Traveling with My Family

I've always had visions of being an international traveler, wearing a white suit, sipping champagne and telling people that I don't have time to chat. "Ta ta. Gotta fly off to Zurich right now." But lately I've had to think twice before elaborating on those visions. I am a Christian who is married to a Jewish woman, and together we are raising two beautiful girls as Jews. Traveling alone, I would worry less. But vacationing with my family, I have to think about how we would be putting our girls in harm's way.

Since I married Bonnie, I've wanted to travel to Israel. I'd love to see the Western Wall, order falafel and hummus in Hebrew, and float in the Dead Sea. My father-in-law has always raved about how much history is there--Jewish and Christian. The events and places that I learned about in Sunday school would come to life.

I know that, despite the current violence, many Americans are still traveling to Israel. God bless them. Israel needs them. Unfortunately, I am not at the point where I'm willing to risk my family's safety. So, for now, I will continue to support Israel by buying Naot sandals, Red Sea Aquarium products, and other Israeli goods.

Although I've come to expect anti-Semitism in the Middle East (which doesn't make it right), I'm shocked about the rising acts of violence against Jews in Europe. I never imagined that I'd worry about vacationing in places like France or Germany. It's hard enough just being an American overseas these days, but adding the Jewish factor almost makes it prohibitive. I had really believed that the Europeans were over that. Growing up as a Christian, I had never thought much about how anti-Semitism affected me. However, now that I am part of an interfaith family, I see how scary the world truly can be.

There are times when I think that I'm overreacting. But after hearing accounts, like what my good friend Charlie told me last week, I have to wonder: Charlie recently had a family move in next door to him. The day after one of our winter's blustery snowstorms, my friend noticed that this new homeowner had yet to shovel out. Charlie took his snow blower over and cleared the driveway within minutes. The next day, the newcomer came over to thank Charlie. "You're welcome," Charlie replied. After some hesitation, the newcomer said, "My family and I aren't quite sure how to handle this." "What do you mean? You don't have to do anything. Just enjoy it," said Charlie. "You don't understand. We're Jewish," replied his neighbor. "Yeah, so." "We're Jews--from Paris." "Yeah, so." "You see, in France we get attacked. We're not used to strangers actually doing something nice for us. In fact, we're still adjusting to the thought that, if we ever needed to, we could actually call the police here."

When Charlie had finished telling me about how he met his new neighbor, who is Hasidic and had been attacked by Muslims in Paris, as had his wife's brother, I stood there absorbing what he had just said. Then a shudder went through my body as I pictured what it would be like raising my own family in France. "Thank you God for making me an American," I uttered silently.

Obviously, not all French or other Europeans are anti-Semitic. And, certainly, those countries have many fine qualities. In addition, one of these days I will take my family to explore those regions. I guess what bothers me most, though, is that I have to think about the dangers at all. I am somewhat of an idealist. I like to believe that human nature is inherently good. If there's a rise of hatred--towards any group--I become unsettled inside.

So, my daydreams about traveling the globe remain unfinished, like the rough draft of a story I'm trying to write. The plot is at my fingertips, but I can't quite press the keys on my laptop. I want to see the world. I really want to share the experience with my wife and daughters. There is much beauty and good that other nations have to offer. I hope that someday the hatred will blow over and be gone. Unfortunately, for the time being, our international travels will be limited to Epcot.