Letter from a Diaspora Jew

To the person who scoffs at a Diaspora Jew,

I am a Diaspora Jew. I was not born in Israel, I never made aliyah, and I don't even know if I will ever. However, being a Diaspora Jew is more than you think it is. It is more than bat mitzvah parties, Blundstones, and only going to shul on the High Holy Days. We see Judaism as more than the Kotel and we see Israel as more than cherry tomatoes. I promise.

Living in Israel for the last few months has made me shift my lifestyle. As soon as I adjusted to the 8-hour time change, I adjusted to the Israeli way of life. I take public transportation everywhere I go, I say "slicha" as I shove my way through the shuk, and I eat vegetables for breakfast. I hardly ever go to the Old City because it's just not practical, and I know that the sketchy hole-in-the-wall shops are where the best food can always be found. I'm not Israeli, but I know Israel.

This is what you miss when you roll their eyes at Diaspora Jews. You imagine carefree college students who come to Israel for the lower drinking age or thirteen year old girls who have their bat mitzvah at Robinson’s Arch and then go home, but you never imagine me. You never imagine that someone from so far away can grow to appreciate the harsh mannerisms of Israelis at Machane Yehuda on a Friday morning, the discourse that happens on every corner during the endless political protests of today, or the beauty of the diverse quarters of the Old City. You would never believe that I understand that there are some places that I need to wear a skirt, because all you see is a tourist.

You choose to ignore why we visit.

Diaspora Jews are so notorious in Israel partially because of the touristy dorkiness a select few exude when they wear fanny packs and buy falafel from Moshiko’s on Ben Yehuda, but also because we’re everywhere. We show up on your streets because we love this land, we love our people, and we’re trying to experience it in a way even comparable to your life in our shared homeland. We’re not perfect, but we’re trying to learn. So give us a chance to be tourists every once in a while, and maybe you’ll see that there’s more to a Diaspora Jew than what meets the eye.

Sincerely,

An American Zionist Diaspora Jew