Access, Intensity and American-ness

When I was in fourth grade I remember coming home from school one day and telling my mom that I was having trouble seeing the blackboard. Like any good mom she promptly took me to the eye doctor who gave me my first pair of glasses. That first moment outside with my new glasses is permanently emblazoned in my memory. The blackboard wasn’t the only thing I had been missing. Lawns were made up of individual blades of grass! I was stunned. Leaves on trees were distinct and unique. The world was fresh and new and I was thrilled.

I loved that feeling of seeing the world anew. As my glasses have thickened over the years, each time I shift prescriptions I try to remember that sense of wonder and joy I had with my first pair. Sight, clear vision, is truly a gift.

I have been given another moment with my first pair of lenses here in Israel, and I am again in awe.

Going for a coffee (at any time of the day) is clearly a very normal Israeli activity. Social, business, political, community, whatever the excuse, going to the coffee shop is just what people do. So Amy and I went to the coffee shop a few days ago, invited by our friend Emily, to meet with a Knesset Minister, Yohanan Plesner from the “Kadima” party and the nearby town of Hod Ha-Sharon. (Kadima means forward and is Israel’s centrist political party.)

Sure this is a small country, but going to have coffee with one of the 121 members of the country’s legislative branch of government seemed like a big deal. Except that it isn’t. Here Yohanan is truly a people’s representative. Sitting in the coffee shop he greeted his constituents like any politician would anywhere in the world. Yet dressed just like the rest of us in short sleeves, chatting about the future of the country, he is just another Israeli intensely focused on the risks and opportunities facing the Jewish State.

And intense he is. Filled with youthful zeal and dreams, he spoke with passion about the critical nature of political involvement. “Too many people reject politics as dirty or corrupt,” he said, “but politics have an impact on each of us and we must encourage each other to become actively engaged.”

Following the meeting with Yohanan he asked whether I would like to attend a conference this week with Tony Blair as the keynote speaker. I said yes, and he asked me for my mobile number. Later that day, I received a text from him with my invitation attached. Hard to imagine that exchange happening with one of my Senators or my Congressman...

The conference was eye-opening. Held at the Recanati Business School in Herzliya (right on the Mediterranean Sea about 15 minutes north of Tel Aviv) the conference was titled “The De-Legitimization of Israel: Threats, Challenges and Responses.” My first reaction was disappointment that by holding a conference with such a name Israel would give credence to the mere idea that the State could be considered “de-legitimate.”

But after listening to the Israeli speakers (through translation) share their intense and energetic perspective on the importance of reinforcing Israel’s strengths and contributions throughout the world, I understood that the conference had critical purpose internally. With the whole world seeming to peg you as villain, holding a conference to discuss the implications seems rational. Then when Tony Blair spoke, representing the Quartet as Envoy to the Middle East, he reinforced the evil of de-legitimization, and his avowed admiration for, and support of, the rights of the Jewish State of Israel. I applauded along with everyone else as the crowd’s sense of pride from the support of a major player in the upcoming direct talks was palpable.

After his speech I walked out of the auditorium feeling almost buoyant. As I stood in the lobby I listened as two people shared their perspectives on the prospects for peace. Clearly at opposite ends of the political spectrum, the dialogue went something like this:

Left: So what do you think of the chances at the talks?

Right: No chance. I sure hope that Netanyahu doesn’t give up an inch. We have compromised over and over. It’s time for them to compromise!

Left: Or else what?

Right: Or else we stay with the situation we’re in today. It has gone on for 60+ years, it can keep going for 60 more.

Left: How can you say that! Don’t you care that our children and our grandchildren may not be able to live in this land? Have we been so perfect that we can’t compromise a little more to truly establish peace!?

Right: They don’t want peace! Can’t you see that!? I was in Gaza in 2000, taken through by a Palestinian human rights group. They were building spas and hotels, and resorts by the sea. I believed that they would never be willing to throw away economic opportunity if they could just see it. But they did! They believe that we do not have any right to be here and they will NEVER truly accept us.

