Don’t worry ...be happy?

Probably you have read about the annual ‘World Happiness Report’, in which Israelis rank high up as one of the world’s happiest people in a list of 158 countries. http://www.haaretz.com/news/israel/1.653416

This year Israel held 11th place before the US and England and of course the Palestinians, who are on place 108.

Each time the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) comes out with their poll and Israel ranges high up I’m kind of surprised, confused, skeptical but then also intrigued.

What makes us Israelis so damn happy? Isn't this yet another miracle?

But seriously, aren’t we complaining about each and everything, criticizing our politicians and respective governments, the poor health- and education system, the banks, the mail service, public transport? Isn’t it mostly too hot, too humid, too dusty, too damp or whatever? Haven't there been empty shelves and sky-rocketing prizes in the super markets over the holidays? Do we not lament daily the high cost of living, the traffic jams and vicious drivers and of course the cruel acts of terror, pointless wars and casualties of the conflict with the Palestinians, which seams by now to be unsolvable?

Isn’t life in Israel rather stressful, complicated, sad and dangerous compared to other developed countries in the world? Aren’t we heading for trips abroad, whenever we have a chance and the money for it? What’s most surprising, many of the ‘better’ places like the US and some countries in Europe we are occasionally secretly contemplating to rather live in, are ranging in the polls below us in happiness!

Why then are so many young Israelis, if they are so happy, drawn to Berlin, Amsterdam or New York or any other hip destination to spend their after army years? In a play of the late Israeli playwright Hanoch Levin a popular line says: ‘London doesn’t await me, but London has excellent TV and thus despair becomes more comfortable!’

And still, in the polls we are regularly featured as one of the happiest nations in the world!

I ask myself, what are people here happy about after all? Is it the sunny weather, healthy Mediterranean food, strong family ties, pride in our children’s achievements and of being an invincible start-up nation? Is it the abundance of Jewish holidays with their anticipation and preparations, during which Jews are even ‘commanded’ by the Torah to rejoice and be happy? Is it burying our heads in the sand against the wicked face of devilish hatred and racism? Is our happiness a desperate attempt to stay sane, human and positive in a more and more delusionary and violent neighborhood?

As a déjà vu, we experience now again a period of horrible terror attacks and riots making Jerusalem, the West Bank and practically all the country insecure. This time most of these atrocities were carried out spontaneously by young Arabs against innocent Jewish civilians, but shamefully enough, there is always some Jewish terror against Arabs in response, which is the most disturbing factor in this vicious circle. How, if the government cannot guarantee our personal security, it cannot even control these conspiring cells in our own society? We certainly do not have reason for much happiness about that!

But yes, even in these troubled times we witness some twisted happiness!

On the Palestinian side, camera teams document hundreds of raving men and women celebrating and dancing in the streets over every successful fatal attack on Jews. Sweets are thrown to little children dressed in Hamas attire, 3 year olds waving toy guns. Just imagine you are raised to feel happy about a random stabbing, a car bombing or other murderous act that bereaves families of their loved ones! This kind of happiness comes in at place 108 for some reason!

On the other hand, the social networks are full of satisfaction and happy comments from many ugly Jewish Israelis after every shameful counterattack of radical Jews on Palestinians or their olive groves.

Incredible, how much terrible happiness this long fought over spot on earth has to suffer!

For me personally and everyone I know the gruesome revenge acts from Jews against uninvolved Arabs are especially shameful. I feel helplessly angry that law enforcement regularly lets these men get away with their criminal acts. How can one keep calm and happy about such perverse ‘tolerance’ of damaging crimes? The leaders of Jewish terror must be known to the security forces! In addition, far right groups like ‘La Familia’ are allowed to incite more hatred in equally primitive minds! With permitting extreme right-wingers raise their heads against coexistence, we give the world reason to believe that we are not better then Muslim fanatics and deserve living in our self-made hell. If the Israeli government gives orders to destroy houses of terrorists, there must be no silent double standards with Jewish terror!

Allow me to admit that I’m not the happy Israeli you read about in the polls. It’s very hard for me to write this post and not despair over the twisted situation we are in. We seem to return to square one over and over again without any true leadership and education towards peace. Sometimes I already feel like a lunatic in a parallel world, when I read more and more extreme and sickening drivel in the social networks, wishing death to Arabs or Jews vice versa.

I ask you to speak up against extremism whenever you have a chance! We have to control our resentment towards our counterparts and look for bridges to sanity instead of remaining silent during every such new intifada or war forced upon us. Our notorious strength should not alone be wasted in suffering through these hard times, but in making bold steps out of this vicious circle!

In my next posts I will try to detect and tell about some interesting initiatives that have been started to establish better coexistence between our two people. "There must be some way out of here said the joker to the thief, there's so much confusion and I can get no relief..."(an old song by Bob Dylan)

Wishing you safer and calmer days ahead, take care and always look behind you!

Worry… but try to stay ‘a mensch’ (a human being)!