Gil Dersovitz, 51, made aliyah with his wife Oksana and his children Eli, 17, and Zevi, 11, from Highland Park via Staten Island in 2021. Their oldest son Reuven, 19, came for his year in Israel to Orayta and is now in college. The family resides in Rehovot.
Aviva: Where did your family daven in Highland Park?
Dersovitz: Ahavas Achim.
Where did your kids go to school?
Reuven went to RPRY and then to Kushner for high school. Ellie also went to RPRY and then Shaarei Tzion for Girls. For her freshman year of high school, she went to Ma’ayanot and then came to Israel for the Naale program at Amana High School for Girls in Kfar Saba. Zevi went to RPRY and then Shaarei Tzion for Boys until we made aliyah.
What are your kids up to nowadays?
Reuven is studying in IDC—Reichman in Herzliya. Ellie is finishing her senior year at Amana and will study at Midreshet Lindenbaum next year followed by the army. Zevi is in an elementary school in the hashkafa of Harav Kook called Noam Hatzvi, and next year he will start at Yeshivat Hadarom, which is right across the street from us.
Did you take any early trips to Israel?
My parents are both Israeli citizens and moved to the U.S. a short time after they got married. We came to Israel for many summers to visit their families when I was young and then I went once or twice on my own. I studied in Shaarei Yerushalayim Yeshiva for my year in Israel.
Where did you go to school in New York?
I went to Jewish Foundation School in Staten Island and MTA for high school.
Did either of these schools foster a love of Israel?
My parents were not Zionistic at all and were also not religious, but they sent me to schools that were both Zionistic and Orthodox. I learned all about Israel from a religious, biblical perspective. I learned to see the hand of God in the creation of the State of Israel, but while I understood the importance of Israel, it wasn’t until much later that I realized how much I wanted to live here.
What made you decide to move to Israel when you did?
I had been talking about aliyah in discussions at the Shabbos table for years and had hung two maps of Israel in our home—one of biblical Israel and one with the topography of modern Israel. I brought up the idea to Oksana in 2018 on a walk around the track at the park. Our friends had just made aliyah and I told her that since she is in high tech and I am a physical therapist and an occupational therapist, we could make it work in Israel.
America has definitely served its purpose for me and my family, but that purpose had run its course and it was time to move on. I also felt I needed to save my family branch. There are families who are thriving and can maintain their traditions in the States, but I was worried that wouldn’t be the case for my family.
What are you doing professionally in Israel?
In New Jersey, I was a PT with a specialty in geriatrics at a short-term rehab center for the elderly and infirm. Here, I found a PT job working at a nursing home, so I guess that’s my calling.
What do you love about living in Israel?
Israel is a holy land, and I feel very connected to it, which is my main impetus for being here. Israel is organically and spiritually a part of me.
I love that all the Jewish holidays are nationally celebrated. You can even hear chilonim say “Baruch Hashem,” “B’Ezrat Hashem” and “Shabbat Shalom.” I love that I am able to go to Yerushalayim several times a year without having to get on a plane.
Do you have a message for anyone who’s considering making aliyah?
If you’re Jewish, this is where you belong and where your children belong. It’s your land. Don’t be scared of the surrounding countries. It’s safer than anyplace else. You don’t feel the antisemitism; you feel your heritage. It takes a lot of guts to move out of your comfort zone, but this is your land.
By Aviva Zacks
