I’ll admit to some real hesitation before my wife and I decided to pack up our daughters (ages 7 and 5) and haul them half-way across the world to spend nearly a month in Israel.  Today, as the metal door slid shut on our Lufthansa flight to Israel via Frankfurt, those doubts were front and centre.  Amazingly, the kids managed to sleep for large portions of the flight and behaved like angels for the entire trip (which is more than I can say for the two adults on either side of us who actually chose to confront a frazzled mother over the ‘conduct’ of her infant who – surprise! – cried a lot).

I can’t yet decide whether I was comforted or disconcerted by the extraordinary security flights to Israel attract from Frankfurt.  An entirely separate gate in a distant corner of the airport has its own security personnel who seem to think that asking passengers to take their shoes off is just foreplay for the main event when they briskly run their hands across every inch of your body during a post-metal detector pat-down.  At first, I thought I had been randomly singled out for secondary but as I waited for the results of the explosive-materials test on my camera bag to resolve, I watched passenger after passenger undergo the same clinical examination.  Although I understand with absolute clarity that this is being done for my own protection, as a Jew I can’t help but feel a little uneasy as I’m instructed in a combination of German and sign-language to unzip my pants so that the guard can check the waist band of my underwear.  And yet, there is something inherently captivating and uplifting hearing our German flight crew collect the remains of dozens of kosher meals as they wish passengers “shalom” upon our disembarking the aircraft in Tel Aviv.  I’ve had the privilege of flying to a great many countries over the years, yet landing in Israel remains the only conclusion to a flight that consistently and routinely results in spontaneous applause from a flight full of passengers.

After a comfortable cab ride to the town of Modiin, we took very quick stock of our new home for the next month before hopping in the Ford Mondeo to brave Israel’s streets in our first Israeli outing to…wait for it…the Azrieli Mall!  We stocked up on milk, water, yogurts, bread, etc. and enjoyed some pizza in a food court comprised entirely of kosher fast-food joints.  I felt moderately Israeli after getting honked at for not running a red (but I made up for it by ignoring a cross-walk)…and, the car still has 1 out of 2 mirrors attached.  Bonus! We did fail to coral the elusive peanut butter in the grocery store though…does this country have some sort of national allergy to the legume?

I was immediately reminded, even in the sleepy suburban planned community of Modiin where we’re staying, that even on the best of days, the ‘security situation’ in Israel impacts otherwise mundane daily activities.  Our trip to the local mall included a cursory search of the trunk of our car before we entered the parking lot followed by metal detectors and bag searches at the door.  It also takes a little while getting used to politely shuffling by an M16 assault rifle hanging idly off the shoulder of an 18 year old female soldier.

Now, with my thoroughly jet-lagged family in bed, I’m looking forward to orienting ourselves better to our new surroundings in the morning.