"As a young man in England I often encountered anti-Semitism, so it's wonderful to live in your own country."
By GLORIA DEUTSCHSam Levy 88 224(photo credit: Gloria Deutsch)
Sam Levy has lived in Israel for 58 years. Together with his late wife, Shirley, he worked hard, raised two children and today his great-grandchildren come to visit him in his small Caesarea apartment to hear his stories of the good old days.
At 83 he developed a new interest - writing letters to the editor of The Jerusalem Post. With many letters published, he has covered a variety of subjects but all come down to a basic recurring theme - whatever happened to the wonderful country we came out here to build from nothing in 1950?
LIFE BEFORE ALIYA
Levy was born in 1917 in Manchester, but grew up in Leeds. His family was intensely Zionist, so much so that his mother's parents had come to Palestine in 1927, lived in Jerusalem and were buried on the Mount of Olives. He worked in the family wine business and in World War II served in an artillery regiment, seeing a lot of action. In 1942 he came to Ismailia with his regiment.
"We came in a convoy of boats and as we neared the coast, there was a huge storm. I vividly remember the battleships bobbing up and down on the water like corks. Unfortunately I did not spend long in Ismailia as I was taken ill.
"They put me on a hospital ship to Palestine because the medical facilities were better here than in Egypt," he recalls. "After I recovered I was able to visit the Western Wall as a British soldier.
"I became friendly with men from the Jewish Brigade of the British army and they used to tell me that once the war was over they were going to throw the British out. I said that if that happened I'd come and live here too, as I had no desire to live in a servile country under British rule. Five years after the war ended, I came."
PREPARATION
Shirley and Sam lived in Leeds and often went to Zionist meetings. It was at one of these, addressed by Gershon Agron, the founder and first editor of The Jerusalem Post, that they finally made up their minds to move.
"He was so inspiring that we got home, looked at each other and said, 'What are we waiting for?'" he remembers.
In May 1950, after Sam had visited to buy some land, they came with their children, aged three and one.
SETTLING IN
They lived in Kfar Shmaryahu which was a pretty, unspoiled village then, joined the cooperative and took up chicken farming, of which they knew absolutely nothing. They also had a few fruit trees and grew some vegetables like everyone else in the village.
"We had an instructor for the poultry farming, and the first time he put a live chicken into my hands I was trembling. But we both got into it eventually. Shirley had been in the Wrens [Women's Royal Naval Service] during the war and we both had a spirit of adventure."
Although it was very hard work they enjoyed life. Shirley, a keen reader, started a library for English books, mainly so that she would have a regular supply, and it became very popular.
OBSTACLES
"Everyone thinks farming is an idyllic quiet life, but we had many problems. The chickens got sick, lamps blew out in the storms and you had to get up every day at 5. In the beginning there was huge inflation, and a black market flourished, but I wouldn't be part of it and lost money."
LIFE SINCE ALIYA
They carried on farming for 15 years, but then the poultry were stricken with a disease and they had to get rid of everything and clean the land. For a time Levy ran a carpentry business but found doing business frustrating here, and when all his workers were called up for the Six Day War, it seemed a good time to call it a day on the woodworking. Eventually he found a clerical job in Ashdod Port and was able to effect some time-saving changes which earned him accolades from his employers. They moved there for a while, glad to get away from Kfar Shmaryahu which had become full of splendid mansions and lost its primal innocence.
In 1970 he was offered a completely different job working for the ORT organization producing public relations literature, interviewing, writing and translating from Hebrew. He did this happily for 11 years until his retirement in 1981. Eventually the couple moved to Caesarea. Sadly Shirley died 12 years ago. At 83 he took up painting and the walls of his small apartment are covered with his creations.
BEST THING ABOUT ISRAEL
"I feel tremendous pride in Israel's achievements in the academic and hi-tech world. There are plenty of things that bother me - the politics, the driving - but basically I'm optimistic. As a young man in England I often encountered anti-Semitism, so it's wonderful to live in your own country."
ADVICE TO NEW IMMIGRANTS
"You must learn the language. In my opinion it's the key to a decent life here."
To propose an immigrant for a "Veterans" profile, please send a one paragraph e-mail to:
upfront@jpost.com
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