H EADLINES
and have a clear idea of what I
wanted,” Benzecry said. “When
I fi nally came on aliyah, it
was not a fi rst-time adventure
anymore, which took the weight
off my shoulders.”
In order to make aliyah,
or immigrate to Israel, Th iago
Benzecry submitted a certifi -
cate showing that his maternal
grandfather, Rubens, was Jewish.

Born to a non-Jewish mother,
Vladya’s own conversion was
apparently not accepted by the
Jewish Agency, which oversees
immigration applications. But
Benzecry was able to benefi t from
the Law of Return’s clause that
gives every grandchild of a Jew
the right to Israeli citizenship.

“As I grew up and got more
and more mature, I assumed
my Jewish heritage and identity.

Today, I’m Jewish,” Benzecry
said. He added, referring to his
Israeli ID card, “I am ready for
conversion as part of the army
because today my teudat zeut
says I have no religion.”
When Benzecry fi rst arrived
in Israel as an immigrant, he
moved to Maagan Michael
kibbutz, where he studied
Hebrew at an ulpan, the
government-subsidized Hebrew
language school for new
immigrants. Because he was
already 22, he was not required
to enlist in the military, but
he chose to anyway. He joined
Garin Tzabar, the program that
supports soldiers-to-be who do
not have a family in Israel.

“The biggest difficulty
of a lone soldier is undoubt-
edly being away from family
and friends from the country
of origin. Coming home for
the weekend and not having
anyone to talk to or hug is very
diffi cult,” said Navy Maj. Rafael
Rotman, who immigrated from
Brazil in 1997 when he was 17
years old.

Th at dynamic only deepened
over the last year, as the pandemic
set in and made international
travel unsafe and diffi cult. Israel
has not allowed people who are
not citizens to visit except in
narrow instances since very early
on in the crisis, in March 2020.

JEWISHEXPONENT.COM BUSINESS DIRECTORY
As Manaus turned into a
hotspot, Benzecry watched
from afar as his father worked
to support the city’s many
impoverished families. Braga
announced an eff ort to deliver
10,000 food baskets to families
in crisis as part of his ministry.

He also used his radio show to
express support for Brazilian
President Jair Bolsanaro’s
decision to keep the economy
open despite the deepening
pandemic. When he tested positive
for COVID-19 last September,
Braga wrote to his son from his
hospital bed urging him not
to worry. Benzecry was totally
unprepared for the phone call a
short while later telling him his
father had died.

Just as the father’s funeral was
ending, Benzecry’s mother and
31-year-old brother collapsed
and were soon diagnosed with
the coronavirus. While his
brother recovered, his mother
died in late October, aft er six
weeks in intensive care.

Benzecry finished his
tugboat mechanics training
course before traveling to Brazil
in December to visit his two
brothers and 16-year-old sister.

Th e next month, a brutal second
COVID-19 wave overloaded
Manaus’ health care system,
again turning pictures of mass
graves in the city into front-
page news worldwide.

Now, as Benzecry begins to
consider what he will do aft er
his military service is complete,
he sees his future in Israel, not
South America.

“I’m proud to be Brazilian
and that’s what I tell everyone,
everywhere. Brazil is part of my
story, a place of communion.

It’s my family, my culture, a
place I can always visit, but it’s
not my target anymore. It’s just
a remembrance. Th e world is
too big,” he said.

“My parents were the greatest
supporters of my choices.

Th e educational and cultural
heritage I received from them is
the reason why I’m here today.

I feel like I’m also living their
dream.” ●
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