You know when people say ' You do not know how to react to a friend's reaction to news that you might be indirectly connected to, you will know what I am speaking about as you read this piece. By the way, my name is Revital Moses and I am 90% Indian and 10% Israeli. What does that mean? I am a Jew born and raised in India. I immigrated (Aliyah) to Israel a little more than a year ago. Tough choice, although all my community members who made Aliyah years ago are very happy with how their long term experience has been and encourage Jewish community back in India to consider Israel as a part of their future plan.

6th March, 2020 was a life changing day for me. I was and will always be emotionally attached to India. I mean I cannot think of any other country to have been born and raised in. Although I have had my share of challenges with India (I assume everyone has with their home country). This beautiful country has shaped my personality, social networking ability and my academic mindset. It has not only given me the best education, but also my lifelong friends whom I reconnect with every now and then. Also, because I come from India, I have had the opportunity to have ice-breaking conversations that have turned into deep friendships over a period of one year. Also, a lot of Israelis visit India after their mandatory army service and have the best experience.

I came here at the time when Corona had just started to spread like wildfire and within 4 days of my immigration, I was in quarantine. I will definitely write a separate article on this one.

Anyway, one year down the line when things were getting back to normal, Israel was attacked by several rockets for 11 days straight. I am sure if you might have heard about it since this  completely blew up. I was not prepared. I mean specially for someone who comes from India and also me being a little over sensitive, I was taken aback. The experience got worse for me when I was not able to see my family during this event since we were living in different cities. Southern Israel was majorly targeted ( where my family lives currently ) although Centre Israel (Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Petah Tiqwa) was also on the list this time. I had to make an informed choice to leave the centre for the time being and go live with my friends in the North which was safer at that time. My heart wanted to go where my family was but I had to be smart and leave at the right moment. I spent my days in Haifa checking on my family day and night. These were my darkest days ever, since I was unsure if I would or my family would live to see another day. I was also in the middle of applying for jobs and It was such bad timing. I mean, I finally thought that things were getting back to normal. 

In these 11 days what surprised me was that even though it was raining rockets, Israel was standing strong defending itself. I was scared for my life, but I also managed to give in person interviews. I felt like I was out of my mind to step out and if I would tell my friends back from India, they would think I was stupid enough to risk my life. But here's the thing. Everything in the centre and the North was normal after 2 days and Southern Israel was being heavily attacked. People were working from the office, restaurants were open, people were enjoying the beach and going out on dates. It took me a while to realise that this country over the years has become sturdy, rugged and resilient to its core. Let me be clear. The people of Israel aren't insensitive but rather have developed a coping mechanism through these events. I love the fact that I was able to absorb that quality and tried to get my life back to normal.

I had posted about the situation in Israel on my Instagram. Since it was a geo-political event, it was a sensitive matter and the news was blowing up on everyone's instagram stories. I personally try not getting involved in a conversation like that because it gets me uncomfortable, although someday I envision myself being outspoken about it. Anyway I had really good friends who posted stories against Israel and I didn't know how to react. I mean everyone is allowed to have an opinion, but they would not understand what we as the people of Israel were going through emotionally at that point of time. A mother being anxious about both her sons/daughters at the border waiting for them to come back safe. Immediate family living in different cities praying that the argument they had wasn't the last words they spoke to each other. To be married couples having to give up  and reschedule their special day. The feeling of being blown up any second was not a joke and I bet all the people who were sitting comfortably in their air conditioned bedrooms from countries apart from Israel posting things against Israel would not survive 24 hours of what we went through. Obviously it is easy to pass a comment as a third person, because why not? Somewhere down the line I expected my friends to be a little sensitive, since I was now a part of Israel but it seems like that wasn’t the case. I respect our friendship and did not get myself involved in a conversation. I feel guilty for not standing up for my country and my people, but at that moment in time I knew that was the right thing to do. The right thing was to focus on my emotional and mental health rather than indulging in a futile conversation with someone who wouldn't be affected by the situation and worsen it.

As I am towards the end of this article I am glad I wrote it. I feel relieved to have let it out and share it with all you beautiful readers and yes me, my family and friends are all safe and thriving in the holy land. I am also glad I went for the job interview since I am now a happy and an employed citizen of Israel. Till then, be safe, get vaccinated, take chances and do what you love. Sending you all love and HUMMUS.

Image Credits: pixabay

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