ABOUT MONA

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First and most importantly, thank you for taking the time from your very busy life to visit my website.  It has been built from my love of Israel and my desire to share the real Israel with people.  Through my eyes.  

 

I moved to Israel in 2008 with my two young children (10 and 13 at the time) and my former spouse.  I was born in Canada, raised on Nantucket Island in Massachusetts and lived most of my adult life, 25 years, in New York City.  I was born a Christian but converted to Judaism before my marriage in 1991 and lived a very happy life in New York City.  I worked as a lawyer and lived in gorgeous Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. My children attended an egalitarian Jewish Day School and I attended synagogue regularly.  But there came a point where I understood that I wanted to live in another place, outside of New York City.  A place that was new, exciting, challenging and more meaningful.  And a place that Jews could live freely, however they chose.  So of course Israel was the perfect choice.  But…there was one problem!

 

I had never been to Israel.  I was never raised having any connection to Israel and even though I was very supportive of Israel from afar it was quite a leap to think about moving there!  I had never traveled to any parts of the the Middle East so I really had no idea what to expect. There were so many different stories about Israel. I heard that it was a dangerous place.  That it was an amazing place.  That it was a scary place.  That it was a technological marvel.  It was unsophisticated and provincial.  The food was bad.  The food was incredible. That it was like heaven on earth…But all of those perceptions were made from the shores of the USA, having never stepped a foot there and formed from what I read in the paper, saw in the news or heard second-hand.  

 

But once I was in the country, I knew that everything I had heard, good and bad, was wrong. I realized that it was just not possible to understand just how amazing this country was without experiencing it.  And I also realized that people would never understand that it was not as bad as they were told it was, without experiencing it.  So I created this website to share Israel through my eyes.  I wanted to share the Israel I know.  The Israel I have fallen in love with, flaws and all.  I hope you enjoy watching these videos and that they have helped to show you and the world that ThisisIsrael.Today!