Everyone at TABC is familiar with our home country which is Israel. But is our perspective on Israel the same as native Israelis?
I became curious about this question during a recent visit there. In this article, I’ll give my own views on our home country and contrast them with the perspectives of one of my cousins, Eli Horstein, who lives there now and serves in the Armed Forces.
Eli's house would be my home base during my visit. He lives in Chashmonaim, a town that’s a very short drive from Modi’in and roughly 30 minutes from Jerusalem.
I’ve been to Israel a couple of times before and I consider it my favorite place to travel to in the world. While I'm in Israel, my favorite place to go to is Jerusalem, because I love the atmosphere there and the vibe that it gives off.
One of my favorite parts about traveling to Israel is that you feel like you are part of a family when you’re there. Most people are Jewish and you feel like you are their brothers.
Here’s a little background on Eli: he now serves in the Army Intelligence Unit. He grew up in America and lived there until 10 years ago, so he has a unique perspective on both countries.
Eli still remembers the life he had in America and he enjoyed living there, but he told me that he’d rather live in Israel and likes living there more.
Eli also comes back to America most summers to either go to a camp or work at a camp. He’s worked in Camp Dora Golding and his family has a house on Beaver Lake, which is a bungalow colony in the Catskills.
Since I love going to Israel so much, I wondered what it would be like to actually live there. I suppose every Jewish kid thinks at least once in his life that he wants to move to Israel.
So I interviewed Eli and asked him about his experiences there. Would life in Israel really be like how I imagine it? Eli answered this question and many more.
He and I disagreed on what makes Israel so special. My favorite thing about being in Israel is just the physical presence of the land.
But Eli’s favorite thing about being there is everywhere he looks and turns, he’s surrounded by people ready to help, no matter how trivial the matter. He felt that you are also surrounded by your brothers and sisters and everyone has your back.
My favorite thing about America is that I have all my friends here and I also know my way around here. Eli’s answer was that he loves going fishing but, in Israel, there aren’t places to do this.
One question intrigued me the most: what’s the essential difference between living in Israel and America?
For Eli, the important difference was that, in Israel, you feel a greater sense of protection, because you know that most likely your neighbors are Jewish, so there’s a high level of comfort. In America, this will often not be the case.
When I’m in Israel, my second favorite place to travel to is The Dead Sea. I love going there because it’s so peaceful and nice. When I’m there, I really like to go to Masada in the morning and daven on the top.
One thing I dislike about America is the lack of being able to feel like it’s my home. For example, wherever you go in Israel, food is most likely going to be kosher (except for a couple of restaurants). I love the feeling of not having to bring food from home and get it almost everywhere when I’m in Israel.
I also wondered what Eli disliked about both of these places. He said he dislikes the fact that Israel is such a compact country - he doesn’t like the lack of space to build on.
His answer for America is very common: he doesn’t like feeling anti-Semitism. It seems like we find anti-Semitism in newspapers, songs and everywhere we look; we aren’t able to run away from that.
I also wondered if he was ever affected by the Arabs and, if so, if it changed his daily life. Eli’s answer was that he’s affected by the Arabs because he’s in the Army. Israel is under constant threat, so he has to be ready if there’s a war.
As we know, there were a lot of protests and demonstrations by the Gaza border recently. I wondered if this affected Eli or anyone he knew. He answered, “Not really.” He said that regular life still goes on during those hostilities.
Eli did say that the recent demonstrations reminded him that he was being protected by the Israeli Army at all times, one of the best armies in the world. He also mentioned that some of his friends weren’t able to leave Israel when they wanted to because of the dangers of travelling.
The most important thing I asked him was if he would recommend moving to Israel and living there. His answer was “Obviously!”
He said that even though you have to always be prepared for war, Israel is a beautiful place to live and you can really feel connected to the people around you and the place around you because it’s your home country.
Hopefully, we’ll all be able to travel to (and even live in) Israel someday without having to worry about the danger of fighting or wars.