By Irina and Ilya Magid

LIZA'S STORY

Introduction
1. Studiers and Job
2. Love
3. Time of Emigration
4. Life of Israel

Editors: Steven Siegel and Dan Smollens

LIZA'S STORY

Introduction

I, Irina Magid, was the witness of all of Liza's life and fate. She grew up in a professor's family. Her father was chief chairman in the Leningrad Textile Institute. He was a specialist of high-powered generators. He received a government apartment in a complex of buildings, built especially for specialist under the directive of Kirov. (Kirov was a Leningrad communist leader. He later was killed.) Liza's family consisted of 4 people: the father, mother, older sister and herself. Her family occupied a 3-bedroom apartment with two balconies. (My family also lived in that building in a two-bedroom apartment. They gave my father our apartment, as a specialist in field of 'Television'.)

In the year of big terror (1937) the KGB forced Liza's father to speak ill will about one other person. He had much trouble the rest of his life after that incident. His wife was always ill, but she lived out her husband.

Liza's older sister had a few boyfriends and at last married a Jew, a specialist in the field of nuclear physics and moved from the parent's home to Moscow. She finished the pedagogical institute and was a teacher of chemistry in school. She had one son. Her husband soon died. (Maybe from radiation connected with his Job.)

1. Studies and Job

Liza was a nice girl with big, beautiful eyes. We were with her in the same kindergarten and school. She was a good student and graduated from High School with a Gold medal. She was accepted into the Institute without any examination.

After a successful graduation from the institute Lisa was assigned to work at the secret plant that developed radio equipment for submarines. In the laboratory there was an anti-Semitic situation. She received no interesting Job in the laboratory. She secretly prepared her dissertation. The leader of the laboratory did not have PhD. (In the Soviet time the rank of PhD earned a high income.)

The leader stopped her dissertation. He did not increase her income at any time. He persecuted her. In the 70s she began to think about emigration. She had a high level of secrecy. That was not good for getting permition to emigrate. She went to the first division (KGB division) of the plant and said that she had a relative abroad. She was removed from the laboratory to the technician division. Her new boss was a rude and anti-Semitic woman, who did not have any education. She hated, mocked and humiliated Liza. (In the Soviet time it was hard dismiss workers from a plant.) Liza tried to find another job, but couldn't do it, like many other Jews. During working hour she would go to the restroom and studied English.

She worked on this job until she became a pensioner. These very bad circumstances had a negative influence on Lisa and badly affected her personality. Her posture became bent and she held her head down

2. Love

In her third year of the Institute, Lisa fell in love with Sasha, a student in her course. She felt a strong passion for him. But Sasha didn't pay attention to her. Once, Liza, who was a virgin, decided to invite Sasha to her apartment. She was ready for a very intimate relationship. However, that expected relationship didn't happen. Sasha went away and even didn't kiss Lisa. It was a big stress for Lisa. At that time many of Liza's friends were going to be married. Liza was very hurt that her life was not successful.

When Liza was about 28, her father introduced her to his former student Vlad. Vlad was divorced from his wife and had a son, 8 years old. Liza and Vlad married, but their marriage wasn't happy. They didn't love each other. Liza told me that she had never had normal sex with Vlad. He raped her in an unpleasant way.

After visits with his son, Vlad came home at night. Liza found out that Vlad did not visit only his son, but also he had a love meeting with his ex-wife. Perhaps, he continued to love her. (Their divorce happened because his es-wife betrayed him.)

Liza insisted on a divorce. After Liza's divorce from Vlad, her father died. Her mother asked Liza to be with her, an old sick woman, and not to try to be married.

Someone introduced Liza, at age 37, to Boris, a nice man who was 39. He worked in another plant, as a worker, producing the patterns for machinery. He had never been married. They decided to marry. But unfortunately, love didn't arise between them. As it was before, Liza again didn't learn to feel the joy of sex. I think my friend's suffering and lack of love was and is the reason why she never speaks about love and sex.

