The Family of Slain IDF Soldier is
Bought to Israel by the Jewish Agency

In the wake of the tragic lynching in Ramallah of two IDF reserve soldiers, family members of one of the victims, Vadim Norzhich, honored his memory by making aliyah. Vadim's uncle Yosef and aunt Natalia, their daugher Lena and her two-year old son Mark, decided to immigrate immediately upon hearing the heartbreaking news from Israel.

The bitter news about Vadim's murder reached Yosef and Natalia in their tiny apartment in Irkutsk, in eastern Siberia, which they shared with their oldest daughter and her baby. Following the painful telephone conversation from Israel, and the horrendous pictures of the lynching and murder on TV, Yosef and Natalia decided to make aliyah at once.

Two of the couple's daughters already live in Israel. Both came as participants in Jewish Agency programs. Katya made aliyah in 1996, a participant in JAFI's Na'aleh high school boarding program for teens who come to Israel without their parents. She lives and works in Netanya today.

Genia, their younger daughter, is a participant in JAFI's Yachad program, for young adults from the same place who make aliyah together. She is currently living in the Tiberias Absorption Center. Genia arrived in Israel only three weeks ago - on her cousin Vadim's wedding day, although too late for the ceremony. The following day she visited the newlyweds in Or Akiva and wished them mazal tov.

"Ever since our daughter Katya made aliyah in 1996, we have been thinking about and planning our own aliyah. When this tragedy occurred, and after we saw the dreadful photos on TV, we decided to pack our bags and join the rest of the family as soon as we could. Our hearts are broken and we want to be together with the entire family so that we may strengthen each other," said Natalia.

The head of the Jewish Agency delegation in Russia, Karol Ungar, traveled to Irkutsk to offer the family his condolences. When he heard they wanted to make aliyah right away, he personally accompanied them from Siberia to Moscow, and helped them get on a flight to Israel as quickly as possible. He also helped another of Vadim's aunts, Rachel Chebunina, to come to Israel on a condolence visit, which the Jewish Agency funded.

The day after the shiva (seven-day mourning period) ended, Vadim Norzhich's family, who live in Or Akiva, near Hadera, went to Ben Gurion Airport to welcome Yosef and Natalia. The Jewish Agency has provided the new immigrants with an apartment in the near-by Hadera Absorption Center.

Yosef and Natalia said they were so proud of their nephew Vadim, and of the fact that he served in the IDF. The family had always been very close, they said. Vadim's young widow Irena, who is pregnant, said that many people who did not even know Vadim, have visited them and given them support. She wants to thank them all and says it really does help a lot.