Israel: On And Off The Tour
and now even a new fam-
- ily "member"— there was
something good going on
at 101 Rechov Hashalom.
The phone rang. This
time it was for Daniel.
He spoke to a friend in
fluent Hebrew, then
returned to see the new
kitten. Sarah Forst was
concerned that the solar-
powered hot water
heater, located on the
roof of the town house
was not operating effi-
ciently. Chaim attended
to it. With a meal made,
the family sat down and
the conversation contin-
ued.
"It's not a case
of not wanting to
be in the U.S.
Instead, it's a
case of wanting
to be here."
Chaim and Sarah Forst
had a life planned in
Israel even after 16 years
together in Detroit. They
had spent two years on a
kibbutz, and they knew
that Israel was where
they would one day live.
"It was a feeling of
don't tell me that I can't
do this," said Sarah.
"Other people do it, and I
know I can as well."
Mrs. Forst was refer-
ring to the physical,
practical and emotional
prices her family paid to
uproot itself from com-
fortable Southfield to
move into the fast-paced,
sometimes stressful
attempt at making it in
Israel.
"You can get settled
with a career, and you
The Forst family outside of their home.
can take your eyes off of
your goal," said Chaim
Forst. "The years slip by,
and we just felt that if
they kept slipping by,
we'd never get there. So,.
in my mind I knew that I
had to start working
toward the goal."
Mr. Forst, who already
spoke and wrote Hebrew
fluently, started sub-
scribing to Israeli news-
papers in which he
scanned classified ads for
positions in high-tech or
computer management.
He circulated some 200
resumes and with the
help of an Israel-based
relocation service, booked
days and days of job
interviews. The pace of
his interview schedule
happened so quickly that
he found himself with
several job offers.'
Speaking Hebrew, he
said, helped immeasur-
ably through the process.
He accepted a position
with News Data Com, a
firm that sends him on
business all over the
world. The family moved
in July of 1992. Mrs.
Forst found a position as
a technical writer in
Jerusalem. She also
speaks and writes fluent-
ly in Hebrew.
It's been less than a
year since the move, and
yes, they say they miss
their relatives and
friends back home. But
the couple also knows
that they came to Israel
for more than just jobs.
"I've come to a conclu-
sion," said Chaim, "that
the fate of the Jewish
people is here in Israel
and nowhere else. As a
Jew, you can't get emo-
tional about living in
Detroit."
"It's like, how are peo-
ple not seeing that?"
added Sarah. "It's not a
case of not wanting to be
in the U.S. Instead, it's a
case of wanting to be
here."
The Forsts agree that
many Jews seem scared
off by the details they
would have to go through
to move to Israel: the
thoughts of government
bureaucracy running
their lives or even the
concern of military ser-
vice for them or their
children. The Forsts
don't know yet if Chaim
will have to serve. He is
serving as a member of a
police auxiliary unit on a
volunteer basis.
"I don't know what rea-
sons would keep someone
from coming here," said
Sarah. "You can do it.
You don't need an enor-
mous sum of money. It's
worth doing for you and
your kids. This is where
we as Jews should be.
This is it."
Any regrets? Chaim
has one. He admits he
should have never sold
his ice hockey equipment
before coming to Israel.
He found a rink and a
game as soon as he got si
here. CI