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Stories
Gabe – or Gabi, as he’s known to his Israeli friends -- is a 22 year
old soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). From the suburbs of
Washington, DC, he decided to move to Israel after spending a year here on
a post-high school program.
Assaf, 27, is a
third-year geography student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Raised
in a secular Israeli family, Assaf discusses what it means to be secular
in the “Jewish state.” Where religious and secular take on many shades,
and one’s self-definition is often defined by who one is not, rather than
who one is, Assaf’s narrative illustrates an essential tension in Israeli
society.
Inbal, 27, from Jerusalem, was raised in a modern religious Zionist
household. For her, memory is an important part of being a religious
Israeli.
Avi, 25, was
born and raised outside of Washington, DC, but decided to live his
American dream in Israel. Inspired by the legacy of American immigrants
Golda Meir and Henrietta Szold, and thousands of years of Jewish history,
Avi decides to live the Jewish dream and move to Israel. A newlywed,
plagued with doubts, the faded photos of his immigrant, elderly aunt give
him the knowledge that, by moving to Israel, he is fulfilling the dream of
his ancestors and fulfill the words of the prophets.
Eitan, 28, born and raised in Israel, searches for his identity.
Finding the mix of being Jewish, Israeli, while remembering his Diaspora
roots, he takes the past to create who he is in the present.
Flo, 26, is a
writer and graduate student in Jerusalem who made aliyah and voluntarily
served for three years in the IDF after completing a BA in the US. Though
her sense of idealism has been moderated by the daily reality of living in
Israel, she strongly believes that life in Israel is good and that by
living here and participating in Israel society she is building the future
of the Jewish people.
Michal, a
graduate student in Jerusalem, is an Israeli who spent her adolescence in
Tokyo, where she was exposed to pluralistic values while sharpening her
own pride in what it means to be Israeli.
Anat,
21, a native Israeli who grew up on a kibbutz in Jerusalem, chose to spend
a year before the army learning more about the land and people of Israel.
Now she is about to finish her her service, in which she works with new
immigrant soldiers.
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