My Grandfather Moshe – Nice Video My Dad Made

A family oriented post today, but everyone is welcome to share. Since I am posting this on a public blog, I guess a few introductory words are required.

I am third generation in Israel. My mother’s grandparents are from Tunisia, and my father’s grandparents are from Poland. Their stories vary, at many points, but for all four of them, coming to Israel was a deeply emotional and idealogical thing. For them all it was “returning” home after two thousands years. Their stories are amazing, involving starvation, antisemitic physical attacks, wars, illegal (and legal) immigration a la Exodus, more wars, prisoner camps, refugee camps and yes, more wars. I confess, my grandparents’ history and their resolve to come here is the source of my own private version of Zionism.

Anyway, back to own private Grandpa. He’s just turned 97, and is still in relatively good health, physically and mentally. My father just made him this nice clip, bringing together pictures from the earliest ones we have, until today. This is an entirely private journey of one man, one family. The titles are in Hebrew, but they are mostly the names of people in the pictures and places where the picture was taken.

The pictures start with my grandfather’s family in early 20th century Poland, on mandatory Palestina (to which he came with a legal certificate and worked with the British and Australian armies deployed here), and to little young Tel Aviv and the center of Israel, where my Grandpa ran his own little shop of electric supplies and raised a family – one daughter and one son – my father. Towards the end of the movie, you get to see pictures of all of us, six grandchildren (and spouses) and so far nine great grandchildren (and one on the way!)

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