3. Time of Emigration

Because of anti-Semitism Lisa and Boris decided to emigrate to Israel were Boris had some relatives. At that time Liza's mother hanged herself in their apartment. After her death, the Communist Party Boss told Liza that she had to exchange her 3-bedroom apartment for his 1-bedroom apartment. If she didn't agree, 2 more families would occupy her apartment accept your family. Liza did not have an alternative, and moved from the big to the small apartment without any compensation. There she lived maybe 15 years.

In her new apartment, we very often met the family of her cousins (father, mother and two small sons). They tried to emigrate earlier than we. That father was a good worker, a member of the party and had a medal for his job. As soon as he attempted to emigrate, he was dismissed from his job. Then he enrolled in another plant in a simple job. (It was necessary to have a job before you gave documents to the emigration office.) He had to complete the procedure for 'exiting from the party'. District Committee of CPSU called him for an interview. There was a committee, which interviewed him. There was a dangerous atmosphere created by his desire to emigrate. One member of the committee proclaimed, "You could have a trip not to the west but you could travel now in the other direction. (He perceived that mean there he could be exiled to Kolima. All the Soviet people knew Kolima. That is concentration camps in Northern Siberia. In the winter there is a temperature of 50c. Prisoners worked there in mines and did logging.)

He and his family successfully emigrated to the U.S. and right now they live in Chicago.

In the 80's you could buy a bible (Christian) illegally in the Haymarket for a high price (two months income of an engineer), but buying a Tanach or Torah was impossible. Liza exchanged her complete set of works of Dostoevski for a Christian bible (1000 pages). When she read it, she gave that bible to my husband to read.

We (my husbend and I) studied Hebrew because we thought about emigrating to Israel. When I walked with Liza in the park, Liza asked me to teach her Hebrew. After some time I gave Liza advice, "Go study Hebrew in a class, because you want to emigrate to Israel."

Liza made other preparations for her emigration.

Liza with her husband and her nephew (from Moscow) emigrated in 1990 from Leningrad. (My husband and I also saw them off.) There was one incident. The nephew wanted to take with him his radio equipment. He gave the security guard a bribe, so he would be able to take that equipment. When there began the procedure of going across the border, that person disappeared, and another guard did not permit that equipment to go with him.

When we emigrated in 1991, it was necessary to go to Moscow to a special American hospital for a checkup and on the next day very early to go to the USA ambassador for permission to emigrate. In Moscow in the evening we called Lisa's older sister and asked her, "Maybe you will permit us to sleep in your apartment one night". She answered us that it was impossible and gave us advice to go to a special hotel where a Ph.D. would be accepted. (I was a Ph.D.) I knew the situation in Moscow and understood that it would be impossible to find a place in a Hotel. We could sit in the railway station all night, but then another friend invited us to stay for the night.

4. Life in Israel

When Liza and Jacob arrived Israel, they were settled in a hotel. That was very expensive. (They received not much money.) They later rented an apartment in the private sector, but that was also expensive. Liza went to the Sochnut (office helping repatriates). She knew some Hebrew that helped her to receive a government apartment. (It was cheap rent). There were three rooms. An old woman lived in one room. Liza was given two other rooms. That woman needed care. Liza learned that she had four sons. They lived in different countries, but not in Israel. Liza sent letters to them. Finally a son from Italy took his mother with him to Italy. Her room was now available and was given to Liza.

We, my husband and I, had a 12-day trip to Israel in 1997. We agreed to meet with Liza and her husband in our hotel. We met and took photos. They invited us to their apartment. It was necessary to take a bus (a long distance). They promised that when we will return to the hotel they would go with us only to the bus stop. We were afraid and refused. We had had one experience in Jerusalem. We went out from the hotel only 100meters and lost our bearings. Nobody could show us to our hotel. We remembered we had a key from our hotel with our room number and name of the hotel and showed it. After that a young girl took us to the hotel.

Maybe Liza had a problem to take a bus 4 times from the hotel to her home. We had a meeting with another of our friend and his family. He had a car and drove us to his home. We had a party there and he drove us back to our hotel

I will give some quotations from her letter from Israel. Liza takes her letter writing very seriously. She makes an outline first and then prepares the text of the letter.

Letter 9/03/96
"Jacob and I had a trip in Europe (Paris and London). The impressions were interesting and very varied. Maybe you have an interest to know how many our 10 days trip cost. It was just $3,500."

