Aliyah during war: Simon and Jane Babil’s tumultuous journey to Israel

Simon, originally from Cuba, left on his own at 15 years old. He met Jane, who grew up in New York, and they married in 1969. They raised their daughters in Connecticut and later in Potomac, Maryland, where they lived for more than 40 years. Their daughter Ellen made aliyah with her husband, Amos, in 2008, and raised a family which now includes six children, a son-in-law, and a grandson.

It was during an extended 2022 visit to Israel – for a grandson’s bar mitzvah and a granddaughter’s wedding – that the seeds for Simon and Jane’s aliyah were first planted. Leaving behind a life, community, and close ties in Maryland, especially their daughter Alison, granddaughter Paulina, and Jane’s brother Larry, felt daunting. But when Jane was hospitalized in 2024, the calculus began to change.

That visit to Israel sparked a conversation – where did they want to grow old, and what did they want their life to look like? After much thought, the decision was made: They would move to Israel, rent an apartment near Ellen’s home, and start a new chapter close to their other grandchildren, while Alison and Paulina would visit as often as they could.

“It was incredibly frightening,” Simon said. A refugee once before – having left Cuba alone as a young teen – he felt fear and uncertainty again. “After working so hard for so long toward the goal of making aliyah, all of a sudden we were in limbo with no home to return to. That was scarier than being in Israel during a war,” he later said. “The most important thing for us was to just get here.”

The Babils briefly considered turning back; their shipping lift hadn’t yet departed. But they stayed the course. They moved forward with their flight to New York, hoping that by being closer to JFK, they could act quickly when flights to Israel resumed.

A friend in Manhattan connected them with a generous host family, who provided the three of them a beautiful place to stay and made them feel welcome while they weathered the uncertainty. They remained in limbo, checking El Al updates while simultaneously scheduling a new flight for July and planning their coming weeks in the US.

“From that moment, every single person we dealt with was kind, helpful, and patient,” Ellen recalled. “On the plane, I sat between my parents. As the plane took off, my mom took my hand, and my dad finally relaxed for the first time in a week, sleeping nearly the entire flight.”

They landed amid a sea of support: wheelchair assistance, Aliyah and Integration Ministry staff, and even a car arranged by Nefesh B’Nefesh to take them home. “Everything worked out more smoothly than we could have imagined,” Jane said. “It’s been so emotional. We’re just so excited to be here.”

That Shabbat, Simon was given an aliyah at a neighborhood minyan (quorum) in Neve Daniel, surrounded by his son-in-law and grandsons as his wife and daughter watched. “The men sang ‘V’shavu banim’ and danced with my father. My parents were finally here with our family, and felt the warm welcome of our yishuv. My mom said she wished their friends in America could see it,” Ellen said.

Yehuda, their 22-year-old grandson who has been serving in Gaza, made it home to greet them on Sunday. It was the first time he’d seen his grandparents in three years.