When you\u2019ve lived somewhere for almost ten years, you stop noticing the little things. My parents\u2019 first visit to Israel reminded me to see this country with fresh eyes.\n<\/p>\n
Before they arrived, most of what they knew about Israel came from the news\u2014war, conflict, and headlines. But after spending just one week here, I can already see how much their perspective has changed.\n<\/p>\n
The first thing they noticed was how quiet and peaceful everything is. During their visit, things were calm, allowing them to experience everyday life in Israel as it truly is. The neighborhood where we live is peaceful. My parents even told me, \u201cIf we didn\u2019t know what we see on the news, we wouldn\u2019t think there was a war.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
They also noticed the people. Every morning when we walk in the park, strangers greet us with a warm \u201cBoker Tov,\u201d which means \u201cGood morning.\u201d It\u2019s such a simple gesture, yet it says so much about the friendliness and warmth of the people here.\n<\/p>\n
Another thing that stood out to them is how much Israelis value life and health. Early in the morning, the parks are filled with people exercising\u2014young adults, parents, and seniors staying active. My mom also noticed that many supermarket cashiers are elderly. She smiled and said that instead of simply staying at home, many continue working, staying active, and contributing to society.\n<\/p>\n
They also saw Jews and Muslims working side by side in the same supermarket. It wasn\u2019t something they expected, but it reflected the everyday reality they encountered during their visit. And of course, they couldn\u2019t stop talking about the fruits and vegetables here\u2014especially how huge they are!\n<\/p>\n
When we visited Tel Aviv, they were amazed by the city\u2019s skyline. The modern buildings, vibrant atmosphere, and beautiful Mediterranean coastline impressed them. While we were on the bus, they noticed many soldiers traveling alongside everyone else. As we passed the Kirya, Israel\u2019s military headquarters, I explained its important role in the country\u2019s defense. They found it fascinating that such an important place stands in the middle of a thriving city where people continue their daily routines\u2014going to work, meeting friends, enjoying caf\u00e9s, and raising families.\n<\/p>\n
They were also impressed by Israel\u2019s innovation. It\u2019s remarkable that such a small country, with very limited natural resources, has become known as the \u201cStart-Up Nation,\u201d producing world-changing technologies and innovations that have benefited millions of people around the world.\n<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve only been here for one week, and there is still so much more for them to see and experience. I can\u2019t wait to take them to more places, introduce them to more people, and let them continue discovering the Israel that so often goes unnoticed\u2014not just the Israel people see in the headlines, but the Israel where millions of ordinary people live, work, raise families, build communities, and pray for peace every single day.\n<\/p>\n
Sometimes, the best way to understand a country isn\u2019t through the headlines\u2014it\u2019s by walking its streets, meeting its people, and experiencing it for yourself.\n<\/p>\n
My hope is that these stories will help readers see Israel not only through the lens of conflict, but also through the everyday lives of the people who call it home.\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tYohanna Tal is a Filipina- Israeli writer living in Israel. She writes everyday life, history, archeology, faith, culture and current events, drawing from her personal experiences and stories in the Holy Land. Through her works, she hopes to offer readers an authentic perspective on Israel that highlights not only its challenges, but also its people, heritage, resilience and everyday moments that often go unseen.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When you\u2019ve lived somewhere for almost ten years, you stop noticing the little things. My parents\u2019 first visit…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549916,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":["post-549915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}