To me, being a part of עם ישראל (the Jewish people) means being a community. It means becoming instant friends with the person sitting next to you simply because you are both Jewish. Wherever I go I feel connected and proud to be part of such a small minority in the world because that's what gives me the pride to call myself Jewish and to call the Jew I just met my family. When I was at little outdoor pocket of shops type of thing, I was looking in a small store talking with my friends when a lady taps me and says, "super is cheaper." This was a stranger, a random Israeli that saw a tourist buying a snack and she went out of her way to speak English to me and make sure that I was at the right spot. So was she really a stranger? In my eyes, she wasn't a stranger, she was my family, my friend, and someone I would be proud to represent at home in America.
In America, I've had people ask me why I wear my Jewish star outside of my shirt rather than hiding it. I have people give me sympathy for being Jewish because there are so many more moral rules and such a small minority now a days. I have even had people tell me they would help me convert to their religion so that I wouldn't go to hell. Here in Israel, I don't have to answer those questions or explain to people what the Torah is, I get the freedom to be Jewish and where being proud is an expectation rather than a shock or an outlier to society. Israel is and always will be my home and I will never lose my Jewish pride.
Being part of the Jewish people is amazing in America, but in Israel there is no way to compare it. There is an incredible community in Israel and I feel welcomed here. I think being here also makes me question how I practice Judaism and make it more meaningful for me.
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