As I watched and listened to this exchange, I cringed wondering who would resort to personal vitriol first or even lash out physically. But neither did. They concluded their disagreement by talking about friends in common and work they have done together.

I told one of them that such an exchange just cannot occur any longer in America. There we only speak about politics with those whose views are identical to our own. If we stray, we risk being ostracized, ridiculed, or worse. The individual said to me, we Israelis don’t have such a luxury, here we all have the same ultimate goal; survival.

Intensity appears to be at the core of being an Israeli. We see it everywhere, in the coffee shops, in the newspapers, walking through supermarket aisles, and especially on the roads. We were warned about driving in Israel, to be patient, to avoid engaging in any roadway debates, and to drive extra defensively.

One interesting observation about driving is related to what appears to be another of Israel’s technological firsts; car horns are apparently connected by a microchip to traffic lights! There must be a sensor in the cars that flips on when the light turns from red to green; how else to explain the cacophony of horns?!

But that intensity is critical to their real goal. Survival. I love seeing the individual blades of grass again. I look forward to seeing more.

Good News Matters

Just open any newspaper, anywhere in the world and it’s obvious: Negative sells. Bad news sells. Good news is boring...except when it applies to you.

If you are reading this entry, this good news matters because it applies to you! Hospitality, genuine caring for the stranger is legendary in the Middle East. In Va-Yera, just the fourth parashah in the Torah, Abraham and Sarah set the standard for hospitality:

He (Abraham) was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot. Looking up he saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them, he ran to the entrance of the tent to greet them, and bowing to the ground, he said, “My lords if it please you, do not go on past your servant. Let a little water be brought; bathe your feet and recline under the tree. And let me fetch a morsel of bread that you may refresh yourselves; then go on -- seeing that you have come your servant’s way...”

The story goes on to describe how Abraham and Sarah did not just bring “a morsel of bread.” Instead they brought the best of all of their food, prepared a great meal including the finest meat from their herd, and waited on them while their guests ate. My own attempts at hospitality, while genuine, and I hope meaningful to my guests, seem feeble in comparison.

Not so regarding Israeli hospitality is our experience here. A little perspective; this past February I was here for a five-day mission with the Masorti Foundation Board and leading US-based rabbis to learn more about the 55 and growing Masorti communities in Israel. During the visit I got to know the lay Chairperson of the Masorti Movement in Israel, Emily Levy-Shochat. Emily spent several hours with our group during the 5 days.

A couple of months after the trip, as Amy and I were becoming serious about the move, I emailed several people about our nascent idea; Emily among them. Once we decided to come for a “pilot trip” to confirm that none of us would succumb to complete panic, her response was immediate, “you’ll come to stay with us (she and her husband Jack). You can’t stay in a hotel. That’s no way to live in Israel. You’ll stay in a couple of rooms in our house, we’ll give you a key and you’ll live like Israelis.” I was stunned. She barely knew me, had never met Amy or Josh, yet here she was opening her home to all of us!

We stayed for five nights. We all know about the correlation between guests and fish... We violated that rule, and still were embraced by Emily and Jack. As we came back a few days ago, this time to live, our house wasn’t ready for a few days. Emily and Jack again, now real friends, opened their door as Abraham did.

The family whose house we are renting were remarkable to us. Though introduced though our “commercial” relationship, they took making our transition into Israeli life a personal mission. As they prepared to move to China, they had us over for a Shabbat afternoon meal, introduced Amy to several NBFs, drove us throughout the area showing us shops for every imaginable item, giving us lists of every imaginable, and hopefully avoidable, doctors, telling us which rabbi gives the best shiurim (classes), helping find the right neighborhood 11 and 12 year old boys to bring Josh into Israeli sports life, and on and on.

