Esther’s Remarkable Story of Survival and Heartfelt Thanks

May 9th, 2024 |HaTikva Dental

It is impossible not to notice Ester is such an open-hearted, kind, and sweet woman, who at 83 years old, not only gave us great feedback but also shared with us her amazing life story.

“From the bottom of my heart, I am astonished at how gentle and attentive the attitude was at HaTikva Dental. Elisa and the team were just great to me! They were fixing prostheses for my husband, and I was watching, because at all times I was treated only in private clinics before. I’ve been in Israel for 45 years and never thought of free dental treatment. And here it happened. I had left home, fallen and broken my tooth. And here I decided to listen to the advice of my friend. I’m very happy I took the advice. I feel peace about my future treatment at this clinic!!”

Esther’s mother, a beautiful woman, was born in 1917 during the Russian Revolution. The year Esther was born was the year when the siege of Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) happened, when Nazi forces starved the people of the city to death.

“The siege began on 8 September 1941, when the Wehrmacht severed the last road to the city. The siege became one of the longest and the most destructive in history, and it was possibly the costliest siege in history due to the number of casualties that were suffered throughout its duration. An estimated 1.5 million people died as a result of the siege. At the time, it was not classified as a war crime, however, in the 21st century, some historians have classified it as a genocide, due to the intentional destruction of the city, and the systematic starvation of its civilian population.”

Esther’s father was brave enough and somehow got their family evacuated from Leningrad to Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod) where they settled for a while. After the war, they came back to the city. E. came from Saint Petersburg to Israel when she was 38 years old. Running from antisemitism in one of the most beautiful cities of Russia she says that she hasn’t ever felt any regrets that she left for the Holy Land. Now she is happy and blessed in the country of Israel where she feels cared for and loved by her people, and also because of such people as the HaTikva Dental team!