“Why don’t you live in Israel?”

It was not the first time an Israeli had asked me that question, but this time felt different.

The person asking was Yael Maori, who had joined me in Philadelphia and New York on a speaking tour for IDF Widows and Orphans USA.

On October 24, 2024, Yael’s husband, Lt. Col. Dan Maori, was killed in Lebanon while protecting his soldiers. It was also their older son’s birthday. Since then, Yael has been raising her two young boys amid war, missile sirens, reserve duty call-ups, and the constant uncertainty that has become routine for so many Israeli families.

Yet in that moment, she wanted to understand why I, an American Jew living a comfortable life in a country that had not been invaded since before her nation’s founding, would choose to build my life anywhere other than the land of Israel.

Her question was not accusatory. It was sincere. And in its sincerity, it exposed both........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)