Second generation of immigrants from German speaking countries ("Yekkes")

David Lisbona was born in London and lived there until 1973. He studied Electrical Engineering in Cambridge. He emigrated to Israel in 1973, his parents stayed in Great Britain. His father ran a quite successful business, therefore he never wanted to go to Israel. DL wanted to help building up the country. He fought in the Yom Kippur War and afterwards completed an officer's training. He lived in Paris for two years, later he worked as software developer in Tel Aviv and finally moved to Haifa. He made numerous business trips to the US, Europe and Far East. ; One branch of DL's family goes back to Portugal, hence the name Lisbona. His mother came from East Prussia and lived in Tel Aviv from 1934 to 1946. His father had emigrated to London, later he went to Egypt and finally to Palestine where he served in the Royal Air Force. He met DL's mother during his military service and they married in London in 1946. In his childhood, DL and his parents spoke about family matters in German, but about other topics in English. His parents did not care if their friends were Yekkes or not. They were very warm. DL always felt “continental”, not “British”. He tells the story about his mother's sister (Franz Krausz' wife), who lived in Berlin, Spain and Palestine/Israel. His grandmother came to Palestine in 1937, but returned to Germany and was later killed in Theresienstadt. DL's mother agreed with him when he decided to emigrate to Israel in 1973. ; Despite of his Sephardic roots, DL's father felt totally as a German Jew; he spoke with an accent from Berlin. DL hardly ever had contacts with “non-continentals” in England. He has learned about the German cultural assets. As a child he suffered from being treated as an outsider. DL and his parents visited Switzerland and Israel often; in Tel Aviv they went to see his mother's sister and her husband, the artist Franz Krausz. DL did not see a difference between his aunt from Berlin and her Austrian husband. He envied the Yekkish children in Israel for their friends and for their freedom. He preferred staying in the cities to staying in kibbutzim. ; DL was in Germany for the first time when he was a child, they stayed in Frankfurt, Berlin and in the Black Forest and went to see some relatives. For his parents' silver wedding, DL made a movie: he filmed all the places where they lived in Germany, East Prussia etc. His father did not tell a lot about Germany, but his mother did. The visits in Germany weren't emotionally difficult, neither for DL nor for his parents. DL's partner is „shocked“ by the Germans' obsessive interest in the Holocaust and its victims. She found it quite disconcerting that her parents repeatedly were invited by their home town; she thinks that the invitations are only motivated by bad consciousness. DL has a nostalgic sense of belonging to Germany because of the language and the culture. In contrast to most Yekkes, this feeling is not a problem for him. During a visit to Poland, he identified with the Germans who fled from Silesia. Six years ago, DL went to see some distant relatives in Berlin. He then listened to Germans who also felt as victims of National Socialism; in England, the Germans were always considered as Nazis. ; During some seminaries DL became interested in the Arab point of view. He has met Arafat and some high-ranking PLO politicians. Many of DL's friends feel appalled by these contacts. DL and his colleagues have also worked in schools to encourage more mutual understanding between the Israeli and Arab culture. DL thinks that Europe can assume a mediator's role in the conflict. DL also tells about his efforts to influence the political parties. ; DL and his daughters hold British passports but he would like to also have a German passport. He would like a stronger orientation of Israel towards Europe. DL thinks that the new immigration waves from Europe might help to normalize life in Israel.