Volume 3, Issue 8 / Av, 5760 / August 2000

By Lisa Samin

Sonya Nutov was born in Kishinev, Moldova, with a past of vicious pogroms that had almost destroyed the Jewish community. When Nutov was born the practice of Judaism was forbidden in Kishinev, and all the city's synagogues were closed.

In 1989, Perestroika changed all this, and suddenly there was a reawakening of Jewish identity in the city. Nutov, a senior in high school at the time, found herself in a city with a Jewish newspaper, a local Jewish society and representatives of Chabad, Agudat Israel and the Jewish Agency. Along with the awakening in her city, came her own reawakening as a Jew.

Nutov was approached to work for the Jewish newspaper. She became a volunteer for the Jewish Agency summer camp. "It was amazing to be with young Jewish people from all over Kishinev," says Nutov. "After the camp was over I wanted to continue this togetherness, so with the help of the Jewish Agency, I opened a youth club."

The youth club started with 14 people, and expanded rapidly. Nutov, an accomplished dancer, taught Israeli folkdancing to children and youth of all ages. She started her own Israeli folk-dancing group called "Lilach."

An outstanding student, Nutov received the golden award for academic excellence and then applied to the University of Moldova's Language Department. She was refused admittance. Anti-semitism was in the air, and only through the threat of exposure in the media was she finally accepted.

"I knew that I would eventually go to Israel," says Nutov. "I was born with a Jewish identity and I strengthened it all the time. It was an incredible period of growth for me."

In 1994, at the age of 20, after three years of study, Nutov, an only child, came to Israel alone, without her parents, on the Jewish Agency's Kibbutz Ulpan Program. "I came without any expectations," says Nutov. "I wanted to be independent and start building my own path in life."

This path took her to the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance, where she decided to turn her love of dance into a profession. She spent four years at the Academy, learning classical and modern dance, improvisation, writing movements and working with children.

In August 1995 Nutov was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She was on Bus #26 in Jerusalem when it was blown up by terrorists. Nutov was hurt very badly and told that she would never dance again. She was alone in Israel, and the Jewish Agency brought her father over to be with her. Her mother arrived shortly after, where she lived with Nutov's friends and cared for Nutov who returned to the Academy's dormitory.

Through sheer determination, Nutov defied the doctor's dire predictions, she not only walked again, but pushed herself hard in physical therapy, all the time believing that she would dance again one day. And a few months later she was back at the Academy.

"It is difficult for me to talk about this all the time," says Nutov. "I don't want to be branded as that girl who was in a tragic bus explosion. There is so much more that makes me who I am."

With her expressive eyes and soft voice, Nutov tells of her work with the ICMC - Israel Crisis Management Center. A Jewish Agency supported program, this center helps new immigrants who have undergone traumatic experiences. Nutov volunteers and works mainly with children. She takes them out on excursions, teaches them dance, organizes camps for them and holds group sessions. She has become a pillar of support for many new immigrants and works to help them to adjust to living in Israel after their tragedy.

"There are so many children who are in need of support immediately after a crisis, and who need continuing support after the initial tragedy is over."

For the past year and a half Nutov has been working at the Jewish Agency sponsored Institute for Jewish Learning, a center for helping people learn about Judaism and prepare them for undergoing conversion. "It was a very exciting project to work on,"says Nutov. "And I feel that we really helped a lot of people, but now I am ready to move on."

Nutov's love for the arts and her love for Judaism have come together in her life in Israel. She is part of a weekly theater group, which resulted from a Hebrew writing course, and she now hopes to pursue her M.A. in dance therapy.

"I love dancing and education and group leading and Judaism, and my dream is to put all of these things together and one day open a special center for art, education and dance."

Nutov feels that she is carving out her own Jewish identity in Israel, where she feels completely at home. Her mother, who was in a high position in banking in Kishinev, has had the hardest time transferring her skills to Israel. Her father is employed with a high tech company, and both her parents and grandmother live in Jerusalem.

Nutov's motto in life is a simple one which she tries to live by: "To be satisfied with yourself and be happy with every moment that you have - to make every moment count."