Vote! (Israeli edition)

Someone writing an article for the Israeli press about “people abroad who love Israel but might be worried” emailed me the following questions: “1. What is something about Israel that you admire/appreciate over the years? 2. What are you worried the most about Israel these days?” So I replied as follows: “It’s hard to know where to start with either of your questions! But briefly: Tiny Israel standing up for itself, against an often hostile and unjust world, is a huge part of what’s given me the self-confidence to stand up for myself in my own life. That was true even before I had visited Israel or spent significant time there, gazed across the desert at the still-clear ruins of the Roman siege of Masada, staggered overwhelmed out of Yad Vashem into the sunlight of Jerusalem, tasted the hummus or pomegranate juice or ice cream with blended fruit, befriended or had academic collaborations with dozens of Israelis, or married an Israeli woman. My fear is merely the ‘obvious’ one — that,…