Number 48: In February 1985 Sheryl and I left to live in Israel – at last……!

I matriculated from Theodor Herzl School in Port Elizabeth in 1974 and was called up to the South African Navy to report for duty in July 1975. So for the first half of 1975, on my first trip outside of South Africa, I went to Israel and spent an “amazing” five months volunteering on Kibbutz Matzuba in the Western Galilee. At that point I decided that I wanted to live in Israel  – and specifically the Kibbutz Communal way of life.

After 18 months in the Navy, fours years studying Business Science: Personnel Management (Honours) and fours years working for Escom / Evkom the South African Electricity Supply Commission, we left for Israel and specifically my “dream”: Kibbutz Tuval. I had become very involved in the Jewish, Zionist, Socialist Youth Movement: Habonim from my second year at University of Cape Town and led the Movement in Cape Town in 1980. Habonim had identified Tuval as the Movement’s target Kibbutz after a group of nine Movement Leaders, myself included, returned from “Seminar Idkun” and proposed this idea. I had fortunately been awarded a bursary by Escom to study and was required to work one year for each year of study. This precluded Sheryl and I from leaving for Israel until the beginning of 1985.

It was no small challenge convincing Sheryl that Kibbutz Tuval was a good idea.  She knew I really wanted it and agreed  – knowing (an understatement!) that it was not her first choice of lifestyle. So at the earliest opportunity we packed our bags and left on Aliyah for a new life on Tuval.