I left BNA for JFK this afternoon because despite the strength of our Nashville Jewish community, we do not yet merit a direct flight from BNA to Tel Aviv-- fingers crossed for the future! I have been excited about this trip for weeks. Ever since returning from Israel in January, I have been eager to return. I felt it was a good sign that when I signed into my Facebook account while waiting to board at BNA, the picture that showed up in my memories was one of a rainbow over the Old CIty of Jerusalem that our very own Micah member Jay Levy took while we were all travelling together 12 years ago.
I had hours to wait in JFK in the international terminal and I couldn't help but people watch and notice that the international terminal of an airport might just be a natural (and perhaps much better version) of a United Nations. China Air and El Al were boarding in neighboring gates, with another flight to Bogota, Colombia departing across the way. The mix of people waiting to travel was truly fascinating! Because the Jewish world is as small as it is, I ran into Nissimmi at the gate. For those of you who attended the Yizkor service on the afternoon of Yom Kippur, Nissimmi is the gentleman I spoke of who is a chef, rabbi and current IDF officer whose job it is to inform every family if and when they lose a loved one while serving. Our small group of 12 will be with Nissimmi for dinner on Thursday night in his modest home in the Rehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem. I haven't seen him since we were there as a group of Nashville rabbis in January, and it was delightful to be reunited.
Our conversation quickly turned to that of the election in the United States and the temperature of Israeli society at this time. Nissimmi was not shy to express that he feels there are four elements upon which others-- Jewish and non-Jewish alike-- must agree for there to even be a conversation: 1) Israel has the right to exist 2) Israel has the right to defend herself 3) What happened on October 7 was an egregious and heinous act of hate and murder, and 4) "From the river to the sea" means we intend to wipe Israel off the map. Our conversation was cut short when we realized that we were waiting to board right next to the heroic Natan Sharansky, the Israeli politician, human rights activist, and author. I admit I was a bit starstruck. Nissimmi asked if I wanted to have a picture with him and I said, "No, it's ok." To which Nissimmi said to me, "Come on Rabbi Laurie, be a bit Israeli!" CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! I asked Mr. Sharansky if I could have a picture with him and he kindly obliged.
The flight went by without incident. I noticed that our flight path into Israel took us south over Gaza City and then circled up north alongside the Dead Sea towards Tel Aviv. I wondered if this flight path was perhaps due to security concerns, remembering that in past trips, we had come in directly across the Mediterranean to Tel Aviv. The gentleman sitting next to me told me that the flights take a variety of paths into Israel and that they are often mixing up the GPS signal so it's not predictable. And that once an airplane enters Israeli airspace, it is protected by the Iron Dome. And that's when I realized that I was at no point, before departing or while flying, scared or nervous to come and be here.
I made it through customs and picked up my bag fairly quickly, and I was in a Gett (an Uber) on my way north to Herzilya. My driver inquired where I was from and when I told him the US--Tennessee--he wanted to speak only of the election. He was very happy that Donald Trump will be our 47th president. He feels it is better for a stronger US and for foreign policy, which is better for the world and thus, for Israel. I have a feeling this conversation will be ongoing throughout the trip when we speak with Israelis. He was adamant that Obama was not good for Israel, and he was certain Condoleeza wouldn't be either. I reminded him, kindly, that her name was Kamala but I don't think it really mattered to him. I am struck by how invested Israelis are in US elections and reflect that while I may follow foreign elections from time to time, I am not nearly as invested. And, as always, just an hour into being in Israel, so much to think about.
And here we go!
