By Doug Davidson

Daniel and Shani are two Israelis caught out by Covid-19 and are currently living and working in Whanganui. The RCP caught up with them to discuss their backgrounds; life as young people in Israel and their future plans and hopes. In many respects, they are representative of young Israelis today.

Daniel’s grandparents came to Israel from Morocco and Shani’s family on her mother’s side came from Uzbekistan while her father is from the Czech Republic. Both speak fluent English.

Both were raised in the Orthodox Jewish community in Be’er Sheva to the south of Israel. At Daniel’s secondary school, called ‘Yeshiva,’ he studied only ‘Jewish Studies’ for three years – “no Maths or English.” In his last year, “I had to catch up on four years of study to pass the Ministry of Education’s school diploma,” he says.

Yeshiva belongs to a sub-stream between Ultra-Orthodox and Orthodox Judaism. If you don’t know much about Orthodox Judaism, watch the series ‘Unorthodox’ on Netflix.

Daniel, as an Orthodox Jewish male, wore a ‘peot’ – long curls of hair frequently wrapped around the ears because of a Biblical injunction against shaving the sides of one’s head. “After school, you are expected to go into the army for three years, although the Orthodox can choose to continue studying Jewish Studies.”

Daniel joined the army for five years, becoming an officer. He says, “I enjoyed it very much. As a commander, you test yourself, your abilities, and your character.” Orthodox girls don’t’ go into the army, however. “They object to working alongside boys and having to wear trousers.”

Instead, they can opt to do National Service, which is not compulsory. Shani says, “It is seen as a parallel service to being in the army. You work in education, health, supporting the Community.” Shani worked for the Government for two years as a tour guide for students.

“Once you have completed your army service, many young Israelis want to travel,” says Daniel. “Most will choose Asia or South America as they are not so expensive. As I was an officer, I had saved up for us to come to New Zealand and Australia. We were attracted by the different cultures and also Shani’s brother had been here in 2017. He recommended New Zealand very much.”

They arrived on January 10, bought a car and were travelling in the South Island before Covid-19 struck. “We tried selling it but couldn’t. Fortunately, a family offered to host us for the lockdown period.” Their hosts are part of H.I.T. – Host Israeli Travellers, who will host travelling Israelis either for free or minimal cost. “It was great to be part of a family again,” Shani says.

Once level 4, then 3, was over, they moved to the North Island and are being hosted in Whangaehu by the Rev David Berberfield, who also hosts visitors through the ‘Couch Surfing’ connection. Shani describes him as “the most nicest person.”

They applied and received New Zealand work visas and soon found evening work – Shani at Stella and Daniel at The Red and they are planting kiwifruit at Mangamahu during the day. Working hard is part of their way of life. As they say, “We are taught to know what you want out of life, to be competitive, work hard and reach targets.”

Neither of them is orthodox or even religious in their approach. “But,” as Daniel explains, “We feel Jewish. We are connected to our religion and culture.” He gives the example of commemorating the destruction by the Romans of the second temple in 70CE. Religious Jews will see it as a punishment from God because the Jew were fighting between themselves. He and Shani will see it as “a need to love each other.”

They are enjoying life in Whanganui and recently explored the possibility of studying at Massey – Shani in biology and Daniel in history. But they would need to be New Zealand residents as it would cost them approximately $28,000 each as International Students – a figure they can’t afford. In Israel, University study is much cheaper for them.

You can’t discuss life in Israel without bringing up the Palestinian question. Shani says, “I would be concerned about future plans for “Samaria.” (The Israeli term for the West Bank). She lived there while doing her national service, learning the history and feeling connected to the place. She would be “very sad if she could not go there in the future.”

Daniel explained that why he wants to study history is to focus on the history of the Middle East and Islam to understand better the conflict. He says, “I have no specific opinions but I recognize that the Palestinians have had a very bad time and something has to happen.”

Source: Davidson, D (20 August 2020). Young Israelis stuck in NZ during COVID, now living and working in Whanganui. River City Press. Pages 1-2.

[NZFOI: Thanks to Elizabeth Green for sharing the article with us.]