Answering the Call of Zion

Finding Home in beautiful Israel

Taking your life and happiness into your own hands is never easy. For me, it has become an urgent mission, a return not only to joy but to meaning. I used to be someone who could simply enjoy living: walking in the sun, breathing deeply, feeling gratitude just for being alive. But somewhere along the way, that light faded. The last seven years have been a blur of loss, struggle, and searching. A relationship that left more trauma than love. Jobs lost because I dared to speak up for Israel, a country that has always felt like home, even when I was thousands of kilometers away.

Since returning from my time in the Middle East years ago, I haven’t truly lived,  only survived. Yet Israel has always been my heartbeat. Every visit there, every step on its soil, reminded me who I really am. Friends often tell me, “You have a Jewish soul,” and I believe them. That unexplainable connection, deep, spiritual, unbreakable,  has been with me since childhood.

So, I decided to search for my Jewish roots. I knew they existed, but how close? Close enough to make Aliyah, to finally return home to Israel? For years, I searched for evidence. In the Czech Republic, in Bohemia, My aunt  found a family grave,  the Swierzina family,  but no clear proof. Records in the Netherlands were lost, destroyed. My grandfather, from my mother’s side, was a hero in the Dutch resistance during World War II, part of the famous ‘Hannie Schaft Group’, and was even awarded a resistance medal. Two cousins were murdered in Auschwitz. Yet my grandparents never spoke of their origins.

My mother was forced into Catholicism, yet our home was filled with symbols of Judaism  a Chanukiah, a Torah, a Tanach. My grandfather taught me the Hatikva, Israel’s national anthem, when I was a little girl living in Jerusalem. He didn’t teach my brother , only me. That alone said something profound.

Still, I had no documents, no formal Jewish education, nothing that could satisfy bureaucracy. Only a heart overflowing with love for Israel.

Then, everything changed. My father passed away on September 12, 2023, at age 86. Thankfully, he didn’t live to see the horrors of October 7th, something that would have broken his heart. As we divided family photos after his passing, one particular picture caught my eye: my great-grandmother’s family. In it, next to my grandmother, the girl in white , stood a young boy no one could identify.

He looked familiar. Strikingly so.

Then it hit me. AI technology compared his face to that of Bernard Swierzina, the last known rebel of Auschwitz. The resemblance was uncanny, 99% identical. For me, it was a revelation, perhaps the only tangible piece of evidence of my Jewish lineage. My heart knew what my papers couldn’t prove: this was my family.

That discovery reignited my lifelong dream, Aliyah.

The Path Home: How Aliyah Works

The process of Aliyah,  immigrating to Israel under the Law of Return,  is not simple, especially when your Jewish heritage is difficult to document. The journey begins through the Jewish Agency for Israel, which guides potential immigrants (called olim) through each stage.

First, applicants must prove Jewish ancestry or conversion recognized by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. If one’s Jewish lineage isn’t clearly documented, the Agency may request evidence such as family records, synagogue documents, or letters from recognized rabbis attesting to Jewish identity or heritage.

Once the Jewish Agency approves eligibility, the applicant undergoes a background check, a visa process through the Israeli consulate, and receives an Aliyah visa. Upon arrival in Israel, the new oleh receives citizenship automatically under the Law of Return.

New immigrants are also entitled to extensive support, a financial absorption package, housing assistance, Hebrew-language courses (ulpan), and job placement help. Israel sees Aliyah not as a transaction, but as a homecoming.

Still, the process can be daunting, especially for someone single and without financial reserves. But what price can you put on belonging,  on finally being where your soul feels whole?

I know this won’t be an easy path. But Israel has never been about ease, t’s about purpose, faith, and perseverance. From the ashes of Auschwitz to the rebirth of a nation in 1948, from defending against endless wars to building one of the most innovative societies on earth, Israel embodies resilience. It’s the beating heart of a people who refuse to disappear.

And I want to be part of that heartbeat.

I want to contribute, to give back to the nation that has given me inspiration, courage, and identity. My dream is not one of escape, but of return,  to live fully, freely, and proudly as someone whose roots, even when hidden, have always been Jewish.

Maybe my proof will never be enough for everyone. Maybe the bureaucracy will be slow. But my heart knows. My connection to Israel isn’t written in ink, it’s written in memory, in spirit, in every generation that refused to forget.

I only have one life. And I choose to live it where I am happiest, in Israel, the land that feels like home, even before I’ve arrived.

Dreams can come true. Sometimes, they take a lifetime to find their way home.