To be in or not to be … in Israel

With her son on Shnat, SHARON BERGER reflects on her mixed feelings about Israel: the dynamism and sense of connection, but her estrangement from its political currents

MY SON IS in Israel for the year, and I am jealous. It’s not just because I haven’t been on an international flight in over two years; I have mixed feelings as I watch him reconnecting with our old friends and family, discovering the many layers to Israel and eating lots of my favourite food. 

Despite having organised an army exemption for him as he was born in Israel, he jokes about how he is going to meet an Israeli and join the army. While military service wasn’t the reason we left Israel, when we did, I was relieved he would never have to put his life on the line as a political pawn. The thought of not seeing him for so many months is hard enough.

I don’t know how Israeli parents live with the uncertainty of what might happen to their children during their military service and the following years of miluim (reserve duty). Many of our friends who made aliyah at the same time as we did now have kids in uniform. Most are not on the front line, but those who do have kids at the border or elsewhere must be philosophical and worry only about the things they can control. A useful lesson to inculcate regardless of where you are living.

I hope this experience takes him far outside the comfortable world of Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs that he knows. Don’t get me wrong, I love Sydney. I relish being by the beach and near my family. The weather is pretty good and apart from the traffic and real estate prices I feel blessed to live here. It’s comfortable and so much easier than day-to-day life in the Middle East.

But there is a dynamism in Israel that sometimes makes Sydney feel flat. I was in Israel a few years ago for work and after a long day decided to visit the Kotel at night. By the time I walked there it was midnight. Instead of desolate stones I had to jostle my way through several layers of women to touch the Wall. I tried to think what would be open in Sydney at a similar time and nothing came to mind, not even most supermarkets or petrol stations.