Imperfect, Happy, Strong

Some observations on the people and every day life in the land of milk and honey

My first action when I arrive somewhere is almost always to get groceries after settling in my AirBnB. It is such an instructive way to get to know your surroundings and good fun to stock up on the core necessities. So earlier this week I ambled into the nearby ‘Victory’ supermarket here in Ashdod to get hummus, veggies, fruits, bread and cheese. And some halva, of course. At the bread section I picked up a lively debate in Russian, further on in the store a black girl with a big afro-style hairdo was coordinating the restocking of the shelves, at the check-out a pale and covered orthodox woman was right behind me and as I walked out a bikini clad girl rushed past me after which an older and somewhat confused man wrapped up the visit by checking my receipt and stamping it for approval. Yes, that is Israel, as diverse as it gets. But as opposed to the celebrated diversity in North America and Europe these people, all very different from one another, are glued together by something very unique, by that eternal bond of being Jewish. Their common history and shared struggles bind them in a very special way.

And so it goes on the beach with muscled boys and babes, and with a hyper active surf crowd, you might as well be in Southern California or Australia if you take a good look. There’s beach action here at any time of the day. Yet that same beach culture also allows an orthodox girl to conduct her morning prayers, totally oblivious of the testosterone charged environment around her. All of these people trace their lineage back to Moses standing on that mountain and yet they have all interpreted his message from centuries ago in so many different ways. Yet they do it together.

But not always in harmony of course, far from it. Jews are known to tear each other apart over anything, the screaming matches on the street and in parliament are epic and the fights in traffic are in a class of their own. And yes, the atheist-religious divide here is monumental and at times it widens perilously, leading to serious and corrosive divides in society. It is not always easy. But when the pressure is on, as it is now, the ranks close. The common heritage, traditions and shared language prevail. And the sizeable non-Jewish population like Arabs and Druzes gladly follow along, because their livelihoods under Syrian, Lebanese or Palestinian rule would be so much worse, potentially deadly even. That too applies for the LGBT community: the only pride parades in the entire Middle East can be found in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

That weird mixture of tradition and modernity translates itself into daily life. You even see things that from a western point of view are seriously outdated. For instance yesterday I was asked twice at a coffee shop if I wanted regular milk or something more vegan in my cappuccino. Israel has caught on with the health craze too, so I thought. Once I sat down a young and fashionably dressed woman took the table next to me and started sipping on her fruit smoothie. Healthy girl, I thought. No sooner did this cross my mind or she pulled a cigarette from her purse and started puffing away. Yes, smoking is still a thing here and weirdly enough it is mostly the women that I see smoke on cafe patios and outside bars, regularly. Old and young, full ashtrays, not many western nations would accept this any longer, but here in Israel it is totally fine as far as I can see. Nor would any civilized place put up with mountains of plastic and poor garbage collection, which seem to be also a feature of life here.

It is an imperfect state of affairs: science and healthcare, tech, the military, they are all second to none whereas other things are utterly sub-standard. But it all works somehow and the place thrives. And Israelis are one of the happiest folks in the world according to recent reports, way happier than for instance Americans and Canadians. And that is saying something for a nation where it is actually quite hard to make a living, where real estate prices are stratospheric, where you can‘t drive across any border for a day out and where missile attacks are the order of the day. I mean, you have got to have a good reason to hang on here.

But that shared sense of destiny, the ever present sun and the drive to struggle with the imperfect while enjoying the fruits of the land have resulted in a sort of optimism that is hard to find anywhere else. Sure, there are carve-outs, many Israelis have checked out and left and of course not everyone is on the ‘go happy’ program. October 7th has put a serious dent into the feeling of well-being, in particular as it frayed the bond between the government and the people: the unsigned contract where safety was a given got ripped up and it will take a long time for it to be put together again. But where the politicians fail the people are actually picking up the slack and are collaborating, Israel’s civic community is stronger than ever in these times of crisis.

Overall, given the incredible odds, this nation is still doing extremely well and that is also why its people are so willing to fight for it. And they’re staying, despite what college students in the West are now advocating. In fact the global hostility directed at Jews is making the case to live in Israel that much more compelling these days. Better still, birth rates are relatively high here and building activity is omnipresent, some cities are just one big construction pit and that is a clear sign of strong future potential. So many Jews around the world are re-evaluating their plans and considering to make aliyah (to come home, it literally means ‘going up’). This Brit explains it succinctly.

Yes, you get the vibe when you are here on the ground and no, it is not always perfect. But that is precisely the point: the effort to make things better while ignoring the smaller issues. It is not great you are still smoking and I rather you not throw away that plastic bag, but we got more important things to do here. Like building our lives and defending that. It is the pursuit of happiness with a communal rather than an individual angle. And it is driven by a deep love for the place. A love that I as a foreigner share. Deeply.

Note: I wrote a guest blog for Israel’s tech community a few years ago which connected history with the future: Rooted in tradition, embracing the future.