August 5 marks seven years that I have been in Israel. Born in Schenectady and raised in Vestal from 3-years-old until I went to college, I am a real “upstater” and a graduate of Vestal Central High School. I attended Yeshiva University in New York City, during which time I spent a year abroad, studying in a yeshiva in Jerusalem. I always wanted to return to Israel, but real life, including marriage and raising three children, took precedence. My next visit to Israel was on a family trip in 2002.
In 2009, with my children all out on their own and living on my own in Teaneck, NJ, after my divorce, I made the decision to return to my homeland, literally. Not only is Israel the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people, but also my father’s birthplace. He was born in Tel Aviv in 1925. His parents were escaping from Russia and on their way to the United States when, during a brief stopover in what was called Palestine, my father was born. His family continued on to the U.S. when he was 6 months old.
Arriving in Israel as a 52-year-old manager in high tech, I searched for a job. Realizing that I had an opportunity to re-invent myself, I created “The PCGUY” and over the next seven years developed it into a thriving computer/internet/technology sales and support business.
Over those seven years, I visited the U.S. a few times to visit my mother [Marlene Serkin], who still lives in Vestal, as well as do some other work with various customers that I have had over the years. Each trip was a working vacation as I stayed in contact via e-mail, messaging and remote access with my growing business in Israel.
This year I decided it was time for a real vacation. I notified my customers that I would be “off line” and planned an extended (two and a half weeks) trip to the U.S., which included a stop in Vestal as well as a cruise to Bermuda to relax.
The well-deserved vacation was appreciated and recharged my batteries for my return.
On Monday, July 4, I boarded an El Al flight for my return. In previous trips, I had flown through Europe (Brussels or Istanbul) to take advantage of lower fares and a two suitcase luggage allowance. However, with the escalating terror situation in Europe (including bombings in both Brussels and Istanbul), I decided to take the safer alternative and fly direct on El Al.
The security check-in was, as expected, rigorous and I felt quite secure and safe.
Little did the passengers know, while we were flying over France, about to cross into Switzerland, El Al and the French authorities received a phone call about a bomb having been planted in one of the galleys on this plane. The Swiss Air Force scrambled fighter jets to accompany us, while the well-trained El Al crew search the galleys and found no signs of anything that didn’t belong there.
We landed in Tel Aviv on time and, as we were waiting to de-plane, we all turned on our cell phones. This is where we found out both from news sources and from Facebook postings about the bomb scare. It was quite shocking to realize that we were in the middle this story.
A friend, who learned from my Facebook posting that I was on that flight, contacted a Swiss journalist that she knew. While I was still at the airport, the journalist contacted me to ask if she could interview me for an article she was writing about the situation. We conducted the interview over the phone and I sent her a selfie picture of me holding my boarding pass, clearly showing the flight number.
I made two points in the interview that I wish to share: First, that I thanked the Swiss authorities for being quick to come to our aid. Luckily, it was a hoax and no aid was needed, but I appreciate their joining in on the global fight against terror, clearly recognizing this is not just a problem for Israel. Second, I was quoted as saying that due to the current situation in Europe, I made the decision to fly the world’s safest airline – El Al.
I was very proud to have those statements published, especially in a news magazine and news website published in Switzerland and Germany.
Two weeks later, while attending the arrivals ceremony of a Nefesh B’Nefesh chartered flight of 218 new immigrants to Israel, I was able to relay the story and the quotes to El Al’s chief of Israeli operations who was attending the ceremony as well.
I remind everyone that flying to and visiting Israel is very safe. I feel safer walking the streets in Jerusalem than I ever did walking the streets in New York City.
I look forward to welcoming each and every one of you for a visit, a pilot trip or for your aliyah (immigration).