Israel Advocacy Network Blog - State Zionist Council of Victoria

The Situation Today in Israel

I have now been in Israel for three weeks. I have travelled up North and been backwards and forwards from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. I have attended the World Zionist Congress and attended a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I have mingled with everyday Israelis both at the Shabbat dinner table and at bars and coffee houses.

And yet, I am very aware that this picture that I am attempting to paint for you seems worlds away from the Israel that is being seen on the news at the moment.

We often talk about how tiny a country Israel is, but despite this, I still feel worlds away to what is going on at the moment. Just last night I returned home from an evening at the beach with an Israeli friend. I turned on the television and switched it over to CNN, hoping to perhaps see a headline or something that would let me know what is going on.

But at 2:00am, there was more than just a headline of news from Israel. Apparently, there had been an air strike by the Israeli Army in Gaza; the whereabouts and wellbeing of kidnapped solider Gilad Shalit is still unknown. I switched over to Channel 2 in Israel – nothing. Channel 1, nothing again. I looked out the window; Tel Aviv continued on as normal, as if we were not only in a different city, but a different country or continent altogether.

Many people from back at home have asked me if the situation feels tense here. I do not want to tempt fate by saying I feel safe, comfortable and fine. But the reality is if I were not receiving news from home, I would know very little of what is going on right on my doorstep.

Yesterday, I got the slightest inkling that this is a country in conflict. I went to Dizengoff Centre, and rather than just have my bag checked, which is the norm for Israel, each person entering had to show identification. I thought to myself, there must be some kind of an alert here or something, but that is as far as it went. Everyone remained calm and continued on into the centre as normal.

In a way it is nice to be in a state of ignorance while I am in Israel. It sounds horrible to say, and probably very insensitive especially given the fact that I work in Israel Advocacy, but I prefer to walk around with this sense of being blissfully unaware of what is going on around me.

I was in Israel four year ago, and the situation felt a lot tenser. The streets everywhere were empty, even in the lead up to Pessach, when everyone should be out and about buying up big before the holiday. You really felt like you were in a country whose safety was in jeopardy. I did not want to go anywhere, and when I did, I regarded everyone as suspicious.

Now, things are different. The Intifada is over, and the Israelis are moving on with their lives, going back to doing their daily routines.

I want to know what is going on here. I want to be able to write blogs for the SZC and give you some sort of information from here that you might not know from what you read in The Age or see on the nightly news. I want to be able to add something meaningful to the situation, perhaps to tell you all that everything might not be fine now, but it will be. I want that my time in Israel be spent in a meaningful way, that I come back and I have something significant to add to discussion.

I can see that this will not be the case, but despite this, I am not disappointed. As much as I would like to be informed minute by minute on the situation, I also want to be in Israel like an Israeli. And in the end, the trip as a whole has not been a pointless exercise. After all, I attended the World Zionist Congress. I played a part in the decision making for the head of the JNF, and I participated in the voting process on matters that relate to Israel and the entire Jewish World. I met Amir Peretz and listened to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert address the Congress. I met Jewish leaders from all over the world and from all aspects of the political spectrum.

Most importantly, I have experienced Israel in a very positive way. I have walked her streets and felt what it is like to truly live here. I have considered the Hebrew language as an important element of my life, and have wondered about Aliya (or at least about living in Israel for a short while) more often than my family would care to hear!

I leave here in a few weeks with a great sense of accomplishment and a deep love and commitment to Israel. I may not have done much for Advocacy while I have been here, but I will return energised and eager to make a case for Israel.

Thank you to all of you who have read the blog and made comments – they have been much appreciated. This hopefully will not be my last entry, but I wanted to thank you all in advance!