34 | MARCH 19 • 2020

Coronavirus in Israel:
My story of being
evacuated in 8 hours.
B

ack in the good old
days of early March,
when Israel only had
15 confirmed cases of the
coronavirus, Israelis were
much more cautious about
the outbreak than anyone
else. Ben-
Gurion Airport
was already
empty, the train
to Haifa even
emptier, and
even the brave
who headed
outside made
sure to cover their faces.
I, however, was adventur-
ous enough to visit an old
friend living in Kibbutz Erez,
located near the Gaza border
and 100 miles away from my
hometown. Too adventurous,
as I have come to learn the
hard way, when my one-week
trip to my home country was
cut short by the global out-
break.
That was before the World
Health Organization had
officially declared the coro-
navirus a pandemic, before
all foreigners were banned

from entering Israel unless
they self-quarantined and
way before the 100th Israeli
COVID-19 patient was diag-
nosed.
Today, the world is a com-
pletely different place.

‘
YOU MUST LEAVE’
I was spending some quality
time in Israel’
s warm south
when the push notifications
poured in. All travelers who
had landed in Israel in the
past two weeks from Austria,
France, Spain, Switzerland
and my current country of
residence, Germany, were to
go into quarantine.
My phone buzzed more.
“You must leave right away,”
a German colleague texted,
“otherwise you won’
t get out.”
Friends sent WhatsApp
messages, canceling appoint-
ments. “I guess we can’
t really
meet now,” they said.
I now belonged to the
group of people no longer
allowed to be in physical con-
tact with the outside world.
My flight back to Germany
was only four days away. But

Dana Regev
Contributing
Writer

An empty train station in Tel Aviv

DANA REGEV

Eretz

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www.hfldetroit.org 248.723.8184

Hebrew Free Loan Detroit

6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 300 Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48301

@HFLDetroit

Sarah Berkey grew up in West Bloomfield and
believes the Jewish community helped shape her
life. Now in her mid-twenties, Sarah grew up as an
active participant in Jewish educational experiences,
involved with local Jewish agencies, and enjoyed
helping others. Sarah was also a motivated student
and was accepted to the University of Michigan, but
was uncertain of her career path. Just before starting
her college experience, she was diagnosed with
Crohn’s Disease.
“As I navigated the health system, I saw the good
and the bad, I saw patients in need of support, and
I saw an opportunity to make a difference,” Sarah
said. “Little did I know that this experience would
lead to a passion, a drive and a career path.”
Sarah applied and was accepted to U of M’s
Master’s degree program in social work. She struggled
with the idea of funding graduate school on her own,
while also maintaining her high academic standards.
The repayments on federal loans intimidated her,
and she wasn’t sure what she would do.
Then, while sitting shiva for her grandmother,
Sarah was speaking to a family friend about her plans,
and the friend suggested the William Davidson
Jewish College Loan Program at Hebrew
Free Loan.
“Who knew that one conversation would have
such an impact on my life?” Sarah said. “Because
of HFL and the Jewish community, I graduated from
my MSW program with a 4.0, I completed my
internship and began my dream job as a medical
social worker. Each day, I get the opportunity to
make a difference in the lives of patients because
my community believed in me.”



STORY
My
STORY
My

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