By Deb Silverthorn

The word aliyah means ascent. Amanda Avnery’s move to Israel fits the term to a tee. What was at first an opportunity of self-exploration and Torah study has become a dream come true.

“Every part of my journey has made me passionate about life. Growing up in Dallas, I was raised to be a Zionist,” said Avnery, now a Zionist living in the land she loves.

Avnery, the daughter of Susie Avnery and Bo (Marlene) Avnery, sister of Dan (Meagan) Avnery and Karen Rosensteel and a proud aunt to five, is a Dallas native. A Plano West Senior High School graduate, where she was a Wolfpack cheerleader, Avnery was a member of BBYO and, with her mother, participated in the National Charity League.

She was raised at Congregation Beth Torah; her passion for Israel came from both of her parents. Her father is a Sabra and her mother has been a Hadassah Dallas Chapter leader for years.  Avnery is a fourth-generation life member of Hadassah, the family’s history going back to the 1960s. Her summers at Camp Young Judaea and Camp Tel Yehudah also fueled her Zionism.

After graduating from the University of Georgia and working as a financial consultant for the accounting network KPMG in Atlanta, Avnery moved with the company to New York City. She became involved with MEOR, where she studied Torah and learned about Jewish holidays, and then also began attending Manhattan’s Downtown Minyan’s young professionals’ Shabbat minyan and programs.

At The Downtown Minyan, she reconnected with Jonathan Rahmani, a childhood friend also transplanted from Dallas, who suggested Avnery go to Israel’s Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies.

The idea stuck with Avnery, who had made family trips to Israel — including one during which she celebrated her bat mitzvah at Masada. She had joined her mother and sister on a Hadassah family mission and worked on a moshav and kibbutz with World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Having taken on a more observant Jewish lifestyle, during a trip to Israel in 2019, she met with one of Pardes’ teachers, Tovah Leah Nachmani.

“I was there during Sukkot and there was joy everywhere. There were sukkot on every balcony, at every home,” said Avnery. “People were eating in the sukkot, doing yoga, davening — it was beautiful. I met Tova Leah in her sukkah. She fed me and we learned together about the lulav and etrog. It really moved me deeply.”

She returned to Dallas just long enough to pack and take a six-month leave of absence from work. In January 2020, she was learning, falling more in love with Israel and feeling the need to be dedicated in a more tangible way to the land she’d always been connected to.

In May 2020, Avnery returned to Texas, where she quarantined for two weeks and then spent a few more visiting with family before making her move.

“It wasn’t easy for anyone, but I knew it was the right decision for her,” said Avnery’s mother. “Her decision was both a shock and yet not surprising.

“Four years later she’s a complete Israeli, speaking the language, using the apps, doing business — whatever she has to do, she can,” she added. “We miss her every day but she’s in the right place and we couldn’t stand in her way.”

Avnery returned to Israel, began working for KPMG Israel and joined an intensive learning ulpan where she lived in a dorm and — due to the pandemic — hosted classes both online and in-person. After completing the five-month program, she moved to the Katamon neighborhood in Jerusalem.

Avnery carpooled with friends to her office in Tel Aviv when needing to be in-office and, in 2021, decided to move closer to work. “I’m near the beach, near friends and I just love it so much,” she said. “Jerusalem and all that I love there isn’t so far; I’m there a lot.”

She is now working for AppsFlyer, a mobile marketing analytics and attribution platform. Her circle of friends, her abilities to communicate in Hebrew and a lifetime of learning about Zionism are helping her build an exquisite life.

“Kol HaKavod. We’re so proud of Amanda, a long-time camper, and of a CYJ family who has supported us by sending their children to Wimberley and New York and in many other ways,” said Frank Silberlicht, CYJ’s executive director. “We’re so glad the experiences of Amanda’s time at camp, and the lasting relationships through the years, have her now living in Israel and, through her strong Jewish identity and love for Israel, representing all of our values.”

On Oct. 7, Shabbat and also Simchat Torah, Avnery, who is Shabbat-observant, woke to sirens different from ever before.

“This was so early and the first time I was woken by noise and immediate fear,” she said. “I don’t use my phone or TV on Shabbat so we didn’t know what was going on. My roommate and I were hugging in the hall. I was crying and she was holding me while sitting on our balcony drinking coffee. Our neighbor kept talking about ‘crazy news.’

“I went to lunch with friends and someone had heard something about hostages. We had no idea what or the severity. It turned out more than 6,000 terrorists entered the country that day,” said Avnery. “For the better part of a month, we couldn’t feel safe. Rockets were overhead all the time. No one was working and the country shut down. Still, I never considered returning to Texas.”

Her shutters closed, Avnery hung an Israeli flag inside her windows. Multiple sirens each day made it hard to eat or sleep and there was constant concern for the many serving in the Israel Defense Forces.

Feeling she had to help, she connected with the Kirya Military Base and joined volunteers, quickly taking a leadership role in the kitchen. Over six months, daily for four of those, she prepared food and organized schedules for 150 volunteers. It was an act that was as meaningful for her as for the recipients.

Since the war began, Avnery has become a certified yoga teacher.

“Everyone has a story. We have a friend who was paralyzed — thank G-d he is just now breathing OK — and I have many friends still serving. The sirens haven’t stopped,” said Avnery.

“I have learned that two things can be true,” she said. “It can be terribly scary and sad, and still it can be beautiful and I can be grateful to be here.”