War can’t stop local family’s move to Israel

In March, Yoav Hineman got an offer he couldn't refuse. The Israeli-born investment banker had spent the last 11 years in the Bay Area, mainly because "one thing led to another." But he always knew he wanted to go back home some day.

With his older daughter Noa due to start kindergarten in September, he and his wife, Carrie, had decided about two years ago to start thinking in earnest about moving to Israel.

Hineman was a member of j.'s board of directors for three years, serving as treasurer for one.

The 30-something Hinemans met in Israel, while Carrie was an exchange student on Yoav's kibbutz. Carrie — who recently taught Hebrew and Judaic studies at Brandeis Hillel Day School — made aliyah, and served in the Israeli army, so she has dual citizenship and considers both places home.

However, she admitted, "he's Israeli. His whole family is there, so it's to be expected. It's straightforward, that this is his home, it's where he belongs. I have dual citizenship, so it's an actual choice for me to say I'm going to spend my life there."

Finally, about two years ago, they agreed that they either needed to go or stop talking about it. Yoav began looking for jobs, and in the meantime, they had a second daughter.

So when the right job offer came through in March, they decided: They were going. The San Francisco family leaves the Bay Area in mid-August. After a family wedding in Cleveland, they'll be in Israel by Aug. 24.

Admitted Carrie, "At first, I think, we both wanted to go back. But the longer we're here, the less I want to go back."

The Hinemans plan to live in Kfar Saba, with Yoav working in Tel Aviv. Carrie says she mostly hears concern from people who don't know very much about Israel, and that the latest news is simply part of living there.

Yoav admits that the current conflict is of a greater magnitude than others in recent years, but that has no impact on his decision.

Like all Israeli men living abroad, Yoav has not been called up for reserve duty. While Hinemen is surely a bit "out of practice" in what he was trained to do, the couple knows that he will be called up one month a year, just like every Israeli male of age. They doubt he could end up in Lebanon, but Yoav says it isn't impossible.

"For me, it's very natural. Part of moving to Israel is that," he said. The safety of his daughters is a greater concern.

"We wouldn't be going if we thought there was a threat to our family," said Carrie. "That might be naïve, but it's going to be an uncomfortable situation there for awhile. If we thought we were putting our family in immediate danger, we wouldn't do it."