Nina Reshef

Nina Reshef is a long-time resident of Neot Afeka, Tel Aviv. She is a professional editor and translator. She is a strong believer in public participation in community affairs. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Nina, then a 20-year-old graduate in sociology, made Aliyah in the early 1960s. She had chosen Zionism as a springboard out of academic tedium and historical identity. She spent the next 40 years learning how to convert her parents’ pre-war Zionism into a contemporary aspiration, with the help of two ulpans, several wars, a husband and three children, an apartment in Tel Aviv, and a series of jobs that brought her in contact with “other” Israeli communities. She realized that she would forever remain an “Anglo-Saxon”. In time, she became tickled by the idea that being an “Anglo-Saxon” was an invitation to engage with other Anglos in Israel. It was also an opportunity to use her personal history and language skills as sorely needed resources for Israel’s participation in the global economy, politics and education. She therefore started looking for a project that might need her. Thanks to a friend, she found ESRA. As the magazine so beautifully reflects, ESRA has become a helpful sidekick, supporting her integration and her exploration of Judaism’s political and social identity. I’m retaining my membership.