I can't lie that I was feeling a little nervous about coming to Israel. What I'd seen and heard in the news formed most of my opinions about this country: tension and war in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and bombings and conflicts Israel has with neighboring Arab countries. But I was still drawn to go. Josh's Mom and Dad were born in Israel, served in the army and then moved to Canada. Besides one uncle the majority of his family lives in Israel. I wanted to meet them and Josh wanted to re-connect since last visiting in 2000.
Even before we got on the plane from Istanbul to Tel Aviv we were questioned as to why we were travelling to Israel. Then we had a half-dozen passport checks in the Istanbul airport on our way to our gate. My nerves were rattling. But after landing in Tel Aviv things couldn't have been more smooth. I didn't see any soldiers or armed guards at the airport as expected. Passport control was a breeze. And there were no checkpoints when we were in the car on the way to Josh's aunt's. In fact, I felt completely safe and at ease.
I've noticed so many things about Israel that make it very different from anywhere I've ever been before. I wanted to share a few of them:
1. It's all about family
Here in Israel it's obvious that family is absolutely number one. And this is why I love this country. Not that North America is that much different but here it's much more pronounced. Children are so important and treasured (as they put it, they're the future, the next generation). In Israel you would never hear of kidnapping or assaults on children. It just doesn't really happen. Also, if a family member is down and out in any way, someone else within the family is always there for support. Even more so for me I realized this about Josh's family. I also had no idea how big his family is (all Israeli family seems huge to me), but I wasn't surprised to see how kind, generous and loving they are.
2. Evidence of conflict is here but it's not in your face
It wasn't until Josh's Aunt Sari who we've been staying with gave us a tour of her huge apartment that I started to pick up on subtle signs that Israel can still be volatile. In addition to her three bedroom place Sari also has a 'war room', which is a secured shelter in case of an attack. Luckily this room has never been used.
On our first full day in Israel Josh and I ventured out for our first authentic shwarma. As we were sitting there enjoying our lunch I saw my first two Israeli soldiers who walked in to grab lunch. No one else noticed these two young men, probably 18 years old carrying massive, loaded, automatic machine guns. I lost my appetite right there. But as I've learned now after being here for a few weeks - this is normal. This is Israel. Everyone who turns 18 serves in the army. Two years for women and three years for men. Depending on your role you carry a weapon at all times, even when you're 'off duty'. This overtime has actually made me feel safe.
When you go to a mall in Israel you must go through armed security where they check your bags or they'll just ask you, "are you carrying a gun?" I still haven't gotten used to this one.
Here, political tensions are part of every day life. It can be in conversations, on the news but it doesn't consume their daily lives as you might expect. Two nights ago a missile fell in a field in a suburban area outside Tel Aviv. It was sent from the Gaza Strip. No one was hurt, but also no one seemed to be bothered much by this. Our family friends here were woken up by sirens but they didn't get out of bed. They went back to sleep. In Israel there are sirens in every area to alert people if a bomb or missile is coming. When you hear the siren you are warned to find shelter immediately or go into your war room.
Finally, while we were here the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who was a POW by the Arabs for over five years, was liberated. This was huge news for Israel. But part of the deal is that 1,000 imprisoned Arabs will also be released. These are people who have committed mass murders against Israelis, who are now set free. This naturally created controversy but for the most part you can see that Israelis are so proud and protective of their soldiers and to save one of them was worth the thousand criminals.
3. Everything is close, yet everything is different
Josh and I can't help but ask often, "how far is it from here to Tel Aviv?" or "how long is the drive from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea?" The answer is pretty much guaranteed to be "everything is very close!" And it really is. Israel is smaller than Vancouver Island. We've seen a lot of the country already and that's only through 1 - 2 hour road trips.
The even more impressive thing is that the country is so diverse. You can drive an hour and a half north from Tel Aviv to Haifa, and it's lush and mountainous or drive the same amount of time South to the Dead Sea and it's desert land.
4. Standard of living is unbalanced
From my understanding visiting here and talking to people, one of the main reasons Israelis decide to leave this country is because of the high cost of living. I always thought it was because of the political conflicts but I don't think this is the case. It seems impossible to keep your family afloat when an 'average' salary doesn't cover the costs of living. Your basic neccessities (food, clothing, etc.) cost about the same as Vancouver, yet the average wage is less than half. Young people are now protesting to the government telling them that things must change as it's impossible to afford Israel and more impossible to buy a home. Not an uncommon issue in Vancouver, but our problem is usually more focued on costs of real estate.
5. Lunch is the big meal of the day
Well I can't lie, for me I love every meal of the day and every meal I look forward to but in North America I'm accustomed to dinner being the bigger more social meal. Here in Israel, lunch is it. On Shabbat (Saturday's, which is like North America's Sundays) family's get together for a huge lunch, with many many courses. It's a two to four hour affair. And after that, no dinner really. This came as a bit of a surprise to Josh and I as we found ourselves pillaging through his aunt's fridge at 9 pm.
Josh's Aunt Sari and her family
Looking forward to the next post where I get to introduce you to my new, amazing, extended family!
