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Israel? Feisty, brash – yep, same as ever

I expected to get off the plane to a radically altered Israel. I was wrong

March 27, 2024 18:13
israel happy, israeli flag c. Lior Mizrahi
2 min read

As the two regular fans of this column will recall, a few months ago I said I’d like to go back to Israel (preferably on a press trip) to experience the unique form of wartime unity that I’d read so much about. Well, as it turns out, sometimes if you speak things into the world, the universe replies. A couple of weeks ago, as the guest of the Israeli tourism authority, I attended the Jerusalem Marathon as part of a trip that hit all the classic Birthright spots, Masada, the Dead Sea, Tel Aviv, that market in Jerusalem where Americans buy T-shirts.

I expected to get off the plane to a radically altered Israel – one steeled even further by the long five months of war: overly cautious, afraid of its own shadow. But I was wrong, Israel remains Israel. There are signs, of course – yellow ribbons and hostage posters everywhere. Protesters, angry at their government, meeting weekly in the centre of Tel Aviv, a whole square dedicated to the hostages and raising attention to their plight. And perhaps most noticeable of all: the flags. Even for a country that’s prone to flags, the current displays on every house, every office, every shop are remarkable. I suppose in a war in which the average person feels powerless, everyone is looking for something that says: “We’re here, we care.”

On the streets of Tel Aviv, it doesn’t feel like a country at war. From the Soho House in Jaffa to the shuk to the tayelet, it’s a bit quieter, yes, but otherwise exactly the same. Women in hijabs walk the streets alongside tattooed secular Jews, Russian-tinged Hebrew mixes with grating American study-abroad kids – all the characters you’ll know and love from any visit to Israel are all still there, living and existing.

I also went up to the north of Israel to see family I hadn’t seen since the start of war. On my second day on my grandma’s kibbutz, I woke to the news of a Hezbollah rocket barrage about 60 miles to the north. The only thing I noticed was the roar of jets heading towards Lebanon – otherwise life goes on.

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