Esther Feldman Icikson - October 23 & 29, November 5 & 12, 2001
Sinai Campaign
In '56.
Yes. Um, uh.
Where were you?
I was, actually I was working in the headquarters where you receive uh, information, who is dead, who got killed, who got wounded.
uption in interview]
Um, it was tough to take uh, this information, this one died and that one got killed. It was very hard. Young kids, always young boys.
During the Sinai campaign.
Sinai. It was a tough campaign too. But uh, it was a successful campaign, you know. And uh, the Israeli soldiers are so special and so handsome and so sweet. I mean, they're really terrific. Um, I--all through my service in the army I worked at that--in that particular headquarters. Uh, my...
How long were you in the army?
Two years, like I was...
So 'til '57?
Uh, I came out in '57, yes. Yes. And in '58, I was packing up to come to the United States. I, I left Israel in April of--first of April, with my brother, my older brother. We came to this country. I stopped in England uh, to see my uncle from my mom's side. I, I saw the man only twice in my life.
Yeah.
Once in '48 when he came to see us in Germany and this was my second time.
Had you um, formed any special relationship?
With my uncle?
No...
No.
...in Israel with a man?
Well, uh, I had a lot of friends uh. Nothing serious, no.
Nothing serious.
No. Oh, I had a boyfriend but uh, it wasn't uh, anything uh, like. Gee, in Israel I had a lot of boyfriends. That's a country where you have a lot of friends. But uh, no nothing. No. But I didn't want to leave Israel because I felt very comfortable, very uh, free, uh. I, I had friends, I had--I knew where to go, I. It was my home. It was a special place.
So now this is the fourth time you've picked up to move.
Yeah. The fourth time? Boy.
From Chelm to...
From Chelm to, to, to White Russia, to Siberia, to Kyrgyzstan, back to Poland, to Czechoslovakia and Germany and France and Israel and now I'm picking up to go to the United States. And I don't want to do it! But my mom and my dad write me letters and say come, come you'll see it'll work out, we are all here and you belong with your family. So we sell the apartment and we give our belongings to a cousin. My cousin, it was my mom's nephew that came to Israel in 1957. It was my mom's sister's son that we didn't even know whether he's alive. And one day I'm working in the bank and I, I'm going, next door is a kiosk. Do you know what a kiosk is?
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