Although Eduard and Olena German planned to make aliyah with their children for many years, what finally prompted them to leave their city, Kharkiv, was the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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"Even before we got married, we were planning to immigrate to Israel together, and even after, as a couple, we continued to plan," Olena said. "That is why we gave our children Israeli names – Ilana, who is twelve, David, who is ten, and Adel, who is six. We were ready for this emotionally and mentally, but it just turned out that we were forced to leave because of the war.
"On Feb. 24, we woke up to sounds of explosions and realized the war had begun. The next day, which was a Friday, we went to buy groceries for Shabbat and made a trip to the pharmacy in case the city was besieged. We don't have shelters [like in Israel,] and decided to spend Shabbat in the basement, without lighting candles and prayers like we are used to. We also received a message from the school not to send the children to study until the next announcement."
Eduard recalled the moment the family decided to flee to Israel, "In the beginning, the bombardment focused on the outskirts of the city. We didn't think the fighting would reach us, the center. Many people went to volunteer, and we, as a couple, also decided to do so, so that one of us would always be with the children. The day we went to the volunteers' tent, a bomb fell nearby. We felt the lives of our children were in real danger."
The family made their way to Hungary and made aliyah with the help of the Jewish Agency. The process was accompanied by mixed feelings as Eduard's brother, Yigal German, who moved to Israel at the age of 18 in 1988, was killed in a terrorist attack in 2001.
Chairman of the World Zionist Organization and Acting Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel Yaakov Hagoel said, "The meeting with the German family was emotional. We managed to rescue the whole family, and from there, help them fulfill their Zionist dream and immigrate to Israel. We will spare no efforts to help every Jew who wishes to move to Israel."
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