[I intended to send this on Monday, before the UJA Federation solidarity mission began. My hope was to share more personally about my visit with my family and friends here before writing about the mission itself. I just have not had a moment to finish this note. Everything written below took place before the formal mission. Since writing this, I met with families of hostages, survivors of the massacre in the south, attended the funeral of a young soldier killed in battle on Tuesday, and so much more that I want to share with you. I have learned so much since writing this. I will write about these things when I return, and speak about them on Tuesday night at 7:30, so please join me then for my reflection on this week.]
Dear Friends,
I landed at Ben Gurion airport and it was empty. The open view of the departures area- usually filled with people drinking coffee and shopping for duty free items- was a ghost town. It was the first sign that we are living through an extraordinary moment. My journey from leaving the plane to exiting the airport took no more than 25 minutes. I never thought that I would miss the long lines and chaos of Ben Gurion.
My brother-in-law Noam picked me up from the airport and took me to his kibbutz in the South. Noam grew up on a moshav in the desert and is a sabra in the best possible way. Allow me to paint a picture. A few years ago, Noam and I drove to pick his kids up from gan (preschool), a trip that should have taken about ten minutes. About 45 minutes later, we were still talking to a total stranger about his tractor, which Noam spotted as we were driving. He drove off the highway onto a dirt road in a field just to get a closer look at the tractor.
On any drive with him he might see the perfect spot for a cup of coffee, pull off the road, take two chairs out of his trunk, make a fire, two cups of Turkish coffee, and just sit, delighting in the magic of the desert. He is salt-of-the-earth defined. You get the picture?
When I exited the airport, he gripped me in a typical bear hug, and I felt my body relax. I don’t think I fully comprehended how much stress I was holding in my body for those 22 days. Just seeing him was a tremendous relief.
On the way to the kibbutz, Noam and I caught up. I asked about his kids, the kibbutz, the overall mood. He shared a bit, and then the conversation moved to a surprising place. He wanted to know how my family and I were dealing with the explosion of antisemitism in America. We discussed it for a bit, but I was in Israel to offer him comfort and support, not the other way around.
