Israel is the least racist country I’ve ever been to, and I say this as an Arab.
I first visited Israel in November 2023, right after the war started.
I decided to go because I wanted to see, with my own eyes, the country and the people I was programmed to hate and kill. Especially after October 7.
After 20 years of being brainwashed in mosques and schools, I truly believed that Jews and Israelis were racist, spiteful, Arab-hating, genocidal freaks, even though I had never actually met one.
Before arriving, I expected to be insulted or mocked, called a terrorist, and denied entry into the so-called “apartheid state.”
In my head, I thought: best case scenario, someone spits on me. Worst case, I’m shot or stabbed.
And then I came to Israel, during one of its most traumatic and painful wars, and I discovered that Israelis are some of the sweetest, kindest, and warmest people I’ve ever met.
I lived in Yemen for 20 years and Europe for 10. I’ve been to 23 countries, and I’d never fallen for a country like I’ve fallen for Israel.
It’s like a combination of my favorite things about Yemen (warm and kind people, incredible food, a sense of kinship), and my favorite things about Sweden (human rights, women’s rights, a rule of law, democracy, LGBTQ rights).
Israel is warm, vibrant, welcoming… The friends I’ve made here have filled my life with more light and love than I ever lost. Whatever fell away since October 7 was found in TLV and Jerusalem.
Am Yisrael Chai.