Saturday night Scooter’s cousin Ilana and Joel made a party in our honor. Serving Josh his favorite schnitzel, inviting 7 couples over to welcome us to Israel while standing on their balcony overlooking the rooftops of Rishon l’Tziyon, it was memorable evening. The highlight came when a retired general from the Israeli army’s “Signal Corp” (the Communications Division of the army) gave a speech / toast. In it he described that the mission of Jews everywhere should be to come and help make Israel great. Speaking directly to Josh, he offered that his coming here was a great sign for Israel and the Jewish people, because the future in his hands; that he is the future of the Jewish people...needless to say, I thought it bit too much pressure for one 11 year old boy, but Josh seemed charged by the challenge!

Welcoming the stranger is one of the great mitzvahs in our heritage. I hope that we are able to extend ourselves to be hosts in the tradition of Abraham and Sarah as we have experienced during our first days here. As you come to visit us, you be the judge.

The Israeli Frame

( August 5, 2010)

The frame matters. We bring our perspective, biases, judgment, and experience with us. We can't escape it, and shouldn't try. We are and become who we are through the frames that encompass our lives. Husband, Father, Son, Friend, Executive, Partner, Business Owner, American, 50-something, Jewish Community Lay Leader...I know all of these frames. I do or have worn them all.

The frame of "now" is unusually powerful. This is especially so during moments of great change or stress. My business as a value investor is actually built on this very real human tendency to overweight the present. Making good investment decisions requires a willingness to examine the investment from all sides, from near and far, and most importantly with facts. As with investing, so too in life.

Our "pilot trip" a couple of months ago coincided with the flotilla incident surrounding the issue of the Gaza blockade. Tragic loss of life, caused by a premeditated attack on the Israeli soldiers who boarded the ships. Seven ships, one partially loaded with armed members of a terrorist group aligned with Al Qaeda, nine people dead, two Israeli soldiers badly injured.

While we were there and the details were beginning to become known, it was clear that as I observed this incident from my Jewish American lens, my perception was vastly different than that of most Israelis. We all were sickened by the unnecessary loss of life and the disdain for life inherent among these terror groups. But Israelis viewed their military as having terribly botched the situation. Their frame told them that their military must not be anything less than perfect, and when they are less so, the fault is theirs.

Over the last year Israel has been beset by an internal conflict that risks tearing the societal fabric of the country. One woman was arrested for wearing a tallit. Another women was arrested for carrying a Torah. Women riding on government funded buses have been physically and verbally assaulted should they dare to sit in the front of the bus. The debate about "who is a Jew" was reopened in the Knesset and tabled only after Prime Minister Netanyahu received over 50,000 emails from American Jews concerned for their rights as Jews.

My Jewish American lens sees basic issues of religious freedom that I cannot believe exist in the country that was established for all Jews after 2000 years without a homeland. Ask most Israelis about this dilemma and they wonder what we are talking about. They have lived in a country where everyone knows there is a state-sponsored religion, and if one isn't ultra-orthodox then they are simply not welcome in the religion.

The Masorti Movement in Israel today has 55 communities spread throughout the country. The opportunity exists to build upon this and offer the 85% of the people who are not ultra-Orthodox access to Judaism in a modern context. Connection to a spiritual base while living in the modern world. The Israeli government has a religious affairs budget of over $450 million. Of this only $100,000 is dedicated to non-Orthodox streams. I look forward to helping to support the enterprise of expanding access to modern, Israeli forms of religious expression through Masorti. I look forward to engaging in dialogue with others about the imperative of religious freedom. Israel must not be allowed to become a Jewish version of the fundamentalist and religiously intolerant states surrounding her.

We teach our children about Am Yisrael...the people Israel...it is with great fear that as our family prepares to enter Israel, the country is devolving into Shtai Am Yisrael - the two people of Israel. I hope and pray that will not be the case. One Israel for the haredi and one for everyone else must not be an acceptable outcome.

So as I write this blog I knowingly bring my life's experiences, my perspective, my biases into this journey. I look forward to building on those experiences and see life through an Israeli frame.