מאגר סיפורי מורשת

My name is Ana Raquel Ghitis, married to Jose Stroh.

My grandfather Jose (Josel) Ghitis was born in 1884 in the "Shtetl" of Nova Sulita, (Noveselitz, in Yiddish) which is today in the territory of the Republic of Ukraine. At that time, this small town had 6,000 Jews in its community. Noveselitz was both a participant and a victim of both World Wars and today unfortunately is suffering again from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

My grandfather married Beille Schechtman, born in 1882 in Tulcea, a town on the west coast of the Black Sea. They had 2 children: My father Abraham (Alter) born in 1921 and the second son, Albert Joshua (Shike) born in 1923, in Noveselitz.

My grandparents Jose, Beille, my father Abraham, and my uncle Shiki.

(1928 in (Noveseltz, Romania)

In 1935, the situation got so bad for the Jews in Europe, that they had to flee from Romania to Colombia, a year after my father’s Bar Mitzvah.

Since he arrived in Cali, Colombia at the age of 14, my father had to work. He was always successful and a visionary businessman. He married Sonia Miller, a beautiful girl from Pulavi in Poland and they had 4 children: Beno, Leon, Ana (me) and Arnoldo.

Family Photo  

My father Abraham, usually called Alter, was a great athlete, a chess player, president for several years of the swimming league, and of the chess league in Cali. He was also the President of: El Club Deportivo Hebreo, “La Piscina”.  There, every Sunday, he spent hours with his children in the pool, teaching us how to swim and how to jump off the diving board which was 5 meters high. With his strong body he lifted us all on his shoulders. He loved to dress very well, and always kept his shoulders up and straight. He was an upright and honest person.

Where my father Abraham (Alter) lived.

He instilled in me as a young girl the desire to swim, train daily and compete in swimming tournaments, which helped me a lot in my training, and in learning responsibility, dedication and tenacity.

He loved to dance and had a great rhythm. No one could say that he was not really from Colombia. He loved to participate in TV programs, singing, telling jokes and playing memory games.

I remember in the evenings when I was a child, he made us sit next to him after dinner, and while he played the piano he made us sing old melodies from his childhood, and of the moment. We sang in two voices.

The Ghitis surname was well known in the city of Cali, since my grandfather Jose had 4 brothers: Simon (Shimon), Samuel (Shmuel), Miguel (Ihiel) and Jaime. They all lived in Cali so we had many uncles and cousins and all were very active in the Jewish community. At that time, the Jewish community in Cali had approximately 2,000 people, a Hebrew school and two synagogues: the Ashkenzi and the Sephardic. There was also a smaller community of (the “Yekes”) those who immigrated from Germany before the War.

Most of the Jews lived comfortably, without problems of anti-Semitism. We learned Hebrew and the Jewish religion at school, we also celebrated Jewish holidays.

Sometimes the Ghitis cousins ​​​​and uncles would get together, and we would sing, as we all carried that music gene inside us. Those  were very beautiful moments, especially when my uncle Shike (Albert) came to town to visit us. He played the guitar and sang beautifully. He was a chazan in Miami.

Uncle Shike, my father’s only sibling, left Cali in his late teens to live in the United States. He enlisted in the US Army after WWII and was stationed in Italy after the Occupation. There he befriended an old woman, the only survivor of an Italian noble family, who taught him how to sing opera.

He gave me a guitar at the age of 13 which has always accompanied me.

Ana playing with her gifted guitar from her uncle Shiki, in the maccabi games

(in Colombia)

In Cali, I studied at the Hebrew school and was part of the Madrichim groups which hiked and toured with the children of the community, and the guitar always entertained us. Every event at our school and even later in life having my children, the guitar was always there.

In 1971, I traveled with a suitcase and my guitar to study in Haifa, Israel. We would gather in the dorms to sing and that guitar was a central part of my new life there too. It helped me meet many people and have very happy times. In 1973 I married Jose Stroh, who finished his studies in The Technion and we decided to live in Colombia. He was also from the Cali community. His father, Abraham Stroh was also from Noveseletz. His mother, Cecilia Akerstain was from Poland.

We have two sons and a daughter. Mike, Jonathan and Nicole. They are all married and thank G-d we have been blessed with 9 grandchildren.

Family Reunion in Cartagena, Colombia

We have been living in Israel since 2009.  Nicole is married to an Israeli and they have 3 girls. Her daughter Tamar, my little Israeli granddaughter, is my co-researcher, sharer and helper with this family story project.

הזוית האישית

From Tamar’s perspective: While doing this program, I felt very connected, and close to my grandmother and my ancestors. I finally understand what my grandparents and her family went through. Having to write about her story, I felt energized and excited for the article to be published.

From Ana’s perspective: Reviewing photos, family stories and places while sharing it with Tamar, was very emotional and fulfillness for me. Thanks to Liron Pearlmutter, and Anat Amir for giving us the opportunity and helping us to create this story.

סבתא אנה השתתפה בתכנית הקשר הרב דורי בביה"ס תל"י, בשנת 2017 עם הנכדה שני והן תיעדו את    סיפורה של סבתא על החיים בקולומביה והאהבה לישראל