Israel ….Part 2……
The city of Tel Aviv, a bustling city that almost never sleeps. The people all spoke English and drank expresso. Fresh orange juice on every corner and taxi’s readily available at the wave of a hand. It was like being in New York, except instead of the American flag flying it was an Israeli flag with the Star of David flying proudly everywhere. It gave me a feeling of such calm it is almost impossible to explain. We spoke to many people and …we decided not to run our way through Israel but to live in Israel for a couple of weeks and really get to know the people and the land. This was not a vacation to us ;it was an education that we had come here for.
The first man we met was our driver. He is a single man who served in the army and was a native born Israeli. He had never lived anywhere else. He was friendly, kind and wanted so much to help us meet Israel. He had a hard time understanding that we really wanted to learn the truth of this land and not just be taken on a tour of the old and historic places like normal tourist…not us…! We wanted to live and understand as much of Israel as we could in 16 days. When it finally dawned on him that we were serious he was so accommodating. He took us to meet a family in Metula. We landed in this beautiful farming town that sits in the Golan Heights very close to the Lebanon border. The family farms and has since before the Rothschild’s donated the land to Jews who were willing to farm that area. Apples, wonderful apples. We ate an apple called Pink Lady. The taste was magic and the apple is really pink. The husband was a wise old man who reminded me of my father and told us if we really wanted to learn the truth he would take us for a tour and have we met others in the town who had suffered during the 6 day war. From his farm we could actually see the Lebanese border and I got so close I could see a picture of a man (a billboard) with the words “death to Israel” written across the top of his head. The Head of Hezbollah, they told us that he wants nothing more than to destroy our country. A little ways further down the farm we could see 3 flags flying over the Lebanese homes. One of Lebanon, one of the PLO and one of Hezbollah. The military police were patrolling there. In looking at the faces of these young men I felt pride, sadness and wanted nothing more than to hug them and say Thank you. Thank you protecting our country, for being so brave and so strong…thank you. We noticed that they were so eager to talk so we sat with them for some time and listened while they told us stories of war, fear, school and their dreams. Suddenly, it dawned on us that we were sitting having a conversation with several young men holding machine guns and some of them were so young they weren’t even shaven. In that instant I knew I had to do something. I had to find a way to reach my people back home in America and fight for our Israel; they depend on us…for without us they will surely lose. We must as a country stand behind Israel. Our ally our friend.
They again were telling us stories of when Lebanon and Syria began shelling Israeli towns in north, and the conflict escalated into air strikes. Many homes of these farmers were destroyed along with their crops. They sent their children away to Tel Aviv where they would be safe but the men couldn’t leave their homes. The Wives also refused to leave their husbands and their homes. They sat through the bombings and the shelling and helped the families who lives were destroyed. Miriam (the wife of the old farmer) ran the Inn where we stayed. ….lord she made soup like you have only dreamed of. If I could can it and bring it back I would (not a bad Idea). A recipe of her mothers who was a holocaust survivor and she came here to Israel when she was released from Auschwitz. She had lost her parents, brother and sisters at the camp and had been sent here to live with an aunt. What amazing people with amazing love for the people of this country…it was this woman who told me …”where ever you are in the world no matter what happens “you can always come home to Israel”. You are always welcome. All of our people are welcome. It is something you have not yet faced so you don’t understand how important it is. I hope there never comes a day when you find that you are not wanted. But it there does we are here with open arms.”
I had so many incredible different experiences in Tel Aviv. We met a man who worked in the Diamond district, the largest I have ever seen. He took us on a tour and it took my breath away. All the books I have read about my people being expert cutters and shiners of diamonds, now I was here watching them work…from the rough raw stone right to the final beauty that is created. It is an experience I will never forget and in a way it is Israel itself. A raw and ugly stone when it began…now a beautiful shining star. A star so bright that everyone around it wants to take it away.
