56 reasons why I love Israel

April 28, 2004
by Barbara Sofer 
http://www.barbarasofer.com

Here are some of the reasons I love Israel, in no particular order:
The clock radio rouses me with "Shema Yisrael," the Jewish pledge 
of allegiance, and the weather is nearly always fine. On Memorial 
Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day, the act of remembering halts 
traffic. The Israel Prize recognizes lifetime achievement for 
actresses and rabbis, scientists and singers. 

Mother's Day is celebrated on the yahrzeit of Henrietta Szold, 
who organized Youth Aliya with Recha but who had no children of 
her own. All citizens have health care, and the fight is on to 
get coverage for foreign residents. If my car overheats, even men 
in designer suits will leap to help me. 

Twenty-five percent of Israelis have been close enough to hear 
a bombing, yet two million of us were out vacationing on Pessah. 
That's resilience. An evening of singing is still a popular 
grown-up pastime. Entire families show up for military graduations 
and bring enough food to feed an army. 

A circumcision ceremony, brit mila, is important enough to take 
an hour off from work. Israelis give out their cell phone numbers 
- the difference between our private and professional lives isn't 
neatly delineated. 

Supermarkets deliver. We have more IVF per capita than anywhere 
because we love children. 

Our beggars are courageous; they solicit on even the highest-risk 
street corners. Nearly every family story includes persecution, 
battle experience, and the upheaval of uprooting - yet Israelis 
are optimists. 

Street musicians are good enough to play in chamber orchestras. 
Despite the stress, creativity flourishes; Israel has more 
start-up companies than any country outside the US. We're 
talkative - both the cell phone and voice mail were invented 
here. We get excited about cyclamens, almond blossoms, and 
drive far to see budding Lupins (tormosim). 

On Friday, religious or not, everyone is hurrying towards Shabbat. 
Check out the bakery lines. Aliya stories can make the evening 
news. 

WE CELEBRATE Independence Day by holding a Bible contest. 
The fastest food is still falafel with its incomparable aroma. 
Blue and white flags fly from cars and buildings. "Where were 
your grandparents from?" is a common question. Where else would 
anyone care about my grandparents? You don't have to be best 
friends or kin to be invited to a wedding. 

You don't have to be best friends or kin to attend a funeral. 
By the number of scientific papers published (more per capita 
than any other country), you'd think researchers were in ivory 
towers. Most do hands-on works, and many serve reserve duty. 

First graders read the Bible in the original Hebrew, and celebrate 
when they get their personal copies. Humous is ubiquitous. 
Political discussions never stop, not even in the swimming pool. 

We follow the level of the Kinneret more faithfully than we do 
our stock portfolios. Even soldiers carrying heavy M-16's will 
stop to help a parent with a stroller. Streets bear names of 
prophets and medieval poets. Calendars change on Rosh Hashana 
because that's our real New Year. Malls have kosher food courts. 

Airplanes have sky marshals, just in case. We have more museums 
per capita than Italy. We raise cows in the desert with yields 
like those in Holland. Before Pessah, cleaning products are the 
lead supermarket items. 

Even in our prisons, Pessah - the holiday of freedom - is 
celebrated with a Seder. We have only one Seder; but Purim, 
our dress-up holiday, lasts three days. In Jerusalem, it's hard 
to tell who's in costume and who isn't. 

A new garment or a new haircut elicits a salutation, something 
between "wear it well" and "enjoy its newness." Israel is the 
first to offer help and send rescue teams to countries coping 
with disaster. Israel sent medical staff to care for our people 
home after the terror attack in Mombasa and then Israeli fighter 
jets guided the plane home. 

For all the talk about the greening of the planet, we're the 
only country in the world that started the 21st century with 
a net gain of trees. (Thank you, JNF!) 

And, number 49: Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech 
companies except for Silicon Valley, and also the most yeshivot. 
After a calamity, police have trouble keeping bystanders away 
who want to help. The question "What would you like to drink?" 
instead of "Would you like a drink?" is a measure of hospitality. 
Waiting in the supermarket check-out line, strangers share 
cheesecake recipes. Plain folk know the most obscure languages. 

Tel Aviv rose from a sand dune and looks glorious. The time of 
the Saturday evening news is adjusted to suit Shabbat observers. 
My children and grandchildren can be born in the land of my 
ancestors.
Happy 56th!