“I had to give up everything I cherish for what this bike symbolizes for me. I left my husband and kids because I came to the conclusion I can’t live my life in lie. Coming from the Jewish ultra-orthodox world I got married when I was twenty and immediately found myself pregnant .I felt I’m living the life which someone else chose for me. It has been a hard and painful journey but in order to save myself I had to choose life. Freedom comes with a great cost which I will have to pay for the rest of my life”. “Ex-Haredim are the true freedom fighters of this world.”
“Did you ever hear about The Lost Tribes of Israel? Well, you’re looking at one of its descendants. I was born in Manipur (a state in northeastern India), and my family made Aliyah (immigration of Jews from the diaspora to the Land of Israel) when I was a year old. We’re the lost descendants of the Tribe of Manasseh, who were exiled during the Babylonian captivity. We were “discovered” by Rabbi Eliyahu Avichail, who recognized our Jewish heritage, which includes: Brit milah (male circumcision), religious Holidays that are similar to those of Judaism, and similar religious practices. I feel Jewish and I do feel part of this place, but sometimes you get the feeling that you need to prove your Judaism. Israel can be very “in your face,” where total strangers will ask you direct, personal questions. I have been asked many times if I’m a foreign worker and what ...
Meet Rafi. “I was born to an Ultra orthodox family and I’m the oldest of 11 brothers and sisters. At the age of 14 I came back home with an earring and coloured hair which caused my mother to faint. In about a week I rented my own place and never looked back. The first time I came to Tel Aviv I remember telling my self: ‘A MECHAYEH!’ People kissing in the street, and shops open on Saturday. I felt a sense of freedom that can only be described as Marc Renton said, “Take the best orgasm you ever had…multiply it by a thousand, and you’re still nowhere near it.” That is how much I love Tel Aviv. “I only knew how to speak Hebrew & Yiddish but that doesn’t get you very far in the secular world. I could read a page of the Talmud and decipher it with ...