home is where...
home is where...
Lior Ben Shalom returned to her residence in Louisville last month following a six week trip to Israel to visit her family.
There has been conflict between Israel and other Middle Eastern countries since Israel declared it's Independence in 1947. Before that, it was the Palestinian Arab Uprising in the 1930s.
Today, the latest battle involves Israel and a group known as Hamas. According to CRS Reports, Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been at war with the Palestinian Sunni Islamist group, Hamas, which led an attack that day from the Gaza Strip into Israel. More than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals (including 46 U.S. citizens in Israel) were killed on October 7, and Hamas and other groups also seized some 251 hostages.
It was brave of Lior to travel to her homeland considering the ever present danger 24-7.
Let's start at the beginning, Lior. You are from Israel, but, you live here. How did that happen and how old were you when you came to America?
I came to help take care of my grandmother who lives here, she said. I arrived in 2016 and I have been here ever since. I was 31 when I got here.
Had you been to the states before 2016?
Yes, my mother is from Louisville, so, I have been here several times, she smiled.
Any other family members in this country or are you by your lonesome?
I have a brother here too, she allowed. He's out in Reno, Nevada.
Paint me a picture of where your family lives in Israel. Your mom and dad for example.
My dad lives in the north of the country and my mom lives in southern Israel, she told me. Mom lives close to a town called Eilat which is by the Red Sea. But, I have friends all over the country and cousins, aunts and uncles in the central part.
Were you able to travel anywhere you chose in Israel or are there restrictions?
No, she stated. You can go anywhere you want as long as you listen to authorities if a siren breaks out.
That seems strange. I have only seen that in a movie, but, you have experienced it in real life. Lets say a siren starts blaring. What are the rules or procedure?
Well, it depends on what you are doing. She went on to say, If you are in a car, you stop the car and get out and lay on the ground with your hands over your head. If you are home, you go into a safe room, some homes have them and some don't, but, you will be there 10 minutes. If you are on a bus or train, it will stop and you have to find a shelter or go underground.
Did that happen while you were there? Were there warnings?
Yes, I had to seek shelter, she confirmed. My dad lives an hour or so from Tel Aviv and 20 minutes from Haifa. They hadn't had any sirens until two days before I arrived. Then, when I got there, we had a siren too. We paused for the 10 minutes and then went on our way.
When you were younger, did you grow up with an awareness of unrest or instability in your country?
When I was four or five, we had the Iraq situation, so, yes, I was aware, she related. But, we had a peaceful border where I grew up. It was a small community with about a hundred adults. And, across the border, there was a small, but, peaceful Jordanian village.
Let's switch topics for a minute. I want to know more about Israeli schools and how a school year works.
Well, to begin with, school is six days a week in my country, Lior explained. You go to school those six days, then you go to work the seventh day. That's how I got into child care. I went to school then worked the seventh day, summers and holidays. We don't have fall and spring breaks, but, we do have summer recess. Typically, school runs September through June.
Is it the same for everyone? People of different faiths go six days a week? Do Arabs and other nationalities living in Israel go to school six days a week?
Israel is considered a Jewish state, but, there are Muslims, Christians, you name it, all faiths. Christians go to school Monday through Saturday, she affirmed.
Do you talk to your family very often?
I do, she smiled. I talk to family weekly, sometimes daily.
So, Verizon and all the rest of them are in Israel.
Israel is very modern, we don't ride camels, she quipped. Everything is like here, just a smaller scale.
What do you see yourself doing five years from now?
Well, two years from now, I see myself going back, she declared. I am ready to go back, but, I have a few things to do here before I can do that.
What will you do to make a living when you go home.
I will go back to child care or I am also a trained bookkeeper, so, I have options, she offered.
One last question. Were you afraid or did you experience fear at any time during your six week visit?
Lior shook her head. Not particularly. My dad taught me at an early age to live with fear by your side, but, not within you. It's just part of life.
Coming up: dinner with the George Brothers; another oddities, observations, & ?'s; more POS, and; the impressions of last summer's Olympics as seen through the eyes of an 11 year old and a 9 year old.
And, finally. We should all salute or tip our hats to Sam Benastick. Sam is the 20 year old hiker who survived 50 days in the Canadian wilderness.
Comments