'I GREW UP ON A KIBBUTZ. BELIEVE ME, CHINA IS NOT COMMUNIST'

'I Grew Up on a Kibbutz. Believe Me, China Is Not Communist'

This week at Ben-Gurion airport: An Israeli lawyer who wants to spread his 'Jewish light' in China, and a cyber tech worker who has an extensive collection of Japanese hair clips

April 25th, 17PM April 25th, 17PM

Omri Hephner, 50; lives in Shanghai, arriving from there

What led you to be living in Shanghai?

I think it's cool: a country that grew from nothing into a vast empire. Besides which, I'd always had a connection to the place. I wrote papers about China while still in primary school. I went there in 2008, and it was magical, I wanted to do something with it, to take part. It looked to me like America 200 years ago.

Except they're communists.

Now it's more communism than it was back then. They've had their own Bibi for the past few years, and he's trying to keep them more nationalist. It's like taking power from the rich and distributing it, but it's still one of the countries with the widest income gaps in the world. I grew up in Kibbutz Alonim until the age of 13; believe me it's not communism, what they have there.

You went there just like that, alone?

I went back and forth for two years, two weeks Israel, two weeks China. Then I returned to Israel, my first daughter was born, and I was here for a year. I got depressed from life here, was feeling down and bored. I'm a lawyer, and one of the big firms in the country, Shibolet, wanted to move me there. That was my entry to China, and that's how it started. After two years, I started to do what I really wanted, to focus on technology deals between Israel and China, especially in the realm of the life sciences, medical instruments and pharmaceuticals. Then Covid-19 arrived and messed up everything, and the world entered the whirlpool of the Russia-Ukraine war, we began having trouble raising funds because of the [Israeli] judicial coup, the war and all that. Two years ago, we made a shift in the direction of electric cars.

What was it like moving the family to China?

Things didn't go well between me and my first wife. We tried, but it didn't work. She came to China with our daughter, who was then two and a half years old, and we conceived another daughter there. She's made in China but was born in Israel, because the medical insurance didn't cover it, and as it was we saw that it wasn't working. So my wife went back to Israel, and I also came for a few months, until the birth. One of the [military] operations took place while I was here, and I would go down to the shelter with the bigger one. Until Covid, I was in Israel every two months for a few weeks.

During Covid it was hard. I made it here four times, and each time, I had to go into isolation, both in Israel and in China. In any case, after the little one was born, I went back to China and married a Chinese woman. We never got divorced. Officially, on paper in the Interior Ministry, I have a Chinese wife, but today she's living with a girlfriend, because two years ago she discovered that she's a lesbian.

Sounds like a real shock.

I thought we were going to spend our lives together. From my point of view, that romantic idea hasn't passed. There's a good chance you'll see me divorced a third time at some point.

Or married.

Married happily until death. I believe in that connection between people. It was painful for me, but she said she preferred being with her girlfriend. So we stayed friends. It took me time, but I got over it. Now she's like my sister, but it was a process. I wanted us to be a family. That was a lesson that challenged me with the place of "To love is to set free" and all those things. I think I excelled and got a medal from the Creator.

Do you still find China magical?

When I got there, I had a great deal of esteem for the culture. The more time that passed, especially in recent years, when the current president has been in office, I have developed a growing feeling of rejection. Not in the sense of just becoming disgusted, but the opposite, in some place to understand the added value that we have as Jews in the world. My present Chinese partner is my age, but her level of self-awareness is like that of a little girl. It's unbelievable. They desperately need our light. The woman who was privileged to marry me received it and it opened her head. By the way, I am also the gabbai [administrator] of a shul, even though I'm not at all observant.

What do you mean by "self-awareness"?

Not understanding yourself, where your emotions come from. To see yourself only as part of the mass, only as obeying the rules. The emotional behavior, even when related to business, is that of little children. It's a real joke. In my opinion, it's a level of awareness that existed in the West a hundred years ago. It's something they need, and I enjoy giving it to whoever is in my milieu.

Michal Malihi, 25; lives in Rishon Letzion, flying to Tokyo

How long are you going for?

Between two weeks and a month. I'm going on an organized tour, and I haven't yet decided whether I'll return with the group or not. Most likely I'll come back early, because I have a lot to do here in Israel. I'm moving from a temporary job to a permanent one, and I've finished my year of internship in computers, so I'm starting fulltime work in the cyber field. God willing, my flatmate and her boyfriend will also get married, because they've been together a long time and we're expecting that. Of course there's no pressure, but after they're married they'll move in together and I'll have a different flatmate, who is also a friend of ours. There's lots to do. Ah, and then there's our cat. I'm not sure whether she loves me or hates me, but either way I'll be happy to see her.

That's the story with cats, no need to take it to heart.

Yes, it depends on her mood when she wakes up in the morning.

Sounds like a turbulent period.

Yes, it's exciting. It's also my first year out of my parents' home, and when you leave home and live with friends it's suddenly a lot more fun. I lived in Gedera and moved to Rishon Letzion. The move was a bit bumpy at first. The apartment we moved into was a real mess – broken electrical sockets, wrecked faucets. In the first two weeks we lived with the family of my flatmate in Rishon Letzion, and we would go to the apartment every day to organize things. It was shocking. I discovered that you have to be there on the day the previous tenants move out in order to see the damage they're leaving behind, because they said they would take care of everything and they didn't. Our landlord is very nice, but a bit naïve.

So why Japan?

I really love it. Their culture is interesting, and because I have very long hair I am interested in things that are used for tying hair. I have a pretty large collection of Japanese hair clips. Some of them are truly bombastic, things you can't wear outside your home. But that's the value of the collection. It's not especially practical, even though there are a lot of things I can wear on a daily basis too. I also received a Japanese sword as a gift from a relative, and then started to collect them – I find them very aesthetic and beautiful. Their sheath and also the part you hold are very handsome, as well as the round part that connects them. The blade itself is very impressive, and usually there's a lovely engraving on it. Of course, the blade has been blunted on all of them – otherwise it would be dangerous.

When someone comes into my room, the first thing they see is a sword so they want to play with it. I don't want anyone to lose an arm in my room, I don't need that on me.

Is this your first time flying alone?

Yes. There was a discussion about that, because I'm my father's firstborn and only daughter. Of course there's my brother, but I'm the only daughter. And I'm flying on my own – that is to say without him, but with a group. So a few concerns came up.

Are you also apprehensive or is it just your dad?

No, I'm at ease. I know that Japan is a very safe country. There are no Muslims there either, so that's a plus. I've been contemplating whether to continue travelling alone or not, but it's unlikely I'll stay on. The trip is already very expensive. But I do want to take a little time for myself on this trip.

Did you always like computers?

I enjoyed it from the very first time I dealt with computers in my army position. I'm a very practical person. As soon as I finished the army I started college, and as soon as I completed college I started a job. The truth is that I got through college very efficiently – I did the preparatory courses and prepared for the degree while I was still in the army.

What's your rush?

I'm rushing to somewhere – it's inspiration I got from my father. He's a decisive, practical person; he's very impressive. I admire him. He's an electrical engineer in the port of Ashdod; he's brilliant. We have similar personalities so we clash with each other a lot, but that's alright. From my mom I got beauty above all. My mother is stunning – she looks like my big sister. I have large parts of her in me. She is simply perfect, beautiful on the inside and the outside. She's what I dream of being one day, amen. She's so charming and pleasant, and she realized her dreams. Then there's my little brother, who I love most of all in the whole world.

2024-04-25T14:56:59Z dg43tfdfdgfd