Because It's Israel: An Aliyah Odyssey

by Arthur Miller

Overview

When young law student Arthur Miller books a trip to Israel for himself and his new wife Ronnie in the aftermath of the Six Day War, he unknowingly begins an odyssey that will last almost four decades. After thirty-five years of annual visits, he finally fulfills his dream of making aliyah. Join Arthur and Ronnie on their delightful and inspirational journey to figuring out life as Israeli citizens.

Arthur's keen observations and hysterical sense of humor, combined with his easy-going American attitude, are a recipe for a unique aliyah experience. His passionate love for the country and its people provides the backdrop against which we see the good in Israel through Arthur's eyes. From bureaucratic offices and clerks at banks and post offices to hospitals and medical emergencies and travels via cars and trains, the many facets of daily living shine through Arthur and Ronnie's story.

Whether you've already made aliyah and can heartily identify with Arthur and Ronnie or you are in love with Israel and want to read about it from afar, perhaps in anticipation of making aliyah someday, this fascinating chronicle will have you laughing, crying, commiserating, and getting in touch with the infatuation that we all share for our beloved Land.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789657041017
Publisher:	Jewishselfpublishing
Publication date:	05/14/2019
Pages:	246
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.52(d)

About the Author

Arthur Miller grew up in New York's Lower East Side, where he attended Rabbi Jacob Joseph School from first grade through high school. He graduated from City College of New York and Brooklyn Law School, and he has a master's in law from New York University. After marrying Ronnie Hershcopf in 1967, the new Miller family lived on the Lower East Side until 1971, when they moved to Brooklyn, New York. While living in Brooklyn, Arthur donated his time representing members of the Jewish Defense League in their struggle for Soviet Jewry. He also was an adjunct assistant professor of taxation at Pace University in New York. Arthur was subsequently transferred to Worcester, Massachusetts, to become a partner in an international accounting firm where he was employed since 1973. From 1991 until his aliyah in 2004, Arthur was a tax partner with Fletcher Tilton, a nearly two-hundred-year-old-law firm in Worcester. After his aliyah, Arthur became (and remains) of counsel to Fletcher Tilton. During their years in Worcester, Ronnie Miller was a Judaic studies teacher at the Chabad yeshivah and at the Worcester Solomon Schechter. While living in Worcester, Arthur was active in the Jewish community, serving in several leadership positions for the Worcester Jewish Federation. He was a regular contributor to the op-ed pages of the Worcester Telegram and Boston's Jewish Advocate, writing columns defending Israel. For many years, he was co-host of a local radio program where, in addition to playing Jewish and Israeli music, he used his microphone to publicly advocate for and on behalf of Israel. After making aliyah in 2004, realizing their lifelong dream of residing in Israel permanently, Arthur and Ronnie have been living in Beit Shemesh, in what Arthur describes as the happiest years of our lives. Since their move, Arthur has continued his advocacy on behalf of Israel; he is a regular contributor to the Letters to the Editor of The Jerusalem Post, where he averages two or more letters per month. He is also currently the film director for the Beit Shemesh 55-Plus Anglo Group, where he presents Israel-related films, including many films for which he is the editor. The Millers have four children, only one of whom lives in Beit Shemesh near them: their daughter Ilana, with her husband, Gidon Schurder, and their five children. Their son, David Miller, CFO for Champions Oncology, lives in Teaneck, New Jersey, with his wife, Jennifer. The Millers' daughter Yael Stieglitz, an occupational therapist, lives in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Jonathan. Aliza Deutsch, another Miller daughter, is a Judaic studies teacher; she lives with her husband, David, in Arthur's old apartment on the Lower East Side. Of course, it is the Millers' greatest prayer that all their family, including their fifteen grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, will merit to settle in Israel very soon!

Table of Contents

Preface v

1 Coming Home 1

2 When Jews Get Together… 4

3 The Roots of My Love for Israel 8

4 How We Met 12

5 The Beginning of a Love Affair 14

6 The Decision to Go Home 18

7 The Best-Laid Plans 20

8 Because It’s America 25

9 My Turn 27

10 Home at Last 33

11 Sukkot as Israelis 36

12 First Street, Second Street

  …Fourth Street? 38

13 Inside the Ministry of the Interior 41

14 Banking Made Easy 50

15 Automobile and Licensing Woes 58

16 It Pays to Be a Senior 75

17 Israel Railways 78

18 Kvish 6 82

19 The Hospital and the “A” Word 90

20 Postal Clerks 103

21 Back to the Movies 123

22 “Baruch Hashem” 127

23 A Trip to the Mall 130

24 El Al: The Airline of Israel 134

25 A Trip to City Hall 146

26 Sirens, Rain, and More 150

27 Retiring in Israel 157

28 You Can’t Make Aliyah;

  You Would Miss Football 165

29 Memorial Day 168

30 Watch Your Spelling 174

31 Keeping Kosher 177

32 Who Said There’s No Such Thing

  as a Free Lunch? 183

33 Chessed You Would Not Believe 185

34 Just How Small Is Israel? 191

35 “I Am Not Cheese!” 194

36 The Lone Soldier 203

37 Do You Believe in Miracles? 207

38 The Promised Land 213

39 The Diaspora 218

40 Defender of the Faith 221

Epilogue 230

Postscript to Chapter 37,

“Do You Believe in Miracles?” 234

About the Author 237