A 65 year-old person today is not considered old, but I
think we can agree that a 65 year-old country
is considered very young. Imagine
a 65 year-old country, with roughly 7.5 million people living in it. Imagine a
country barely the size of New Jersey. Imagine a country with people arriving
in massive immigration waves from the most diverse cultures you can think of,
including roughly 150,000 from Ethiopia and 1.5 million from the former Soviet
Union, all in recent years. Imagine a young, tiny country trying to welcome all
faiths and yet protect its roots. Imagine that country, a true melting pot,
living in a difficult neighborhood with many extremists trying to wipe it off
the map. Imagine a country where every home is required to have a shelter and
all citizens their own gas masks, all the time. Imagine a country where you are
sitting in your room and the background noise is from a neighbor country, the
border just 1.5 mile away, fighting a bloody civil war. Imagine a country where
each and every 18 year-old kid is required to serve in the army for several
years. Imagine a young and tiny country in the middle of the desert. Imagine
that country fighting for its right to exist in peace, and yet trying to
preserve its vibrant democracy.
What kind of country do you imagine? If you’re like me, you
imagine Israel, but you also know that it is so much more than what I just
described.
I
will tell you that in that country and with all that complexity, I had the best
family vacation one could ask for! Whatever you imagined, here is what I saw. I
saw the beauty and the narrative of a very young country still defining itself,
as its own identity keeps evolving while confronting significant existential
threats and complex social issues. I saw a country where people feel safe and
know that life is valued and important. I saw a blossoming economy in the
middle of the desert, where it is sometimes hard to know you are in the desert
when you see the modern landscape around you. I saw a changing society that has
its own challenges, but also a beautiful mosaic where the most diverse cultures
interact and learn how to become one, building a unique blend, and learning
painfully how to coexist with the good and the not so good - but always
learning! I saw a country that makes the best out of its Army and young
soldiers, which develops and grows the younger generations with strong values,
education, innovation, and a hope for a better future. I saw people living
fully every day. I saw a mezuzah in every grocery store, post office, and
everywhere I turned, feeling at home. I saw the hub for many technologies that
keep the entire world running, technologies which come from Israeli innovation
and scientific advancements, created in the middle of the blossoming desert. I
saw a country which continues to have its top universities and academic
institutions ranked among the best in the world. I experienced art, culture,
healthy democratic debates, and constant self-questioning of its political and
judicial systems. I saw incredible beautiful sites and ate wonderful meals from
around the world. I enjoyed some remote, wonderful restaurants in the Galilee,
started by up-and-coming Israeli chefs, and even a growing Israeli winery in
the Golan. I enjoyed the pleasure of the best Mediterranean beaches. I heard the sounds of all religions,
languages and music you can imagine. I experienced the sounds of the bombs in
Syria while having coffee and the best water melon ever, at my cousin's home in
a beautiful and peaceful Moshav in the Golan. I also heard directly from
doctors how Israel is rescuing Syrian women and children and treating them in
Israeli hospitals. I heard the struggles and needs of the people but also the
understanding that many challenges are global and the hope and desperate cry
for peace is a shared struggle. I
saw lots of growth and development regardless of all the challenges that young,
tiny and complex country faces. I saw the choice to live in peace even if we
are not there yet. I saw that life goes on in Israel!
And
that’s when I finally understood where my personal and professional “make it a
good one” philosophy comes from. I grew up belonging to a country, and today I
belong to a community of people that always stands for the life every human
being can and deserve to have. We choose to transform what we have, no matter
how difficult it is, into a good one! We had slavery, we escaped. We had the
tragedy of the Holocaust and we came from the ashes and re-built. We had wars
and we kept going. We had terrorism and we didn’t settle. We have a desert and
we make it blossom. Israel is young, imperfect as we all are, a very complex
society...and yet the people in Israel choose every day to make it a good one.
My trip
to Israel was a great vacation, fun and meaningful. But my trip to Israel also
became a trip to understand where I come from and how far we can go when we
transform what we have into what it can be.
1 comment:
Great writing and spirit! Very moving and deeply touching
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