept an unwavering promise to the Jewish People: to bring any Jew, from anywhere in the world, to safety in Israel. Since 1929, The Jewish Agency has facilitated the immigration to Israel of more than three million Jews, including hundreds of thousands of Jews who were rescued from war zones, countries without diplomatic ties to Israel, and from other places where Jewish lives were in peril. The Agency continues to bring all Jews who seek a better, more secure future to Israel.
Evgenia was born in the Kamchatka Peninsula, on the far eastern side of Russia (west of Alaska). When she was sixteen, despite her grandmother’s effort to hide her Jewish faith, Evgenia, like all other Jews in Russia, received her passport with the infamous “fifth line” – stamped after her name, date and place of birth, was one word: Jewish.
As she grew older, Evgenia went on to travel extensively, working in dozens of countries around the world. A few years ago, however, Evgenia’s life changed when she became a mother to beautiful baby girl Nina. It was at that moment when her thoughts and dreams turned to Israel.
“I travelled through 40 countries in my life”, Evgenia says, “but when I faced the choice of where I want to live, the only option for me was Israel, because I’m Jewish and for us it’s the only place we can call home. When you live alone, you’re not very strategic about your future, but when you’re responsible for someone else, you’re trying to take the right step. I want Nina to grow with a feeling of belonging to Israel.”
Moving to a different country is difficult to begin with, let alone for a single mother with a small child. Through the help of the Jewish Agency’s First Home in the Homeland, Evgenia and Nina received a warm and supportive welcome in Israel. They arrived to the agricultural community (kibbutz) of Mashabey Sade. There, Nina went to her first kindergarten, while her mother began her Hebrew studies. The two thoroughly enjoyed their first few months in the program, and so continued their stay for another semester, allowing them time to continue planning their hopeful future in their new home in Israel.
For more than 65 years, The Jewish Agency has kept an unwavering promise to the Jewish People: to bring any Jew, from anywhere in the world, to safety in Israel.
Since Israel’s establishment in 1948, The Jewish Agency has served as the primary organization facilitating Jewish immigration from countries with which the State of Israel does not maintain diplomatic relations, including various countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe, and elsewhere.
Through the Jewish immigration program (Aliyah), the Jewish Agency has brought more than 3,000,000 Jews to Israel, including hundreds of thousands of Jews who were rescued from places where Jewish lives were in peril. In 2016, the Agency rescued 406 people from such dangerous places, and helped them find a safe home in the Jewish homeland. This is in addition to the Jewish Agency’s broader immigration program, which brought 28,170 Jews to Israel in the last year alone.
Our efforts to save Jewish lives would not be possible without the vital support of friends from around the world. By supporting the Jewish Agency’s programs, you’re helping us keep our promise to the Jewish People, and bring more Jews to the Promised Land.
Top: Evgenia Pisman and her daughter. Photo: Noam Sharon
Jewish Agency for Israel North American Council is a tax-exempt public charity in the United States under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by U.S. law.
The Jewish Agency for Israel North American Council – Aliyah
Evgenia was born in the Kamchatka Peninsula, on the far eastern side of Russia (west of Alaska). When she was sixteen, despite her grandmother’s effort to hide her Jewish faith, Evgenia, like all other Jews in Russia, received her passport with the infamous “fifth line” – stamped after her name, date and place of birth, was one word: Jewish.
As she grew older, Evgenia went on to travel extensively, working in dozens of countries around the world. A few years ago, however, Evgenia’s life changed when she became a mother to beautiful baby girl Nina. It was at that moment when her thoughts and dreams turned to Israel.
“I travelled through 40 countries in my life”, Evgenia says, “but when I faced the choice of where I want to live, the only option for me was Israel, because I’m Jewish and for us it’s the only place we can call home. When you live alone, you’re not very strategic about your future, but when you’re responsible for someone else, you’re trying to take the right step. I want Nina to grow with a feeling of belonging to Israel.”
Moving to a different country is difficult to begin with, let alone for a single mother with a small child. Through the help of the Jewish Agency’s First Home in the Homeland, Evgenia and Nina received a warm and supportive welcome in Israel. They arrived to the agricultural community (kibbutz) of Mashabey Sade. There, Nina went to her first kindergarten, while her mother began her Hebrew studies. The two thoroughly enjoyed their first few months in the program, and so continued their stay for another semester, allowing them time to continue planning their hopeful future in their new home in Israel.
For more than 65 years, The Jewish Agency has kept an unwavering promise to the Jewish People: to bring any Jew, from anywhere in the world, to safety in Israel.
Since Israel’s establishment in 1948, The Jewish Agency has served as the primary organization facilitating Jewish immigration from countries with which the State of Israel does not maintain diplomatic relations, including various countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe, and elsewhere.
Through the Jewish immigration program (Aliyah), the Jewish Agency has brought more than 3,000,000 Jews to Israel, including hundreds of thousands of Jews who were rescued from places where Jewish lives were in peril. In 2016, the Agency rescued 406 people from such dangerous places, and helped them find a safe home in the Jewish homeland. This is in addition to the Jewish Agency’s broader immigration program, which brought 28,170 Jews to Israel in the last year alone.
Our efforts to save Jewish lives would not be possible without the vital support of friends from around the world. By supporting the Jewish Agency’s programs, you’re helping us keep our promise to the Jewish People, and bring more Jews to the Promised Land.
Top: Evgenia Pisman and her daughter. Photo: Noam Sharon
Jewish Agency for Israel North American Council is a tax-exempt public charity in the United States under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by U.S. law.
The Jewish Agency for Israel North American Council – Aliyah
ABOUT THE AGENCY
For more than 65 years, The Jewish Agency has kept an unwavering promise to the Jewish People: to bring any Jew, from anywhere in the world, to safety in Israel. Since 1929, The Jewish Agency has facilitated the immigration to Israel of more than three million Jews, including hundreds of thousands of Jews who were rescued from war zones, countries without diplomatic ties to Israel, and from other places where Jewish lives were in peril. The Agency continues to bring all Jews who seek a better, more secure future to Israel.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure
Psalm 122:6