“My Israeli Story”, a project by the Israel & Overseas Center at JEWISHcolorado, offers our community a chance to connect with and learn about the diverse stories of our emissaries. Each article will spotlight a different shinshin and their family’s unique journey.
Hi! My name is Alma Elda, and I’m one of the five Shinshinim in Colorado this year. I’m excited to share the story of how my family came to Israel, and the experiences that shaped who I am today.
Alma’s grandmother Ella and her parents in Romania
My grandmother on my father’s side, Ella, was born in Bucharest, Romania, in 1941—an only child growing up under a harsh communist regime. She describes her childhood as a time of constant fear, where people couldn’t speak freely or express their opinions. But even in that reality, her family held a deep, burning hope to make Aliyah. For years they were denied permission to leave, until my great-grandfather made a bold and clever move: he convinced the authorities that he was emotionally unfit for work, with the help of a non-Jewish doctor who staged “tests” to support the claim. It worked. In 1961, after years of waiting, they finally immigrated to Israel. My grandmother describes the moment they arrived as a rebirth—a life suddenly filled with freedom. She later met my grandfather Meir, who was born in Israel, and together they lived on Kibbutz Yad Mordechai before moving to Be’er Sheva. They have three children, including my father, and today they are proud grandparents of nine—with one more on the way!
Alma’s grandmother Irena in Russia
On my mother’s side, my grandmother Irena was born in the Soviet Union in 1959 to older parents who had each lost their families in World War II. Life under communism was difficult, and like many Jews, her father dreamed of reaching Israel. He used to tell the family, “Let’s go to the Land of Israel— even if we live in a tent, we’ll be happy.” They waited five or six years for permission, and in 1973, when my grandmother was 14, they finally made Aliyah. From the moment she arrived, she says she felt at home. She later married my grandfather, Itzik, who passed away when I was six. My mother, Liron, and her brother Ronen were their two children. Today, my grandmother is remarried, she lives in Ramat Gan and remains one of the strongest people I know.
My mother was born in Bnei Brak when it was still a secular city, and my father grew up in Be’er Sheva before attending an agricultural boarding school. They met in 1997 while training for a joint sports competition, and my father’s lifelong dream of becoming a farmer eventually shaped their future together. In 2006, they moved to Moshav K’mahin the Ramat HaNegev region and built a tomato farm from the ground up. Today, we grow six types of tomatoes and sell them all over the country. I was born there in 2007, and it’s the place I still call home—and hope to return to one day. I’m the oldest of five siblings, and growing up in a small Negev moshav was everything a child could dream of: a tight-knit community where everyone knows everyone, desert views everywhere you look, open doors, and barefoot kids running around the dunes.
In 10th grade, I was chosen for the Ramat HaNegev Ambassadors Program (ART), which introduced us to Jewish life around the world and taught us how to represent our region and Israel. That trip changed everything for me. The wider Jewish world opened up, and I knew immediately that I wanted to come back as a Shinshin in Denver.
My hope for this year is to build meaningful, lasting connections; to share my story and perspective; and to learn as much as I can—about others, about this community, and about myself.