Making Aliyah: The overwhelming arrival

This is my final blog entry of this 'Making Aliyah' series. Yaniv and I have written separate entries for this final blog posting, which may give you the chance to compare and contrast how we each describe the events of the past few days (for those who are that way inclined).

I wrote my previous blog entry from Eilat on Monday evening, on the eve of our planned journey north from Eilat to Hertzliya, via Sensana and Latrun.

Having made an early start on Tuesday, we managed to get a hundred or so miles under our (fan) belt by mid-morning. Sadly, about 20 miles short of Sensana, the clutch was really really struggling. The red warning triangle came out, for no particular reason I donned a fluorescent, and we awaited help. The Rolls Royce crawled into Sensana, at which point the decision was made that rather than soldiering on to Latrun and Hertzliya, the Rolls Royce would be taken on a transporter vehicle from Sensana directly to the King David Hotel, hopefully preserving the little left there was in the clutch for Wednesday's short journey from there to the Knesset.

Human nature is such that the more effort we feel we have put into someone or something, the more we become attached to that thing and the harder it is to part from it. So after all we had been through over the 2800 miles that we had driven the Rolls, it was hard to leave it behind to be taken to Jerusalem and to continue on our separate way to Latrun. After an emotional ceremony at Latrun, I continued on to Hertzliya as a passenger in a horribly good Mercedes. Safe with the knowledge (supported by photographic evidence) that the Rolls was parked happily at the King David hotel, I sat and enjoyed that night's meal in Hertzliya Pituach.

Needless to say, getting an undisturbed night's sleep on the eve of the grand finale would have been a bit of an ask. A combination of excitement for the next day and concern over whether the car would let itself be taken to the Knesset, ensured sleep that night was kept to a bare minimum. 

From Hertzliya we were driven to the King David Hotel, Jerusalem, where we were reunited with the Rolls Royce. The car limped to the gates of the Knesset, driven by Graham, our highly experienced car mechanic (Graham specialises in classic and sports cars). There, all the cars had gathered ready to enter through the Knesset gates in procession. We had come so far, and only had a very short way to go to accomplish what we had set out to do 18 days previously. It was hot outside in the midday sun, and pearls of sweat were developing on my brow as we wiped down and polished the paintwork for the last time. The car was now looking as good as ever but would we make it? Only the uphill approach stood between us and the Knesset forecourt. Graham stepped aside - it was now in our hands. I took a deep breath and off we went.

The elation of making it through to the front of the Knesset was only compounded by the events that followed. The Knesset forecourt had been especially decorated for us, press swarmed around (well, not quite swarmed but they kept us busy), I was interviewed live on Israeli radio, TV and Newspapers - and this was all before the main event.

In the wonderfully orchestrated welcoming ceremony led by Dalia Itzik (the Speaker of the Knesset), Yaniv and I were each presented with our Teudat Zehut (Israeli ID). The experience of making Aliyah and receiving your Teudat Zehut in front of the Knesset from the Speaker was unbelievable, and standing on the stage singing the Hatikva capped off the most incredible experience of my life.

From the Knesset we traveled with a police escort to Kikar Safra, where aerial photographs were taken of the cars in a '60' formation. From there, we all drove back to the King David Hotel where the checkered flag and a champagne reception awaited us all. That night (Wednesday), we had a final night dinner at the King David Hotel. During the dinner, our 1948 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith was auctioned and sold to one of the other Rally participants.

This morning, the cars made their way to the port of Ashdod where the cars were put into special containers and are being shipped back to the UK over the next couple of weeks. As for the Rolls Royce, the clutch finally died five or so miles short of Ashdod, and had to be towed for the last stretch. 

I, the author of this posting, am in Tel-Aviv. Yaniv, in Hertzlia. The Rolls Royce in Ashdod. Some of the rally drivers have stayed on in Israel for a while. Others are on this evening's El-Al flight to London. And you, the readers, may potentially be reading this from almost anywhere in the world. We may be miles apart from one another, but one thing that unites us all is our passion and unconditional love of Israel. This makes me and I believe should make you proud of what we have.

I hope you have enjoyed our blog and that our postings have given you a taste of our 'Making Aliyah' experience. It's going to take some time for me to fully take-in the incredible events of the past few days and weeks, and I am incredibly grateful to the JNF UK and Nefesh B'Nefesh for providing me with this opportunity.

I write this final entry from the outside at a café bar on Ben Yehuda Street, Tel Aviv. Lifting my eyes above my laptop screen I see tables full of young Israelis, talking, joking, laughing, whilst enjoying the cooler evening air. Cars wiz past on the street ahead, an ownerless dog wanders past, music pumps somewhere in the background, and the 'Ben-Yehuda ST.' street sign written in Hebrew, Arabic and English stands proudly ahead on the street corner. This is one tiny corner of our State of Israel that has been built over the past 60 years, and it is from this corner that the next chapter of my life begins.

Shalom.

Aly