After visiting Israel for the first time in 1999, Dima became a committed Zionist and has since worked extensively in Zionist education in his home country of Uzbekistan.  "I feel like Israel is my country," says the 22 year old affirmatively.  Such aspirations prompted Dima to return to Israel on birthright in 2005 and again this year to study at the Holon Institute of Technology.

Dima has ironically faced the biggest challenge to his Zionist aspirations since living in Israel this past year. "Israel is the only country in the world where being Zionist is looked at in a negative way….when you are in Uzbekistan you can say I want to live in Israel and it's ok. But when you come to Israel and you say you want to live here, people say; are you crazy?  Did you think carefully?  Maybe you will go to the United States or the UK."  Dima related the reaction he received from his Israeli uncle after informing him he wanted to one day become the Prime Minister of Israel. "My uncle told me I should maybe become the Prime Minister of another country," he said with a small grin.

Despite such negativity Dima remains true to his dream of living in Israel and has done his best to integrate into Israeli society as well as learn Hebrew.  Dima chose the Holon Institute of Technology due to the fact that participants study alongside Israelis in Hebrew and Dima hopes to be fluent by the end of the year.  Additionally, Dima is consciously using his time here to get a handle on the basic elements of living in Israel.  Before coming this year, Dima relates, "I knew the history of Israel, but I didn't know real life.  But now I'm [taking advantage of] a real chance to live here before making aliyah.  After the year on the MASA program I will know how to deal with people, how to find a job, how to find a flat." 

Dima has also deliberately kept himself out of what he refers to as the Russian Ghetto.   "I have friends and relatives that are speaking only Russian, who are only watching Russian films, going to Russian theaters; they don't communicate with other parts of Israeli society.  I don't want to be like that."

MAP (MASA Activities for Participants) has also been beneficial to Dima's desire to expand his contact with the larger Jewish world.  In Uzbekistan, Dima relates, there was little contact with the Diaspora.  Through the various MAP programs that Dima has attended he has been able to meet and develop friendships with participants from all over the world.

When it comes to Dima visualizing his future in Israel, he admits that despite his strong sense of Zionism and love for Israel, "it will be hard form me to be Israeli."  Strongly connected to his Russian speaking background, Dima believes that he will always be a little bit of an outsider as he believes are all new olyim who now live in Israel.  "At the beginning of Israel we tried to make a melting pot, we know it doesn't work."  He concludes, hopefully however, that the next generation will be able to "live together."