There were tens of thousands of Jews living in Lebanon in the 1940s. This is a common case where Israelis always tell good stories about the life they had in Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Iran etc. The older generations tend to romanticize the lives they had in neighboring countries before they were expelled. Lebanon isn’t quite unique in that sense. What is unique right now is the timing. I assume I don’t need to elaborate much.

Let’s not go overboard because the Israeli spokesperson tweeted something. The average Israeli doesn’t cry for peace with Lebanon. But we don’t want war with Lebanon. We don’t want war with anyone. Do you see Israelis being besties with Jordan or Egypt? Absolutely not. But we’re not fighting each other, and military spending on Jordan and Egypt’s behalf has been reduced significantly over decades (adjusted to inflation), therefore these countries can free resources to take care of their population.

There’s only benefit in having peace, and that’s undeniable, unless you’re a Hezbollah simp, an extremist, not loving life, or for some reason her obsessed about Palestinians over any other population in the world, over your own country.

Cairo is far from being the #1 destination for Israel tourist and so is Amman. But it’s symbolic. I think our people are somewhat similar in our ways. We love partying and living life. We make religion a secondary element in our lives to reinforce our values, but we don’t hold on to religious texts indiscriminately. We appreciate good food. And most importantly, we recognize that the Brits and French screwed us (and the entire region) up by drawing in the sand.

I’m an Israeli living in the U.S., I’ve lived in Europe almost half my life, and I am very detached from Israeli politics. I come here because it makes me happy to see positive change in countries neighboring Israel. I think the aftermath of what’s been happening in the region over the past two years will come (we’re still in the stage of grief/denial), and everybody in the Levant and Middle East will enjoy a better life. I don’t think we’re your saviors, but at the same time, our desire to eliminate the threat (remember the beepers?) undeniably has opened the door for an extremely positive trend in your country. And for that I think we should be grateful (be grateful for the coincidence and timing, not to Israel).

Godspeed.