It was still a teenager.  19 going on 20.  That was the first time I visited Israel.  I was there around the time of the the 6 Day War.  The first place I visited was Jerusalem.  And, my first destination in Jerusalem was the Old City of Jerusalem.   (You know, that was the “international City” that barred Jews from entry from 1948 until the time it became part of Israel.  Where the gravestones from the  major Jewish cemetery outside the walls were looted to finish the construction of the Intercontinental Hotel, then owned by King Hussein.)  It was my desire to walk up to what was then called the Wailing Wall (it is now known as the Western Wall).

Turning the corner, past the hovels and the piles of debris and garbage, I saw the wall for the first time.  I was mesmerized.  This last remaining piece of the Great Temple has captured the mind and love of Jews around the world.  And, I was there.  It still commands a portion of my heart.

You know, Israel is pretty young for a country.  Today is its 66th birthday.   I’ve been around almost as long as it has been.  And, yes, its continued existence resounds in every bone of my body.  That does not mean that I agree with everything it does- or that I even like the current leadership.

But, if you think about it, I have not liked a lot of the leadership of America, either.  Or, what it does or did.  Does that make me less of a patriot?  I think not.

Like the concept of my Jewish homeland, one that needs to remove itself from much of the West Bank (which was originally part of Jordan)- having already pulled out of Gaza more than a decade ago- the concept of America where Blacks, gays, Indians, and many other minorities are treated in less than equal fashion just proves that no nation is perfect.  Or even close to it.

Where folks like me knew that Blacks had to have the right to vote, the right to visit any store it wanted, the right to a seat on the bus, even if the sheriffs of the small towns I visited thought that made me a perfect target for their sidearms and rifles.  Where folks like me know that religion is separate from civil law, so that whatever my religious beliefs, I can’t (nor can you) bar two people in love from getting married (or divorced, for that matter).

So, don’t preach about how the minority (for at least a little while longer) Arabs are treated.  To be honest (and this is no excuse), they are treated better than the average citizen is in Egypt.  They still need their own country- but that became just a little bit harder when Abu Mazen decided to create a unity government with Hamas, a group which stands for the destruction of Israel.

But, I can hope.  Just like I say, “Next year in Jerusalem”, and as I pray each and every day “I believe, with every fiber of my body, even though it hasn’t happened today and may not happen tomorrow, that the Messiah will come.”

Today, on the 66th birthday of Israel, one of my two beloved countries, I celebrate.  I wish for peace in the world.  And understanding among us all.