When Simply Showing Up Becomes an Act of Courage

After fifteen years, my husband and I finally returned to Israel.

It should have felt familiar. Instead, it felt heartbreaking.

The airports weren’t crowded. The hotels had empty rooms. Restaurants had open tables. Tourist sites that once buzzed with visitors stood quiet. For a country built on welcoming people from around the world, the silence was impossible to ignore.

But what struck me even more than the empty streets was what I kept hearing.

“Thank you for coming.”

“Thank you for supporting Israel.”

“Thank you for being brave.”

Not once. Not twice. Dozens of times.

I couldn’t understand why anyone would call what we did brave.

We weren’t soldiers. We weren’t aid workers. We weren’t walking into danger. We were simply visiting our homeland, spending time with our people, supporting local businesses, and embracing a country that means so much to us.

No one thanks someone for vacationing in Greece, Scotland, or England.

Yet because it was Israel, visiting had........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)