Sarina Roffé
Each year we pray at Passover and say “next year in Jerusalem.” It seems these words echo in our hearts and for those who have been to Israel, the land beckons us. We feel the earth when we plant a tree. We feel connected when we pray at the Western Wall. We see the views of the hills of Jerusalem and wish we were there. The freedom to be Jewish in today’s world is liberty in unimaginable ways.
celebrate as they arrived in Israel.
Israel called to Dr. Solomon and Louise Suede and in their hearts, they knew they wanted to live in Israel and raise their family there. After Solomon completed his medical training, the couple made Aliyah to Israel in August 2023 with their first three children, thinking they would take the first year to move around and decide where they wanted to settle and live. Then the October 7 invasion by Hamas happened and the world changed, especially for Israelis. While the initial plan had to be modified, Louise and Solomon love Israel, adapted and love the child friendly lifestyle.
Louise Sutton and Solomon Suede grew up in the community, went to yeshiva and had a great life in Brooklyn with loving families. High school sweethearts who met at Yeshiva of Flatbush, they each pursued higher education and careers.
The third of six children of Ike and Celia Sutton, Louise pursued a degree in psychology. For Solomon, one of four children of Charles and Diane Suede, it was a medical career as a pediatrician. Louise and Solomon married a year before he started medical school, so they lived upstate as he filled some of the requirements needed to be licensed.
Back in Brooklyn, Solomon completed his residency at Maimonides Hospital and became a Board Certified Pediatrician. Louise loved having playgroups in her home for preschoolers as she grew her family of four daughters. But their hearts tugged at them to go to Israel.
“I felt I belonged in Israel. Every prayer is about Jerusalem and I felt I belonged in the home of the Jewish people,” said Louise. “So after Solomon completed his residency, it was the perfect time to try and move. We went first to Ranana where there was a Syrian community. Our plan was to try different places until we decided where to settle. The Ranana community was helpful with all aspects of our lives and helped us make a smooth transition. There are many Syrian families here and we have amazing friends.”
Then October 7 attacks changed their plan. Louise was expecting their fourth daughter and both sets of parents were worried so the couple returned to the United States. After three months and no end to the war in sight, they returned to Israel. Solomon was working on his license to practice medicine in Israel. He works at Schneider Hospital and in a private practice pediatric office as well.
Louise describes how different the values and lifestyle are in Israel. “In Israel, husbands and wives share all responsibilities. In most homes, both work. But they share in shopping, cleaning, cooking, parent-teacher conferences, doing laundry, and caring for their children. It’s a very different philosophy of raising a family.”
Louise loves how the small nation is so child friendly. “You go to the mall and there is a play area for kids. And everything is at the mall. The supermarket, pharmacy, dentist, doctor’s offices, and clothing stores. At night, you see children out with their parents in the souk or in a park, and maybe a baby is sleeping in a stroller, but they are out.”
The couple is still deciding where they will settle. “We want to be in a place where we have views, so we are up in the air, and in transition, as we are figuring out where we want to settle.”
Louise shared some experiences she thought were incredible. One time when she was in the supermarket, Louise saw a father holding an infant in his arms, groceries in stroller and two other kids in tow. Another time, she saw a woman holding an infant in a baby carrier and under the baby carrier was a gun wrapped around her waist. Jugglers are at the traffic lights, entertaining you and asking for money.
The couple loves the schools in Israel. Her older two children are in the public school system which begins at age three. Her third child is in a Gan, or preschool operated by Chabad. Their one-year-old is home with Louise. Named Lyelle Eden, after two people who lost their lives due to the October 7 invasion, Louise paid her respects to the family and brought her daughter. The father was touched that Lyelle Eden was named for his daughter.
“We have a center here called Mercaz Ketantanim, for babies and every day they have Mommy and Me and other activities for babies. We love living here,” she said. Louise noted that children are adaptable and they adjusted easily to life in Israel. While they didn’t know any Hebrew, now they play in Hebrew and her three-year-old even thinks in Hebrew.
Louise says her Hebrew is coming along but she is not yet fluent. While both Solomon and Louise received a good base of Hebrew from their yeshiva education, each had a lot to learn about dialect and speaking everyday Hebrew.
“My Hebrew is not great. My grocery store Hebrew is pretty good now. You learn. School Hebrew, butcher Hebrew, not immersion, so I use Google translate. I needed to learn the local dialect. Solomon had to learn medical Hebrew on the job.”
Louise and Solomon keep connected with their families in Brooklyn through frequent FaceTime sessions. They love everything from the Amazon delivery man who comes with a big smile and throws them blessings. “It’s such a difference from America. The same Jewish Amazon delivery guy always and he is a character who shows us what it is to be in Israel.”
