Friday, September 22, 2006

You're Moving Where???

"So why are you moving to Israel?"

That's the question Tafat and I keep hearing from just about everyone we know. The answer is simple of course - " because I want to go to grad school there."

But it's inherently a more a complicated question than it seems, and my answer is blatantly more simple than anyone wants. What people people mean when they ask the question is " why would ANYONE want to move to Israel?" You can see it in their eyes "it's dangerous there, it's controversial, it's a bad place." They say everything without saying anything at all.

What are we supposed to say. Should we tell them that the country is so much more than they think. Should I say "I'm a Jew and it's important for me to be there." Or should I talk about the beautiful cities and landscapes, or the vibrant lifestyle. Shouldn't it be enough to say that Tafat is Israeli and we both want to understand better the place that she grew up.

I could say all those things, and they would be true, but not quite right. The answer is actually rather unremarkable. The truth is, the place just seems a bit more interesting than here. And for us, that's enough.

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