Opinion
Don't call me crazy
Dekel Ovadia
Published: 11.12.12, 00:29
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58 Talkbacks for this article
1. Dekel's "aliyah"
Dennis ,   NJ USA   (12.11.12)
Kol hakavod!! I agree with you, and the fact that you invoked: "ain li eretz acheret" reminds me that I once returned to Israel after hearing the song "shalom lach eretz nehederet", and actually breaking out into tears over having left.... Best of luck to you.
2. Don't call me crazy
Andrea ,   Canada   (12.11.12)
Congratulations, great column!!
3. Sigh, another blind Israeli
JB ,   Rehovot Israel   (12.11.12)
There's plenty of water in the U.S.? Get out of Manhattan and go see what the country is going through. Spend a week in Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma. Life is easy in the U.S.? Tell that the millions of people living on food stamps. Honestly, to me, life in Israel is easy. It never rains, it's never cold, and fruits/vegetables are so cheap it's comical. Yeah, everything else is too expensive to afford, but hey, I can be blind too.
4. No place like home
KJ ,   Europe   (12.11.12)
You discovered there is no place like home. Your home is Israel, but having lived in Israel for many years, I recognise the same feelings for my own home.
5. HERO, NOT CRAZY
nimrod ,   jerusalem   (12.11.12)
yes my friend it is my opinion you sinned when you left our holy land but your desire to return can be compared to the miracle of Hanukkah. as Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook explained, the jar of oil symbolizes that every Jew-no matter how detached or how far away he is-still retains in him one jar of oil. that the Jewish soul, it yearns for our Torah. it yearns for our redemption and it yearns for you to return home-to return to Zion. (Just as a side note DONT GET TATTOOS-its an idol worshiping practice and its completely forbidden in Jewish law, however your intentions were obviously beautiful you now only need to act on them correctly) Channukka Sameach to all the Jewish People and to the Jewish State.
6. I call you
Uzziel   (12.11.12)
lucky.
7. Returnee's
Me ,   Jerusalem   (12.11.12)
It's oh so true. Life can be SO easy, especially in the US. Los Angeles was my bubble. Everything's comfortable, relax, people are generally polite, no stress and screaming. You earn enough money, pay your bills and you'll still have enough left to enjoy from. Yet, it's not Israel, no REAL people, whom truly care about their fellow citizen.. yes, sometimes a bit to much maybe.. but oh well. G-d gave us this land for MANY reasons not just sit-and-relax :)
8. Thank you so much for writing this
David ,   Canada   (12.11.12)
and making me feel that I am not crazy for feeling exactly the same way that you do. No, you aren't crazy...you are just one of the few "real" people left, which is a lonely position to be in.
9. 3. some people need to complain ... to see them all YOU need
(12.11.12)
to do is ... look in the mirror ...
10. I don't think that you're Crazy
Yeah Right Bud ,   The Great White N.   (12.11.12)
Though you're certainly not smart...
11. Great Article
S ,   U.S.A.   (12.11.12)
I share the same feelings as Dekel. Thank you for publishing this article!
12. Call Me Crazy
Robbie ,   Emeryville, CA   (12.11.12)
Kol ha Kavod! Follow your passion - not the $ signs. Israel needs more people like you to put the Zion back in Zionism! The biggest mistake I made was leaving Israel for America. You are doing the right thing!
13. so Dekel Ovadia wants to be "martyer"
Salma ,   Ramallah   (12.11.12)
amen to that :)
14. back to zion
emma ,   ny & tel aviv   (12.11.12)
ovadia's explanation is juvenile and limited. i live1/2 the time in ny and 1/2 in tel aviv. life in israel is way more complicated, and many people are lonely there too. there are many more issues than public transportation and there is a high likelihood that things will only get worse. ovadia - you're not convincing
15. I was left cold by this article
Eli ,   Jerusalem   (12.11.12)
Just becuase he did not acclimate well in America does not make me shout "kol hakavode" that he misses the land where he was born and feels lonely abroad. He did not marry so of course he is lonely. He has no kids. He has degrees in threatre and drama! Now he misses mama. He did not write that he feels like a Jew or that he is a Zionist. And a tattoo (of all things) does not impress me notwithstanding that it is a catchy phrase. Let's hope he doesn't wind up social protesting next year.
16. I have no other country!
Adam ,   Israel   (12.11.12)
Im an American and made aliyah several years ago. I left to visit family in the states right before the operation began. As I was sitting in the "comfort" of america, reading and hearing from my friends in Israel, all i wanted to do was return to Israel - MY HOME! I agree so much with what he says about the so called comfort of america and about Israeli friendship...
17. Sometimes the material things become
Arlene ,   Israel   (12.11.12)
less important, suddenly family and friends you left behind leave a big empty space in your life. I always moaned about "nosy" folks in Israel, but at least someone did ask. I realised I didnt have to answer. I also realised that I had no one to turn and talk to when I felt down, no one at the time of need. Its good to be back, its good to have family near, especially for the holidays. Its good to barter prices, its good to see the wild west of Israel and the warmth of the people. If you fall in the street, people will care enough to help and not think "oh dear a drunk or junkie". I know Israel is far from perfect, always on the alert from nasty neighbors, but hey, our weather isnt so bad bad is it? Yes I love my country, my free democratic life, and all the "balagan"! G-d bless Israel our homeland and keep her safe from her enemies. G-d bless the IDF that protect us.