Letter 12/14/97
You remember that I did not love Russians in Russia, but here I became a 'Russian-hater'. I was angered with each Russian face I met. There are enough in America also.

I can tell you there are also enough Russians in Paris. In the cabaret 'Moulin Rouge' half the showgirls are Russian women. They are ready at the first invitation to go away with a wealthy person from the audience. Their sexual capacity generated more than an annoyance. Such Russian women interfered with our Jewish families in Israel."

In Israel the relationship of the Russian immigrants with the native Israeli is strained. 'Russian mafia' and the 'Russian prostitute' are the image of Russian immigrants which is well known. How do they compare to Russian immigrants in America?

About Judaism, we could discuss that. That is simple. It is necessary to keep Jewish life however strange it seems. From my viewpoint that introduces order in a life, with a sense of meaning and harmony.

G-d is or isn't? The answer to that question determined the unusual fate of Jews. It is not the same as the fate of other nations; it can't be explained by logic but only by a mystical position. It is clear that G-d has a special connection to Jews.

Letter 05/12/97
"Yesterday in the America embassy, we again received a refusal of permission to visit America. The point of view of the American official was if we want, we could stay in America as a permanent resident: we did not have relatives in Israel; we did not have property and our apartment is the governments.

This year, we can't see you. Meanwhile we don't want to leave Israel. Jews have to live there, not in Canada, not in Germany and even not in America. We are lucky, because we earn money and have our apartment, which we renovated."

"We affiliated with the Knesset (synagogue) which we visit on Shabbat and have good acquaintances. Our rabbi from America is living in Israel. He is a good man, but he has a political belief on the left side. What do you think about our B. Netanyahu? Each Shabbat we drunk for Netanyahu, we hope he have wisdom, stamina and will power, etc. to participate in the running of the country. He proclaimed before the election that he would stop the peace process. That process has only foolishness."

Letter 5/18/98
"Igor married in Israel and right now moved to Canada. His wife gave birth to a son. They did not have a grandmother there to help them raise the son. My sister did not want to change her life. She did not want to move to Canada, just as she did not want to move to Israel."

Letter 10/12/98
"In that year we had vacation in Naharia, an Israeli health-resort in the northern part of the Mediterranean sea. The town was established originally with people from German 'alia'. That is why it is clean and a very green town. They say that soldiers and officers of the UN take their vacation there also. Many Russians were also there. When I addressed them in Hebrew they answered me in native (Russian) language."

Letter 9/13/00
"In that summer in Israel there was very intense heat. I thought that I would go crazy. We decided to buy an air conditioner. When we installed it , the heat decreased. We were sorry that we did not buy it earlier. In Israel one must not be without an air conditioner."

Letter 06/10/01
"I want to philosophize. How did G-d allow 6 million Jews to perish? Or why do scoundrels succeed but good people suffer and etc.?

The answers were different. Some people connected the birth of the state of Israel with the tragedy of the Holocaust. Other people think, that was G-d's plan. This will not become clear until the Mashiach comes.

I have my own opinion, not surprisingly. G-d has a special request from Jews. G-d and Jews have the Sinai agreement: one side follows it, and the other side doesn't!

In the generation before the catastrophe, throngs of German Jews became Christian. Do you think that you can be unpunished?

You can tell that innocent children were punished then (and also now children are punished). Jews are all in one boat. One Jew must answer for all other Jews.

What kinds of Jews come here to Israel? Assimilated Jews with Russian wives, anti-Semites, harassing themselves, who criticize their own tradition and religious Jews who kept tradition (they call themselves 'pay's men'). Do you think they have an interest in Jewish values, cabbala, Judaism? No way!

They opened pig's shops (non kosher). It was important only to earn money. They did not pay respect to the country, which gave them refuge. One is not amazed at what happens in Israel.

Let G-d appear before us with forgiveness and patience and we hope the result will not be bad."

Letter 03/18/01
"We celebrate our freedom with you during the coming Passover holiday. We hope you will be free from all oppression not only from 'golut' Soviet slavery, but also from the conflicts of being Jewish in a foreign land, from illnesses and unpleasant feeling."