Israel at 60: My Other Home

There is something about Israel at any age that is fascinating.

I remember my first trip to Israel; I went there in 1983 when I was 33.  It was only for 24 hours, but it was fascinating to me, because Israel for me had always been an abstract concept.  Since my childhood days in cheder, when I was six and seven years old, I remember people talking about this faraway haven for Jews, Israel.

Of course as I grew up, I learned the history of our people—the modern Israeli people—and about the Holocaust and the need for a safe harbor for Jews. The Six-Day War captured my imagination and heightened my curiosity about this country and its people. Just a few years later, I was going to Israel for the very first time.

I landed in Ben Gurion Airport and took a cab to Netanya for the distinct pleasure of meeting with Netanya's chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, who went on to become the chief rabbi of Israel. I spent the afternoon with the rabbi. Then I headed back to the hotel near the airport, and after a mere 24 hours, was on my way back home.

In my first and very short stay I got a first impression: What struck me about Israel was that in some ways it was a country that seemed a bit more basic than Canada, my home. But in three short years my impression would change 100 percent.

The next time I went to Israel was in 1986. Israel seemed more like a thriving metropolis: the cities were growing and expanding, and the business and cultural communities were growing by leaps and bounds. I spent 10 days on a B'nai Brith Canada trip, meeting with government officials and other dignitaries, and becoming involved in the course of Israel's future.

My impression of Israel on my second trip was that of a far more serious and mature country. I was confronted with the fact that Israel was a "grownup" country with real people, real successes, and real challenges, not just a place you traveled with, and met with, your B'nai B'rith "brothers" and "sisters."

I started to meet and interact with Israeli officials and luminaries as well as every day people.  I came to realize that Israel, although much smaller than my own country of Canada, is a real country, and a country that plays a vital role on the world stage.

Now, I have probably been to Israel 20 times since that trip in 1986. I have discovered a country that has its own distinct way of life; it resembles Western democracies, yet has a flavor all its own. Israel's people are an interesting mix of people from the Ashkenazi tradition and people of the Sephardic tradition. Jews from countries around the world come together, making the fabric of what we call the Jewish homeland.

Of course, to us the Jews who live outside of Israel, Israel is our homeland and is always in our hearts. But when you go to Israel and you rub shoulders with the people who live there, you realize that they are the ones who are fighting and sacrificing to ensure that there is always a homeland for us who live in the Diaspora.

I have come to realize that Israel will never be like any other country in the world, because the purpose of the State of Israel is to ensure the future of the Jewish people. Israelis have a unique challenge, a critical raison d'etre.

Everything about Israel is different because of the symbolism of what Israel means to every Jew, any Jew. It matters not where a Jew lives in the world, nor if he or she is Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, or otherwise.

Israel is our second home.  There is a piece of Israel in every Jew's heart.