One of the questions I received most often before coming to Israel was whether or not Israel was safe. I consistently received fearful comments about my safety. Most people who follow the news cannot help but hear about the unrest and violence in the Middle East, especially at this time in Syria and Iraq. The news is filled with reports of terrorist attacks, bombings, and news of civil wars which still continue even after the seeming end of the Arab Spring. There is of course the reality that Israel is in the middle of the Middle East, and as such is an island of relative peace in comparison to the majority of it's neighbors. I will not argue with the fact that there are definite threats to the state of Israel, however, when you are in most places in Israel, you would never know they existed.
During our orientation for our Year in Israel program we had a discussion about safety precautions to be taken while we were in Israel if any threat were to arise. The conversation mostly surrounded text messages we would receive in case of an incident, but we were told time and again that no incident had taken place where students had to be seriously alerted in many years. The most interesting aspect of this part of orientation was the director of Student Life's statement about our general safety. She suggested that we lock our doors and close windows when were away because there had been a handful of break-ins in Jerusalem in the last few months, as if these were not things Jeruselmites were expected to do or to experience. She continued by saying that shootings rarely occurred in Israel, and that the only incidents of violence she could recall were a handful of bar fights that went bad. You mean there are not break-ins on a regular basis? You mean to say that there aren't lists of shootings and murders on the news every morning?
I knew Israel was safer than the rest of the Middle East, but little did I know how much safer it was than my own home country in terms of my daily life. Over the last few weeks, there have been two major shootings at high schools and colleges in the United States. I can't help but ask myself, why this is not the case in Israel? Why do my friends and family think I am safer in the US than in Israel, especially in lieu of the crime statistics for the US?
Are there threats to the safety of the state of Israel? Of course. Do I worry about them? Yes, sometimes. However, I do not feel the need to look over my shoulder every time I'm going somewhere at night whether in a group or by myself as a woman in Israel (excluding a handful of areas I would not go to anyway). I feel safe here. I cannot say exactly why Israel feels safer, but it does. It was not always this way, and I know that, but I find it ironic that I feel safer in Israel than I do in my home country. I don't feel safer because I live in a Jewish state. I don't feel safer because I live in the Middle East. I don't feel safer because women are more accepted here in the secular world. I feel safer, because it is safer here.
The United States prides itself on being the best nation in the world, however we are fooling ourselves when we accept this title as truth. The United States has endemic problems related to violence; religious violence, sexual violence against women and children, gun violence, you name it. We are failing our nation by not protecting our citizens from violence in whatever form it takes. We are failing our nation by not addressing large scale issues with our mental health care system that later lead to incidences where violence, in particular gun violence, is to blame for deaths and injuries. We are failing our citizens by continuing societal norms which make exposure to violence rather than sex something typical for children. We are not the best nation in the world. We used to be, and we might still be again, but only when we all feel a true sense of security rather than one built on a false sense of security from security systems, locks, bolts, and handguns.
When I told my friends and family not to worry about my safety in Israel, I meant it. At the same time, I had no idea that I would feel safer here than I do at home. Walking around Jerusalem I almost feel safer than I have most of my adult life, especially as a woman. I have not been cat-called. I have not been honked at. I may not be able to freely wear a tallit at the Western Wall on a normal day, but I am free from the kinds of sexual harassment in the secular parts of Israel that women in the US and other places are plagued by. These experiences were not ones I thought I would have in Israel. I honestly did not know what to expect. Sometimes you don't even know the grass is greener until you do. I pray that my country will come to its senses and begin to live up to its title of greatness, and stand up for the weak and innocent victims of violence, so that one day, when I arrive back in the US, I will feel just as safe walking around or going to work as I do in Jerusalem.
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