Summary

The author, Galit Birk, Ph.D., shares a deeply personal connection to Israel, reflecting on the profound impact the country has had on her identity, despite living in the United States for 37 years, and expresses her longing to return each summer.

Abstract

Galit Birk, Ph.D., eloquently describes her enduring love for Israel, the land of her birth and early childhood. Despite relocating to the United States at a young age, her bond with Israel has only grown stronger over the years. She reminisces about formative experiences, from family moments to cultural influences, and how these have shaped her sense of self. Although she has had opportunities to move back, various factors kept her away. Now, as she visits Israel each summer, she becomes acutely aware of the dissonance between her idyllic visits and the reality of daily life there. Nevertheless, her connection to Israel is palpable, and she is committed to passing on Israeli culture and values to her children, who also identify strongly with the country.

Opinions

The author feels a profound emotional connection to Israel, which she describes as both joyful and sorrowful.
Israel is portrayed as a place of significant personal growth and cultural enrichment for the author.
The author regrets not returning to Israel earlier in life due to feeling too Americanized or prioritizing

Ahava Means Love

Falling in love with the country that has shaped me

Each summer, as my visit to Israel nears its end, an overwhelming sadness sets in. A feeling of achiness and emptiness begins to fill my heart in the same way that overwhelming joy did when I first arrived.

Over the years I have slowly yet effortlessly fallen in love with my country; the country I was born in, the country I left as a child, the country that has most profoundly shaped me.

This is the place I spent countless carefree summers in, building sandcastles, finding out who I am, becoming. It is where I spent cherished moments with my grandparents, where I became a big sister multiple times, where I ran around until five in the morning with cousins, where I dictated stories to my parents at six years old who then added beautiful illustrations for my first-ever books.

It is where I fell in love with David Bowie, Queen, and Sting. It is where I watched Dirty Dancing, Top Gun, and Footloose on a never-ending loop on the VCR. It is where I tried my first beer and first went camping (epic fail by the way) and where I first saw the Rocky Horror Picture Show at a midnight showing.

It is where every nursery rhyme I know comes from, where I took my first steps, and where I first said mom and dad (or rather ima and abba).

This is the place where I first fell in love and where I had my first kiss on a bench in the schoolyard, promptly wiping it off with a leaf I found on the playground.

This is the country where my family is from, where most of my family still lives, and where I have nieces and nephews I sadly hardly know.

This is the country where my grandparents who helped build the country, are now buried, where my best memories are, where my entire early childhood lives.

Leaving

I left Israel at eight years old on what was to be a two to three-year relocation adventure to New York with my mother, my stepdad, and my two siblings at the time. Though my parents had every intention to return, as most Israelis do, we just hit 37 years in the United States this spring.

And yet, Israel has stayed with me in ways that are difficult for me to express; it is simply part of the fabric of who I am.

It is the food and the music I grew up on, where I had my first day of school, and where I first came to know who I am.

Israel is in my heart, in my soul, and in the core of whom I see myself to be.

Returning

Through the years I have had many opportunities to return to live in Israel but did not for reasons that are hard for me to understand today.

As a teen, I felt “too Americanized” or “too spoiled” to deal with the rough edges of life in Israel. Though I considered study abroad there in college, I instead opted to stay in the States so as to not miss turning the anticipated but largely overrated twenty-one with my friends; big mistake.

Today I admittedly “live in a movie” as they say in Israel when I visit each summer; aware that sitting on the beach daily, aimlessly exploring the shuk (flea market), and eating my way through Tel Aviv does not nearly reflect real life.

Yet being there calls to me, and as I get older, leaving becomes more difficult.

I am fortunate that my parents are able to bring my family to Israel each summer and that we continue to have the immersive experiences that connect us to my family, my country, and my roots.

Impact

Today my 11-year old American son, born to one Israeli and one American parent, sees himself as Israeli. He speaks Hebrew fluently, attends Kaytana (camp) in Israel every summer, and is part of the Tzofim (Israeli Scouts) in the United States where we live. My youngest just recently announced “when I’m a mom I want to live in Israel,” and though she’s only six years old my heart still smiled.

Today I see myself as an American second to being Israeli, and I not only can deal with but rather love, the rough edginess that is Israel, that is me, with all our imperfections.

Today I see many Israeli values reflected within me.

My country is resilient, strong, independent, compassionate, empathetic, inventive, fierce and despite circumstances — Fully Alive!

I feel most at home and most myself when I am there.

Thank you to Victor Sarkin for encouraging me to share my voice and my love for a country not loved by all; my country of Israel. Sadly, due to COVID-19, I am unable to visit this summer and feel the absence in my heart.