I will begin with a quick introduction of myself – Yoav Perlman, 39, moved to Norwich from Israel in early September with my lovely wife Adva and our three beautiful children – Uri (7), Noam (5) and Libby (1). We moved here for my PhD studies at UEA. In Israel I worked for SPNI as an ornithologist.
The summer of 2014 was one of the most eventful ever for us. In Israel we lived in a small Moshav called Nir Moshe, between Sderot and Netivot, very close to Gaza. When Operation Protective Edge began on July 8th, we heard and saw it from our garden. I was called in to active military service straight away, to join my unit that was operating inside Gaza, and I disappeared for almost a month. Schools were shut down in our area as soon as the operation began. No outdoor activities were possible because of the frequency of the sirens (we had only about 15 seconds to make it to our in-house shelter). Unfortunately, we are experienced in such scenarios, and it was clear from the beginning that this operation would be long and painful, so my wife left with the kids to her parents who live near Ramla in the centre of the country; still inside the rocket zone but much quieter.
I cannot say too much about what I did during the war, I can just try to describe the incredibly strong feelings I had when at night, deep inside hell, I looked back and saw the shimmering lights of our moshav. The understanding that I was protecting my own house gave me power and belief in what we were doing.
But the true hero was my wife. Imagine her, saying goodbye to me when I left for the war, with three distressed children to take care of, and not hearing anything from me for weeks, listening to the news every hour, heart beating like crazy every time the phone rings. Her parents gave her all the support they could, but still this period was very tough for my wife too, and I admire her power and good will during that rough period.
During the summer we dealt with the visa issues prior to our move here. I suspect that because of the war, the regional visa office in Istanbul that handled our applications was reluctant to help us, and we had to delay our flights until we eventually got our visas.
Since we moved here life has changed dramatically for us. First of all, Norwich is a fine city indeed. We enjoy its beauty, relaxed atmosphere, parks and avenues. Our children enjoy the high level of education, and I am very happy at UEA with my research. The change in lifestyle has been rather dramatic, and it took us several weeks to finally acknowledge that we are here. During the first weeks the traumatic signs of the summer were still evident. Bonfire Night on November 5th was especially difficult because of the explosions that reminded us all of the reality we left behind in Israel. A few weeks after we moved here, Uri asked me: ‘Dad, how come there are no sirens here?’. I immediately felt how good and important it was for us to come here for a much-needed time-out.
Before we came over, I got in touch with Mrs. Maureen Leveton, and the friendly correspondence we had encouraged me to get in touch with the Jewish Community after we’d arrived. We joined some of the High Holyday Festival services, and since then have visited the community several more times. We enjoy the atmosphere and good spirits every time we visit, and got a very welcome reception from all members. We are in touch with several more Israeli families in Norwich, and I hope that the connection between the ‘native’ Norwich Jewish Community and the immigrants / visitors from Israel will get stronger.