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.