Since I lived as a child in Israel (1978 +1979) this beautiful very special country captured my heart and soul. According your writer almost nothing can be wrong in Israel. My admiration about everything the Israeli’s achieved is so big that I could only look with a pink mind to the only shining star in a sea of darkness. I saw the extreme beauty of the nature while driving to the north or when we passed the flourishing Negev. There was still no closed “West-Bank” and Gaza as we know it now, still did not exist.

It was great to drive with the bus company to every place in Israel, as soon you sat down people started to talk to each other and even started to sing together. I did not see the darkside of Israel. I only felt the pride ALL of the Israeli, Jew or Arab felt for their country. The nation was united as one big family Arabs stood next to Jews and Jews stood next to Arabs. My memories where so positive that after I visited Israel in 1982 for the last time I did not dare to return anymore for many many years. Afraid that my memory would be more beautiful than the rapidly changing reality.

In the summer of 2015 I could not wait any longer and went to my beloved Israel again. With ElAl we arrived in Israel. Ofcourse, as a Pro-Israel activist I knew things certainly changed…but I was surprised to experience that again, as soon as I set my feet on Israeli soil, my heart opened and I felt relaxed and comforted. Ofcourse things changed, everywhere new houses, new buildings, places that were pure and untouched in 1979 like the Banias spring/falls, Gan Hashlosha (Sachne) or Caesarea changed into touristic amusement places, very commercial and unfortunately i could feel there that the spirit of those places changed forever. But deep inside Israel stayed the same, at least for me, a tourist.

I am convinced that Israel is so special because the Jewish culture, the Jewish way of living, the high moral standards the Torah is teaching. Since 2015 I visited Israel more then 12 times, everytime happy and delighted to be “home” where my heart is… but as a honest person I could not help to notice things in Israel that changed not for the good.

I guess my Jewish/Israeli boyfriend helped me to open my eyes a little. He talked about the stress everybody nowadays is feeling in Israel. The continue threats of terror, the continuously blame Israel gets from the United Nations, from the European gutmenschen. The high prices for living, because the security and safety of the nation costs billions of shekel, this has to be paid mostly by the Israeli tax payer. But unfortunately more and more people leaving the way of living taught by the Torah. People are forgetting about the Jewish rules; money is most important directly followed by outside appearance, the more tattoo’s one get, the cooler they think they are. Being polite? A lot of people does not have that word in their vocabulary. So the society is getting crueler. Still Israel is much much better than other places, but it should stay like that.

Maybe when Israeli’s start to live more according the Jewish rules, the people are getting back to the point that the nation is One again, where there is respect for everybody, where there is compassion. Especially in Israel that is so much important, because Israel has not much friends outside the borders. Progress is good, but not against every price. Let the Israeli nation stick together and they will overcome every threat.

Who cares what the United nonsens say? Who cares what the European hypocrite leaders will say? Who cares even what Donald Trump says? If Israel is one nation, if the people are proud again of their beautiful country, the positive energy, the shining light will touch the entire world and Israel will be the example it once was, protected by Hashem.