18.  Share your thoughts during the next rocket bombardment
Cameron ,   USA   (12.11.12)
I predict much nostalgia for that US lifestyle while hunched over in the bunker listening to howling air raid sirens and blasts.
19. I totally understand
Israel Watchdog ,   Akko, Israel   (12.11.12)
There are things about Israel that people will never understand unless they have lived here. More than anything else, it's the people. The land is amazing. There are parts that are beautiful. Others archeologicaly historical. But the wariness of the crazy Israeli's is something that is set apart. I think that is what you miss. Mostly your family. You can have the pleasures of life somewhere else, but without sharing it with the ones that you care most about, it becomes meaningless. And the longing in the heart for family becomes a weight on you. If it wasn't for family, the adjustment would be much easier.
20. #14 #15
naava ,   jerusalem   (12.11.12)
emma & eli..your comments only show you really didn't understand what Dekel Ovadia said. Not at all.
21. ain li eretz acheret
naava ,   jerusalem   (12.11.12)
i totally understand what you wrote Dekel...i too am married to this Land. Welcome home !!
22. New York ain't America, and...
Bluegrass Picker ,   Afula   (12.11.12)
...gettng a degree in psychology in Queens does not let you swim with the real Makhers. Israel is the ethnic homeland of ethnic-Hebrew people and you are welcome to come back here. But stop pretending that you've really experienced America. Serve a combat tour in the US Marines, or maybe learn how to muster cattle just by giving the correct whistle to a herd dog in Wyoming. That's the real America.
23. You are not crazy!!!
barbie ,   yokneam israel   (12.11.12)
Israel has been our home for 38 years, we come from the USA and have 2 passports. YES this is the home for us and our sons and our grandchildren....for Jews there is no other country for us and more of you in the galut should realize that and come here.
24. Nothing like a war...
J ,   Tel Aviv   (12.11.12)
...to remind Israeli's that they share this country with other and should act a little more polite and thoughtful when interacting with other citizens. As soon as the rockets and sirens stopped the constant honking and chutzpah attitude returned in full force throughout the nation.
25. 15 Eli its people like you I wish would leave Israel
Mike ,   Israel   (12.11.12)
26. because the G-D of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will it so...
mary_of_bethany ,   singapore   (12.11.12)
that all Jews should traced their lives back to that family thousands of years ago.... that for almost 2000 years, under every Jewish root no matter which part of the world, every jewish families prayed for "Next year in Jerusalem"... that no matter unto the farhest North or the farthest South, unto the end of the world, you will still felt magical when you met a single Jew on a trip.... that you felt the familiar pain of a grandfather who lost his IDF grandson on duty at checkpoint, even thought you may not have known the family at all. or just should we say, because you are all children from the same family of the same L-RD G-d Almighty.
27. BTDT - twice!
Talyah   (12.11.12)
I've made aliyah twice - once at the age of 19 on my own from a very comfortable life in the US, and once more, many years later, with my husband and kids, after we left to Australia for three years and came back. We left for Australia at my husband's insistence - he got the 'juk' and wanted to see if life was really as comfortable and trouble free out of Israel as so many claimed it was. Our decision to come home wasn't based on any other reasons besides what Dekel described in his great article. We had the comforts, we had the jobs, the kids were well settled in school. But when our daughter fell from a slide at the local park and lost consciousness, that was the breaking point for both of us. Most people stood by silently watching the action, but nobody bothered to call an ambulance, nobody had kind words to say and we were pretty much left on our own as we handled this stressful situation. We just KNEW that in Israel, within minutes, someone would've gathered up our other kids and distracted them with bamba, someone else would've thrust a cup of sugar water in my hand, and in all likelihood, there'd be a kravi-paramedic by chance at the park, able to deal with the situation while MADA sent an ambulance. Yes, I know I'm idealizing things slightly to get my point across, but when all is said and done, it's those things which brought us home, and which keep us here. Yes, life is tougher, salaries are lower and sometimes I want to scream with frustration but yet I couldn't (and thankfully, nor can my husband), think of any other place where we want our children to grow and where we can truly be deeply content.
28. During "Cast Lead", I was in the UK and
Peggy ,   Israel/(UK)   (12.11.12)
stuck to a TV looking for news about my beloved Israel. I finished my job, made it back before the cease fire and was able to contribute with the FIDF and distribution of "goodies" to our brave military. Its such an awful feeling being so far away when Israel is in trouble. I can understand Dekel and others who feel that way. I was so elated seeing the plane with the Star of David on the tail, just couldnt wait to get HOME!
29. welcome home
Ilana   (12.11.12)
We have no other country.
30. #15 Salma
Madeleine ,   Israel   (12.11.12)
No dear, you're the people who love being martyrs, who educate your children to hatred and bloodshed and glorification of death, who dress their kindergarten kids up as jihadists. You're the ones with the sick mentality, shunned by all your Arab brethren, who, if they had any sort of humanity at all, would have done for you what Israel did for the hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees. Instead yoru Arab brethren kept you in misery in refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan andsyriaa. Oh, by the way, Jordan was created (Trans-Jordan) by the British, carved out of the whole of eastern Palestine, i.e. from the Jordan river eastwards, as a homeland for the Palestinian Aabs. I thing the Hashemite kings are ignoring that, aren't they?
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