This man became our friend is a hard working man with a wife and two children. He loves Israel and has fought and been through two wars for his country. He is a man who reminds me of my step father. Warm, kind, soft spoken and worries beyond what we could understand for the safety of his children. They are both of age to join the army and are going in within the next few months. When asked if he could run and leave the country so they wouldn’t have to go…he stops and thinks of a moment, and with all sincerity says “First of all my children wouldn’t allow it. This is their country and this is their duty…to protect it and fight for it. Secondly, this is my country and I love this country as I love my children, I want that there is a place for them always and that they never know a feeling of not having a home land. For this we all must sacrifice. As the Jews have for millions of years. I believe this is just the way of our people. I do not see a time when the world would just leave us alone. That is all we want, to be left alone so we can live outlives in peace. What is the problem? Why is it that we cannot even have a place, out in the middle of the desert, a place that no one wanted, to live with our families in peace? We don’t want to fight with anyone. It is they that want to fight against us, and they always have. What will become of us and our country if America walks away from it’s treaty with Israel. Now that is what we worry about today not the bombing or the terrorists. It is our friends in America that can do us the most harm.
The people in Tel Aviv are also young and inspirational. When speaking to them it was hard not to notice a maturity to them that you just don’t see in America. They have seriousness about them and when asked about their studies or their lives it always began with their time in the army. Most were proud to have served and yet on the other hand feel as though they missed out on a lot of time to begin their lives. They feel a little left behind. I suppose that is totally normal for young men and woman who have pledged to give up either 2 or 3 years of their lives to do something most do not want to do but yet feel proud since that they are the ones that must protect their country; If not them then who? America, was always behind us…we always knew that we had a father in America that would always make sure we were strong…now they feel that is slipping away and it is evident in the t-shirts they wear…”don’t worry America; Israel’s got your back”. Meant to be humorous but with oh so serious a meaning. I loved Tel Aviv with its hustle and bustle. A mezuzah on every door of every hotel room and every shop. It’s a world trying to find its place between Jerusalem and New York. The beach was sandy and the shops elegant, yet on Friday the Sabbath all closes down. It is unification I have never witnessed. One purpose for all. If you want to find a cup of expresso on a Friday afternoon after 4pm… You cannot. It is forbidden to use appliances on the Sabbath. From the religious to the young everyone seems to observe this day and this ritual now matter how modern the young speak of being. It is a beautiful thing. It would seem that Tel Aviv had been separated from the fear in many ways. Their talk is of the future not the past, but even with this, it seems we still end up in the same place. What is in store for Israel now? And even though it is sheltered from much of the fear one can still feel it as you walk through an Arab area. As much as I hate to admit the feeling changes a bit. One is more alert in these areas. I have never been called a racist but maybe I am not totally unblemished when it comes to walking though an Arab neighborhood. I don’t like the idea but I didn’t want to be there. There was just a slight turn of the head when someone walked by you…just a brief hesitation when asked if you were American and a Jew. Graffiti on the walls that say “death to the Jews” It felt like being in any other place but Israel, in a way it made me angry. This is my country, a place where I am supposed to be safe. Therein lays the problem. I know not all Arabs hate Jews, but as my Israeli friend put it…”some of us have very good friends that are Arab. But if push comes to it…we would turn against each other in a moment if war broke out and we were fighting for our home land.” This is an ominous way to live for both sides. Ohhh…so even in the modern city of Tel Aviv fear creeps in and it would seem in Israel it is everywhere.
AMERICA MUST STAND BEHIND THIS SMALL COUNTRY WHO DOES SO MUCH TO PROTECT US….THEY ARE OUR FRIENDS, OUR EYES AND OUR EARS IN THIS VAST AND DANGEROUS PLACE…THE MIDDLE EAST.
November 19th, 2009 at 6:40 am
Brilliant, moving commentary. Clearly this trip to Israel has changed you.
November 30th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Thank you…it really has.