An Interview with Ivette Abadi-Levy
by Yvette D., 14
What would you do for your family? Would you leave all your friends? Would you get into a random submarine? Would you trust an ice cream shop employee with your life? Ivette Abadi-Levy did all that so she could start her family in a free and safe country.
“Why did I escape Syria?” Ivette said, “It’s simple for my family.”
At just 26 years old, Ivette knew she needed to escape her harsh life in Aleppo, Syria if she wanted to start her family in a safe environment.
“When I was just a kid, my life in Syria was great. I had a big family and many friends,” Ivette remembers.
As Ivette got older, Syria became less safe for orthodox Jews. Every day, she would hear about a different one of her neighbors’ houses getting broken into and robbed simply because they were Jewish households. One evening, Ivette came home to an empty house. No beds, couches, or kitchen appliances were left. Even the carpets were taken. The only things left behind were invaluable to others. At that moment, Ivette realized what she had to do to ensure that her future children wouldn’t ever come home to an empty house. Ivette realized she had to muster up the courage to escape Syria alone.
Ivette packed up anything that was left after the robbery. With help from remaining friends and neighbors of Ivette in Syria, Ivette escaped to Beirut, Lebanon. In Beirut, there was a secret group of volunteers helping Jews escape. These volunteers told Ivette to go to the local ice cream store at exactly midnight and ask for a specific order.
“I didn’t think I had it in me,” Ivette said, “I was worried and petrified of what could happen to a twenty-year-old girl alone at midnight.”
Though Ivette had doubts, she went to the ice cream shop and asked the worker for the order. When the employee heard Ivette’s ice cream order, his eyes widened. He then slipped her a paper with a place and time and told her not to be late. In the early morning, Ivette went to the mysterious location. Ivette arrived and saw a family with two young children and a middle-aged couple all boarding a boat. Ivette hesitantly boarded the vessel but continued to wonder how the small boat would take her to Israel. Ivette knew they would stop the boat when Lebanon border control saw it.
In the middle of the boat ride, the boat randomly stopped.
“Did they find us?” Ivette thought, “Are they going to send me back to Syria?”
Suddenly, Ivette saw bubbles surfacing beside the boat, and a submarine popped up. Everyone on the boat quickly scurried into the tiny submarine, and they were off. The captain told everyone to be quiet as the submarine approached the Lebanon border. Ivette remembers that “the two young kids wouldn’t stop crying,” and their mother gave them sleeping pills to keep them quiet.
“Hiding under tarps and boxes in a submarine with six strangers is an interesting experience,” Ivette stated.
When the submarine reached Israel, the Israeli soldiers greeted the refugees with warm and worried smiles, and she watched as they helped the sleeping kids out of the submarine. She smiled.
“I was one step closer to the life I have been anticipating,” thought Ivette.
Although Ivette was safe and sound in Israel, she knew that was not the end of her journey.
Ivette said, “My brother owned a kid’s clothing store in America; I wanted to get there. I wanted to live in comfort, in the ‘Land of the Free.’”
Ivette took an airplane from Israel to New York, ready to start her new life. She worked in her brother’s clothing store until, one day, she met David Levy. Ivette and David had an instant connection. Just like Ivette, David escaped from the Middle East. David and Ivette married and moved into a small apartment on Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn, New York. They had two daughters, Gina and Sandra. “Yes, the apartment was small. Yes, the budget was small. But you know what wasn’t small?” Ivette said, “The love. I lived the life I always hoped for with the people I love most.”
“’Teta’ is the Arabic word for grandmother and Ivette Abadi-Levy’s name to many. Throughout Gina and Sandy’s lives, Ivette taught her two daughters about the importance of family. She told them numerous stories about her escaping Syria and was a living example of what one should do for their family. Gina and Sandy eventually grew up and got married. Their mother’s life so inspired them that they decided to start their own families. Ivette lived in the same apartment on Ocean Parkway her whole life. There, in Brooklyn, the Sephardic-Jewish community continued to grow.
Ivette said, “Today, I can’t even walk a block without stopping to talk to someone from my community.”
To this day, Ivette continues to always put her family first. Whether grocery shopping for one busy daughter or picking her grandchildren up from school when they are sick, Ivette is always there. Ivette invites her family over almost every Friday night for a Shabbat meal. She even goes out of her way to teach her grandchildren how to cook the delicious traditional dishes and recipes she brought from Syria.
“One night, as I was putting baby Sandy to bed with Gina, Gina asked me, ‘Why did you leave Syria?’” Ivette said. “I laughed to myself then said, ‘For you and Sandy. I left so that you could be whatever you wanted growing up. I left so that you could be proud of being a Jew. I left so that you would be safe. I left for my family, which was the best decision ever.’”
Ivette was selfless and brave. She did everything possible to reach her goal and raise her family in freedom. Ivette inspires others and teaches them to prioritize their values and beliefs. She especially loves to teach others that sometimes you have to make sacrifices for your family. Ivette’s story teaches people how far bravery and ambition can get you. No matter who and where you are, you can accomplish whatever you want with the right motives. You could live the life you want to. You just need to be brave and remember what you’re fighting for.
Oakhurst, New Jersey
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