1987-1988 Rothberg Yearbook

Going Home
“Have you been at any riots over there? W hat about the rock throwing—did you see it?” I had
been home for three weeks and I must have heard these lines a million times. I was not totally
surprised. I had come home expecting to have to face reactions to, and in many cases explain, the
current Israeli action in the occupied territories. Yet I was totally unprepared for such trivial
questions. In Israel, the discussion to which I was accustomed involved political and moral issues
facing the country; at home I was reduced to embellishing sensationalist news to regale my
friends with tales of harrowing escapes from imagined violence. So I talked and tried to enlighten
the ignorant masses at home. Some listened; most, however, showed indifference. This showed
me clearly that I had changed. Things that seemed so crucial to me here were not so back home. I
was out of rhythm with my old friends. Returning to Israel I was much more comfortable with
the pace of life, the values, and the awareness and involvement of my friends on the overseas
programs. This is more im portant to me than the creature comforts of North America, for I
found that while I was feeding my body I was starving my mind.
As this year comes to a close and we head home, everyone will have to face this culture shock.
Some will adapt quickly; others will not. All of us, I think, will miss our experience in Israel
immensely. In the end, though, there is a powerful cure for our depressions: our memories. So if
at home you start to feel down, open this yearbook, sit down with a beer and remember all the
wonderful times. The Overseas Programs of 1987-88—the best year of our lives. I’ll miss you
all, and I’ll see you back in Israel.
Mark Rubinstein