Stella Rokoff was born in 1921 in Jerusalem during the British Mandate for Palestine and immigrated with her family to the United States at the age of five. 96 years later, she decided to return home, to the now State of Israel, with her daughter and son-in-law. Her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren who already live in Israel were waiting for her at the airport.
At the age of 101, Stella Rokoff immigrated to Israel surprisingly only breaking the record of the oldest person to do so in the past 5 years. Stella was born in Jerusalem under the rule of British Mandate Palestine, to parents who had been born in the holy land in the 1800s. She immigrated with her family to the United States at the age of 5, even before the establishment of the state. Now, 96 years later, she was privileged to immigrate back to the State of Israel, together with her daughter and son-in-law.
"All my life I dreamed of returning to my native country," said Rokoff. "This is a holiday for me, the day I return to my native land - and I am full of excitement." She added that "I can't wait to be reunited with my many grandchildren and great-grandchildren and two more great-grandchildren, in my old-new home."
"Stella was born in Jerusalem in 1921 and left with her family to the U.S. when she was five years old. Now, 96 years later, she has returned to her place of birth accompanied by her daughter and son-in law [at 101 years old]"
ā Nefesh B'Nefesh (@NefeshBNefesh) September 19, 2022
Welcome home, Stella! š¤š®š±šhttps://t.co/6CdeSEfzDX
Her birth certificate is written in three languages: Hebrew, Arabic, and English, and it shows she is clearly an original Palestinian. When she was 5 years old, her family decided to move to Brooklyn, New York. In 1940 she married Rabbi Herman Rokoff. The young couple moved to live in Pennsylvania, where they worked as leaders of the local Jewish community and had four children, one, unfortunately, passed away.
"My family left at a time when the 'State of the Jews' was just an idea, an idea that later became the 'State of Israel' which is considered a strong country and a leader in innovation in many fields, and I am proud to call it home," said Rokoff, a music lover who has written countless songs about American Jewry and the love of the Land of Israel. Her late son, Seymour, was a well-known and sought-after cantor, who even sang an entire concert composed of his mother's songs.
Jerusalem-born American makes Aliyah at 101https://t.co/dHD4UhVNSc
ā Ynetnews (@ynetnews) September 18, 2022
(Photo: Shai Getzoff) pic.twitter.com/RYml1eNK03
"In those years it was very difficult to live in the Land of Israel. My father had to move to the USA to support our family. Later, in 1926, he brought my mother, brother, and me to America. From there life just happened. I started going to school there, all my friends were American and then I met my husband and we got married when I was 19. But it has always been important to me to keep in touch with Israel and my Judaism, and happily, I was privileged to do so during my career when I worked with many Jewish institutions and organizations."
