Who Am I?

Half a life here. Half a life there. And somehow, I belong to both — and neither.

I’ve lived in Israel for almost half my life now — definitely the majority of my adult life. My kids were born here. I’m raising them here. My family is here.

Israel is where I’ve figured out who I am as a parent, a partner, and a person. It’s my backdrop.

And yet, when I leave Israel, something shifts. I slide off a thin layer of callus — just enough to soften the edges.

I live in this funny in-between space. In Israel, I don’t dress like them. I don’t talk like them. I’ll always have an accent. I’ll never be fully Israeli. But it’s in my heart.

In America, I look like them. I dress like them. I sound like them. And yet, I’m not them anymore.

It’s a strange place to be — somewhere between two worlds, not completely at home in either, but somehow rooted in both.