A pioneer is a person who is among the first to settle a region. The members of Zemach family are pioneers who live in Moshav Kadesh Barnea, a small village in Israel’s Negev Desert. They moved there 10 years ago from Rehovot.
The Zemachs — Chami and Oksana Zemach and their daughters Gali, 13, Tamar, 11, and Michal, 4 — are traveling around the world for a year to share what Chami called “the normal story about what people do and what people are like in Israel.”
They were in Kansas City for a few days the week of Jan. 16.
The Zemachs left Israel Aug. 1, 2011, and will return exactly one year later. Their oldest daughter, 22-year-old Yulia, stayed behind to continue her education. The younger children are being home schooled during this journey they call The Israeli Family Project. When it’s all said and done they will have visited 27 countries and four continents.
Kansas City was not originally on their agenda. When they arrived in the United States in November, coincidentally Israeli emissaries to the United States were meeting in New York. The Zemachs visited with the emissaries, who were able to connect them with Jewish community across the country. Lilach Nissim, the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City emissary, arranged for the Zemachs to stay at the home of Sharon and Peter Loftspring while they were here.
Sharon Loftspring said the Zemachs were delightful to have as houseguests.
“It was a really, really fun experience for us. I think the best part was talking to them casually at night after they come home.
They are interesting, interesting people,” Loftspring said.
Chami Zemach said they decided to take this trip because they’ve had a chance to visit with a variety of people who visit their desert village. This convinced them people wanted and needed to know more about Israel, not just the Israel that is shown on television.
“We know that people around the world really want to know about Israel. We want people to know that Israel is much more than the conflict,” he said.
They planned the trip for more than two years and believe they will tell their story to thousands of people before the journey is complete. While in Kansas City, they were featured on NBC Action News and KMBC-TV 9. Their activities included visits at the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, Congregation Beth Shalom, the Jewish Community Center Heritage Center with Rabbi Scott White and an informal dinner at the home of Sheila and Ken Sonnenschein.
Living in the desert
When the Zemachs moved to Kadesh Barnea, only about 30 families lived there. It has now grown to 55 families. Chami described the village as an agricultural area where people grow lots of fruits and vegetables.
“People are really flourishing there in the desert,” he said. “It’s very interesting to see how new areas are being developed and being created there.”
In Israel, the Zemachs own a factory called Desert Magic. It produces jams, sauces and chutneys made from fruits and vegetables grown nearby.
“We started this business in our home to see if it was something that could work. After a few months it started to grow and they built the factory,” said Chami, an Israeli native. Their products are sold in Israel and the United States.
The Zemachs are very involved in their community because they believe it is important to take an active role in building the Negev area.
“We really believe that the Negev and the desert is a big challenge for Israel. This is where the development of Israel should be. Israel should grow to this area because it is half of Israel and hardly populated at all. Just about 20 percent of Israelis live in the Negev,” Chami said.
Connecting with people
On the first leg of their trip in Europe, Oksana, who was born in Belarus and moved to Israel more than 20 years ago, said they met mostly non-Jewish people.
“Here we are in many Jewish communities, but we have also had programs in public schools and churches,” she said.
Her favorite way to talk to people is while cooking Israeli food together. She said while they cook, they talk about life.
“Food brings people together and Israeli food is very special. It comes from many different countries and is very interesting,” she said.
The food they plan and prepare for these dinners, Oksana said, is almost always foods Israelis eat every day, “nothing fancy or expensive.”
“Usually we have about two hours to do this and it’s kind of magic. We make a lot of food, about eight or nine dishes for 20 or 30 people,” she said.
Chami said this project has taken his family to places that tourists don’t usually find. So far he’s greatly enjoyed meeting the people, and has some interesting stories to tell.
“Israelis don’t know that that there are many people around the world that are very supportive to Israel,” he said.
One of his favorite stories is about a non-Jewish woman he met in The Netherlands. She discovered about 15 years ago that there were 182 people from her city that were deported to Auschwitz. Chami said the woman decided there should be a memorial in the city and took it upon herself to build it.
“After they built the memorial, they started a ceremony once a year on the date the Jews were deported,” Chami said.
The Zemachs just happened to be there on that date during this journey and were invited to participate.
“The ceremony is actually a walk through the town on the route where they made the Jews go to the railway station. So about 200 people walked in the evening,” he said. “The girls had the opportunity to put the flowers on the memorial. We were the only Jews there,” he said.
Chami said the journey to this point has met their expectations.
“Of course we have had many surprises and have learned a lot everywhere we’ve been,” he said. “We’re very happy that we have had the opportunity to meet with so many people and to tell them about Israel and fill them in on daily life and not about the conflict.”
You can keep up with the Zemachs journey on Facebook at the The Israeli Family Project.
“We write every day about what we are doing and share our stories,” Chami said.
They also welcome emails at . Check out the family’s video on You Tube at www.il-family.com.
