Why I really love living in Israel

There is an endless number of reasons why I love living in Israel.

The history, the people, the ingenuity, the chutzpah... I can go on all day.

Recently one particular reason - perhaps one of the most important ones - came into sharp focus.

Each year, the school my third-grade daughter attends holds a very special school-wide event. A single, meaningful theme is chosen, and each class does a project based on the theme. On the day of the big event, the projects are put on display for the parents and the rest of the classes in an exciting program that includes activities, exploring and riddles. This year's theme was 'Celebrating 70 years of the State of Israel.'

But all that isn’t the reason I love living here...

My daughter led me proudly through the classrooms and hallways, as I walked through with my mouth agape. They were all literally transformed into experiential dioramas celebrating some of Israel's emotional milestones over the past seven decades.

My daughter’s class turned their room into an astonishing depiction of the Old City of Jerusalem at the moment of liberation after the Six Day War. I was blown away by the detail and by how hard they'd worked.

But it’s not why I love living in Israel...

Just outside my daughter's classroom, where a table stands, they'd converted the table into a tank, complete with an IDF soldier peeking out the top of the tank. Especially meaningful since her brother - my middle son - is currently a soldier in a tank himself...

As incredible as these displays all were, they were not unique to Israel. Schools anywhere in the world can be creative, resourceful, and do amazing projects celebrating Israel just as well if they choose.

But...

When we walk out of the school and leave the project behind, we still have Israel with us. It IS us. It's our lives. It's everything. All of the experiences and history we just celebrated in my daughter's school? It's what we live every day.

THAT is why I love living in Israel.