The moment you step into Raanana, a multitude of voices greet you. There are the quiet British voices, louder deeper American voices, penetrating Canadian consonants, drawling Australian accents and more; all speaking English and switching to Hebrew which is heavily influenced by the native language of the speaker. It’s a welcoming milieu, everyone speaks the Queen’s language, there are English book shops, shops which sell Cadbury’s chocolates and Ovaltine, and while elsewhere in Israel conversations are punctuated with ‘motok’ ie sweetheart, Raanana’s the place to go if you want to be ‘my dear-ed’ or ‘my love-ed’.

It’s a different world. Old ladies, who in my mind epitomize Miss Marple, roam the streets admonishing errant teenagers with their feet on bus seats. This crusading spirit does not end on the streets. The civic mindset of the Anglo-Israelis finds a great outlet in the enormously popular email groups that have become the mainstay of Central Israel. There’s the simply named raananalist; then there’s taanglo, janglo, kfarsabalist, herzshmar, fivetowns, esralist, raananabakes and so on. Along with some recipe swapping and real estate offers, these lists give a fascinating insight into the issues faced by immigrants in their adoptive land. Lessons are sought and given on how to read utility bills (which are made out in Hebrew), dog walking services are offered, donations solicited and made, gift ideas are asked for and given, help is solicited on everything from good medical services to reliable handymen, goods are offered on sale, the feral cat situation discussed. In short everything that makes a community tick ultimately finds its way into these lists. It is an alternative virtual universe, ordered, unseen, friendly, English speaking and strictly apolitical, with a resident policeman in the form of the moderator.

The Anglo community in Israel provides the country with its largely South African dentist population, as well as a cricketing culture. This is a passion the Anglos share with Jewish Indian immigrants of course!

One of the strands that bind Anglos together is the Esra Magazine, a unique document of lives, struggles, achievements, marriages, births. In short the pulse of a community. Merle Guttmann, the founder of Esra, an acronym for the English Speaking Residents Association, exemplifies both the pioneering spirit of the Zionists as well as a single-minded dedication to community welfare. Esra, which started several decades ago as a support group for immigrant absorption, has grown to include activities ranging from book clubs, golf and scrabble tournaments and music evenings, to the more serious volunteer efforts towards working with underprivileged communities, irrespective of their native language. And of course the high quality magazine that they bring out every two months!

Vandana Chatterjee and her husband, an emissary of the Indian government, spent several years in Israel. She was an active member of the editorial board and a writer for the Esra magazine.