At age 11 Leah Glassman told her mother she planned to immigrate to Israel; to make Aliyah. It seemed innocent enough coming from a school-girl filled with excitement upon returning from her first mission trip to the family’s homeland.

“I said okay,” said Bev Shapero, her mom.

She admits at first she didn’t think her daughter would stick with the plan. She was wrong. You see, Leah Glassman’s self-proclaimed stubbornness kept her focused on the goal. Soon her mom became a believer.

“She never deviated from the idea,” said Shapero.  “After I kept hearing it from her, I really believed it.”

She never stopped talking about it and traveled to Israel every chance she had.

“At age 11, I went on the family mission for two weeks and I just totally fell in love,” said Glassman. “Whenever I had the chance I went back.”

Leah Glassman (on left) first travelled to Israel at age 11 and now finds herself interacting with her friends in the Israeli army.

Before she started high school at Walnut Hills, Leah had made a second trip to Israel.  She transferred to Sycamore High School for her sophomore year.  By the time she finished high school she had been to Israel five times.

“In eighth grade my school took a trip for two weeks to Israel,” she said. “Then I went on a few summer programs. I’d say five times before I came for good.”

How does a young girl born and raised in America-with all the apparent advantages of being a U.S. citizen-make the permanent move to Israel? Why? Growing up she was taught Jewish values in a very Zionistic household, practiced and studied the traditions in Jewish school with Israeli teachers and her grandmother was a holocaust survivor. 

“Finally, when I saw it, I was so attracted; I was attracted to the people, I was attracted to the language. I felt at home,” she explained. “I think I was a little naïve because I was eleven years old, but I’m really stubborn. I decided ‘Okay, I’m going to move there.’ and I stuck with it.”
 
The daughter of Dan Glassman and Bev Shapero went for good following her graduation from Sycamore. Now, at age 21, she’s completed Aliyah, is a full fledged Israeli citizen and soldier in the Israeli Army. It wasn’t easy. Not on her and not on her parents.

“It’s hard. I didn’t speak Hebrew at a very high level,” said Glassman. “I could read and I could write a bit. I could have a simple conversation. I think she [my mom] was worried.”

At first her mom urged Leah to stay here and go to college-she’d been accepted to multiple universities. It would be difficult not to worry.

“Suddenly coming to a new country and not knowing anybody, not speaking the language,” she said. “Having to deal with the bureaucracy.”

Those were the things that worried her mom. They made a deal. She’d go study in a preparatory program for a year. If it was too hard, she could come back and study in America. If she wanted to stay, she could stay.

She immersed herself in the culture and studied the mechina--preparation in Hebrew. The mechina is for all new immigrants that come into Israel and want to study on the university level.

“I stayed then, it was hard,” she continued. “I’m like, okay this is fine I’m going to keep going and see where it takes me.”

It took her to full Israeli citizenship. She was about 20; she finished mechina and came home to visit during her cousin’s bar mitzvah. Already applying to universities in Israel, she told her parents she was going to stay. Then she dropped an unexpected bomb.

“I’m going to stay in Israel. I think I’m going to join the Israeli Army,” she told them. “My parents sat me down and told me they didn’t think that was the best idea.”

Her parents told her their opinion, but she’s admittedly stubborn.

“It wouldn’t have been our first choice,” said Shapero, who is married to Dan Glassman, but kept her maiden name. “I wasn’t surprised. She’s very strong in her commitment to army and country, very determined.”

She knows they want what is best for her, but they give her the freedom to be herself.

“They let me follow my dreams,” she said. “They let me go after what I want and they support me. Because of their support, I’m where I am today.”

Their support and her own stubborn commitment and determination earned Glassman the prestigious Israeli President’s Award for excellence in the army. She was nominated by her commander and went through a process of interviews before being chosen by a select committee.

“I think it’s for soldiers who show high levels of motivation,” she explained. “It was very hard for me at the beginning. I stayed and I worked really, really hard and I think my commander realized that.”
 
Leah couldn’t give us details of her daily routine as an Israeli soldier, but told us she’s in the Green Army-Training and Doctrine Division. She’s a corporal and she’ll be discharged in December. Then it will be on with life in Israel. What will that be?

Maybe working with elderly in nursing homes while traveling a little and waiting to enter university to continue her studies in the next school year. She plans to focus her study on social work with a specific discipline in geriatric.

“I really like to work with older people,” she said. “We’ll see.”

Even before that, in September, she’ll come back here to visit family. Her grandmother, Gisela Shapero, will be at the top of the list. They talk at least twice a week.

“I think she misses me a lot,” said Leah. “She wishes I would stay in America, but at the same time she wants me to be happy. I think she’s proud of me.”

When she arrived she was an American; she saw things from a different perspective. She had to start over, learn a new language, make new friends and go through the bureaucracy. It gave her an outsider’s viewpoint.

“I feel like I’m an Israeli, at the same time, I look at it from an outsider’s standpoint,” she said. “I grew up in America. My picture of Israel and probably the picture of an Israeli may be a bit different.”

Despite the connection with her grandma, Leah plans to make Israel her permanent home. She plans to raise her children and grandchildren there.

“I love this country. I want to stay here,” said Glassman. “I want my kids to grow up here. I want them to know who they are. I think Israel is a good place to be Jewish.”

She seems to know what she wants and goes for it. That’s the advice she offered for anyone who might consider the same move.

“Know why you want to go,” she said. “Have patience and determination. At first it won’t be easy, but don’t give up.”

Her own extraordinary patience and determination helped her to never give up. She says “family” is the one thing she misses most. She loves representing Israel in the defense forces. She loves being fluent in Hebrew and she loves her new friends.

“I love my friends here,” she said. “I’ve established a life here. I have friends, I speak the language and I know my way around. I feel like this is my country.”