Blessings of Israel

It seems that everyday I get asked if I like living in Israel. There are so many things that I love about living here--being in a very ancient place and experiencing a very modern culture like Tel-Aviv, the myriad of cultural opportunities, and just watching Israel emerge as underdog into international power. I wish people would ask me, though, "What are the blessings of living in Israel?"

a

What I love about Israel is that I GET to dislike it or like it or criticize it--if I want. I'm free to express myself (as long as I'm not giving up military secrets.. but hey, I don't know any of those!) In America, I also enjoy this freedom, but when I think of my friends who are studying in other places, I realize just how careful they have to be with their speech. In Israel, where you can see someone wearing ultra-religious garb walking next to someone flaunting almost every inch of their secular/bad-ass body, the freedom of expression is taken for granted. As much as anti-Israel advocates spend their days thrashing everything about Israel, it has never seemed to me that they actually address that the society/place which they are fighting for offers them few rights in the way of speech (unless that speech is anti-Israel.) Israel is a tiny haven of expression and freedom in a whirlpool of countries (Iran.. Iraq...Libya..) where people can really talk about the social and political issues happening in their society, and thus work to make real changes. 

In Israel, gay couples live with government protection--tell me which Arab country boasts the same protections for its citizens who are homosexuals or engage in homosexual practices? In Israel, women can rise high in government and in the private sector (no--not as high as I'd like, but they're making strides that are equal to or greater than in the United States0> Unfortunately, in Israel some (non-Jewish) groups do commit (dis)honor-killings against their wives/daughters/mothers who have been brutalized and raped. In Israel, though, women receive government protection. 

This weekend, I was able to sit in a Jerusalem cafe loudly debating about 9/11 with my friend, who is an Arab Muslim. This is the ultimate freedom that Israel provides--and this is why Israelis and Americans (politicians and civilians alike) to truly connect to one another. We both come from expression societies, where are freedom of speech is guaranteed. I only wish everyone else in the world could enjoy this enormous blessing!