I am always trepidatious about travel. Am I heading into the unknown? What will I find when I get there? Will the flight be safe?
At the heart of these questions, I’m often asking: Will I be safe?
These concerns didn’t go away when I landed in Israel in June as part of a delegation of LGBTQ+ leaders joining the JFNA Pride Month trip. In fact, they felt even sharper. After all, I was entering a country at war.
But to my surprise, I felt a deep sense of calm almost immediately. As soon as I arrived, I began to relax into myself, shedding a layer of vigilance I didn’t realize I’d been carrying. I felt something I hadn’t felt in the U.S. for a long time: a sense of safety — and more than that, belonging.
Read the full article at eJewish Philanthropy.
