The Prejudice Within

My View

“Did you feel safe there?” It was the most frequent question I was asked when I returned from my trip to Israel in March. But let’s start from the beginning.

Prior to the pandemic upending the world, I received a flier in the mail advertising a trip to Israel for educators. It was a country I knew little about, but it sounded foreign and exotic. I pinned the flier to my bulletin board and periodically glanced at the pictures from a part of the world that was so unfamiliar. Occasionally, I asked myself whether I would have the courage to travel there. And I couldn’t help but wonder: Would I feel safe there?

Then the pandemic hit, shutting down travel as we knew it for some time. I removed the flier from my bulletin board and forgot about it.