Reflections on my visit in Israel

I began to see Israel this time not from the eyes of a tourist, but to a small extent, through the eyes of those who live there and have made Israel their home. From our meeting with Yosi and Dina Haim, who invited us into their home for Shabbat dinner... to my conversations (in my broken Hebrew) with many cab drivers... to an afternoon exploring the Carmel market and old parts of Tel Aviv with Mira Korn... to lunch with Adam Griesman in lev shel Tel Aviv at the Ben Ami coffee shop... each of these experiences deepened and broadened my love of this land and my understanding of her contradictions.

I find this country to be one where the natural contradictions of life are played out more vividly. Where "yes" and "no" go on in a tension tighter than any place else I have encountered. Old and new of the cities intertwined, ancient and modern culture in contrast, Hebrew spoken as a native tongue and yet also for some reserved only for prayer, the frenetic pace at which every one lives - just watch out when you cross the street if you doubt this -- and yet it all comes to a stop on Shabbat only to burst forth again the next evening, the pulse of life so palpable, the colorful landscapes with every shade of cream and bronze and gold and purple and faded shades of green... and yet from up close it is just muted and dusty and gritty and dry and sand. Rich and poor is Tel Aviv with the beautiful shades of blue of the Mediterranean, lined with new high rise apartments and condominiums overlooking it, yet the city is often dirty and looks like a run down Miami beach.

People from all lands... who consider themselves to be returning home. And yet others who also wish to claim this land, as if they are the only refuges from this place that has known nothing but to cast those who lived there off to other places time and time again. To whom does such a place really belong? Perhaps only to the strong, to the righteous?

A home land. A place from where I am sure once my ancestors came and to which many have returned. A full circle? Or more like a hurricane, with Jerusalem at the eye of the storm, casting outward... all who enter inward.

A land so fragile and at risk. Where the water is as scarce as the patience. Yet a people strong and determined to make the best of their lot, to make life in a land promised long ago. A country divided left and right, yet united by the desire to remain.