Hanna Sudovnik (27) grew up all her life in Toronto, and was the only Jewish student at the school where she attended.
Throughout her childhood, she experienced severe cases of anti-Semitism.
A request in which a Palestinian girl from her class stood in front of all her friends and shouted that all the Jews should have died in the Holocaust.
"I stood frozen without being able to react. It was a new record of hurt," Hana candidly testifies.
As a result, throughout her life she denied her Judaism, and was even afraid to invite her friends to her home on the Jewish holidays.
"I didn't want them to see our Hanukkah on Hanukkah, nor the costumes on Purim or the unleavened bread on Passover."
The peak came at the age of 22, when she met for dinner with her boss and he blatantly laughed at Jews.
"He simply said he hates Jews and started explaining and mocking how stingy we are. I didn't know what to do with myself."
The denial of her Jewishness continued, until one day her sister returned from a visit to Israel and told her about the experiences she had gone through.
"It lit a light for me that I must return to my roots and come to Israel."
She arrived in Israel two and a half years ago, and since then decided to make her life here forever.
Today she teaches English at a school in Eilat, many of whose students are immigrants from countries such as Eritrea, Ukraine and Sudan.
"It's the most significant thing I've done in my life. I feel like it's the historical correction for everything I've been through in my life," she concludes.
Ido Mehtsari, CEO of Telma adds and says: "Teachers of Telma come to Israel and integrate into the education system in the country to develop the English skills of the future generation.
The Talma program focuses on learning useful English in a unique way. Talma teachers come from all over the world and many of them, like Hana, tell about anti-Semitic incidents that led them to immigrate to Israel.
We are proud to bring to Israel young Jews from around the world who see it as a home."
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