Israel is am amazing country. Israelis work, go out in their free time, and spend time with their families - all the usual. And this is done while surrounded by - and harboring in their midst - enemies who would like to wipe us out, as I see daily in my work at PMW, where we monitor the hatred and incitement to hatred and terror as reflected in the Palestinian media, which clearly expresses it's hatred for Israelis and desire to completely take over ALL of Israel and turn it into Palestine, a state which would of course tolerate no Jewish presence - unlike Israel that is a democratic state with equal opportunity for all citizens. For examples of this one has only to look at the composition of its parliament, which includes Druze and Arab members, and the student bodies of its various universities, and to look at the streets and see the variety of people, all of whom seem comfortable and secure walking Israeli streets.
How? I am here and doing it too for more than 30 years, and it still seems illogical when I think about it. A large part of this is of course faith in G-d. But bad things can happen, even to the faithful; and many Israelis do not consider themselves religious. And yet we continue and thrive. One could say we do so in the face of adversity, choosing to soldier on. But it does not feel that way. Life feels pretty normal. We do of course work hard to protect ourselves, most people serving in the army or doing some form of community service for a few years after high school. And yet there is not a sense of being constantly under siege or in danger - which seems absurd when our existence and continued survival seems like a miracle if you stop to think about it. I think the feeling of family, not only among actual family, but among Israelis in general plays a large part in this. Everyone is there for you and cares about you (and therefore feels free to comment and give advice); we feel very much like one large extended family. And beyond that, Israel is truly a miracle and a miraculous place -as seen by the very fact of its existence today and the return to it of people scattered throughout the world, people who come despite the difficulties, despite the tenuous situation, coming because it is home, regardless of whether they have ever personally stepped foot on its soil, our only real home.
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