jews.

currently working for the Jewish Agency part time, but it might as well be an ulpan or a classroom…

it seems every kind of Jew works, visits or guards this office. you really can’t ever know what to expect –

· young macho Israeli guards hitting on you
· old-time kibbutzniks cheering you up and singing about Shabbat
· young, modern pregnant Israeli women chit-chatting in the halls
· clueless Americans fulfilling the need to fulfill ‘the dream’
· know-it-all American Israelis who think they have the best word on all sides

…then you’ll get an occasional visitor who will completely turn around the scope of your day. they’ll sit quietly, with an Aliyah form in their hands, and then begin tearfully explaining that she never had a shot at formal education, she can’t read or write because she had to work hard since she emmigrated from Germany in order to push her kids through top medical schools…

it’s your turn to sit quietly and then nod as she fills in her application at your hands while you try to keep up with her answers, each delicately woven from memories…

Date of Birth?: ____2 February 1919______

Place of Birth?: ____Poland________

Jewish?: ______________

no need for words. only the tattooed numbers on her left arm.