Israel at home

Since the creation of this blog, the background cover art has depicted an American flag and an Israeli flag on the backdrop of Capital Hill. I thought, at the time, this was appropriate because my blog was intended to share my perspective as both an American and a Jew.

This week, I had the beautiful opportunity to travel to Israel as a delegate for Netzer Veida. It was my first experience in Israel, after having so much education and programming thrown at me on the country. I had heard so much of other’s opinions, and I was finally getting the chance to develop my own.

I experienced four different cities, many tourist attractions, holy sites, and conference rooms. I visited museums, visited museums, heard speakers, and took pictures. For ten spectacular days, I got the chance to create a very person connection with the Jewish homeland.

Now that I am home, my goal is to dissect what Israel means to me. By no means do I think the answer is fixed; I changed my view a thousand times before I even touched the holy ground. Yet it is important for me to understand what I am thinking and feeling.

I have heard all kinds of people come back from Israel trips and moan about having to live in America. They miss Israel, want to live there, want that culture. I wasn’t sure if I would have the same feelings when I came back. Now that I have been there and back, I can safely say I don’t want to live in Israel. That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy my time there, or don’t love Israel and what it stands for. But I also very much enjoy and love the country that I currently reside in. I have an incredible degree of patriotism and love for the United States, and I cherish the opportunity to live here.

One of the best parts of Israel was having a community in which Judaism is the norm, rather than the exception. That being said, America offers me the opportunity to live a Jewish life alongside those like and unlike me. I commented on my trip that if all Jews move to Israel, we will be left with a very ignorant diaspora. I want to be a part of the education of America about what Jewish culture looks like and feels like.

Now I started this blog with a conversation about my choice in cover art. I did this because I think that photo best summarizes my view on Israel. I have a strong and deep place in my heart for both Israel and America. I feel a need to advocate on behalf of both of my countries. Yet, as I mentioned before, the backdrop is the American Capital Hill. To me, this means that my advocacy for Israel must come from my home, from America, as a form of diaspora-based Zionism.