Hockeytown vs. Homeland

When I used to live in paradise, I blogged a lot more. People seemed more interested in what we had to say because we lived in what some call a war zone, although it didn't feel like one. Friends in Israel would joke that Detroit prepared me for living in a place where your life can change with the blare of a siren. When we made the choice to move to Detroit, and I made that announcement public, I got a lot of hate mail. Well, hate e-mail.

Why?

Ramat HaGolan, Israel  #OnlyInIsrael

For a while, I was the poster child for what was wrong with Israel. I was the American you felt sorry for because, like many of her Russian counterparts, she just couldn't verify her Judaism. I was proof that there was some biased against non-Orthodox Jews. I was quoted in newspapers. Journalists wrote about me. I was a trending topic. I got plenty of hate e-mail when I was trending but I also received plenty of support.

When we decided to leave, people thought I threw in the towel and gave up on being "Israeli". Except I didn't. I wanted to give my children an opportunity that they would have lost out on if we stayed in Israel. Much like my parents, they would have grown up without really knowing their cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Detroit would be a place they would visit. When speaking with their friends, they'd say "we're heading to Detroit for a vacation..." while their friends said "why??" I wanted my children to grow up with opportunities they'd never get anywhere else.

Immigrants to Israel, especially Anglos, tend to leave within three years of immigrating. Many leave because life is just too hard there. You barely make enough money to survive, much less to save and build. The people who stay justify it by saying they're part of the Zionist ideology or they just love Israel too much to leave.

Three Stooges Cousins.

I loved Israel too much to leave. But I love my family more. Sometimes we make choices that are better for our families than they are for our sanity.

When we moved, friends in Israel joked that Detroit is just as dangerous as South Africa (where Craig is from) ... except it's not. Detroit is no more dangerous than Tel Aviv. In some ways, Detroit prepared me for my move to Israel - I wasn't naive when I moved and I was ready for the adventure. In other ways, Israel prepared me for my move back to Detroit - I was a self-starter who could actually accomplish anything if she put her mind to it.

Yo and his great-grand father, Big Z.

I left Detroit without a degree from college and no one thought I'd survive on my own. I left Israel with a BA in counter terrorism, three wars under my belt, a baby, two dogs, and a kick ass husband. I could not have accomplished that if I stayed in the D but I wouldn't be where I am if it wasn't for coming back to the D.


Life comes full circle, sometimes. I still catch flack from olim chadashim (new immigrants) who say I just couldn't hack it in Israel. I give them two years until they move somewhere else. And, when they do, I hope they move to Detroit - we'll welcome them with open arms ... and teach them a thing or two in the process.