Generations of dreams coming true upon touchdown

Recently I came across photos taken 30 years ago this summer. During that time, I was privileged to greet several planeloads of new immigrants from the former Soviet Union landing in Israel, welcoming them on the tarmac as they began their new lives in their ancient home. Even though some didn’t know it, they were fulfilling dreams of generations of the Jewish people yearning to come home.

Having worked for years to help free Jews from the USSR, and dreaming to live in Israel myself, each plane of new immigrants I greeted evoked a range of emotions from unvarnished joy to yearning to be home m...