Not yet 24 hours into my trip to Israel, I am reminded how much I love being with my family here. Sitting around the dining table, we taste local Kibbutz-made wine over dinner and dine on sumptuous vegetables, cheeses and instant coffee for breakfast. We discuss topics ranging from American politics, our shared family history, the tension between religious and secular Jews in Israel, the history of Jews from Cochin India, and the consequences of modern society’s reliance on social media as a primary mode of communication. I am with two brothers, my cousins who made Aliya in the 1960s from the Bronx. Both brothers share their thoughts about this year’s US election cycle, about Israelis’ beliefs (or cynicism) about future prospects for peace in the Middle East, among other subjects. The setting; my cousin Ami
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