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Having grown up in the United States and as an American, I believe there is a value and lifestyle underpinning most lives and communities across the country, pioneerism; and I believe the best way to express and embody such a pioneering spirit is to export it abroad, and continue to influence the rest of the world, because the truth is, they bear no concrete familiarity with it. I have taken the American pioneer spirit and exported it, among others, to Israel, taking all what the US has to offer and instilling and propagandizing it outside US proper.

I was born an American; and to be perfectly frank, it is not possible to shed one’s American heritage, as the world is itself an American world based on American values and American culture. I grew up on military bases in Panama, South Florida and Japan, and in San Angelo and San Antonio, Texas. I studied in New York with a year stint in Boston. When I reflect on my time in United States proper, I recall only good things. The beauty of growing up in the United States, which I was aware of especially starting in San Antonio, is that opportunities are truly available – one really can, especially if the color of their skin is white, achieve whatever it is they desire. Another aspect of life there was belief in oneself. One is provided the possibility of trusting their ideas and motives, building self-confidence that people outside of US proper interpret as positive and happy.

My family in Chile was pro-Pinochet. Now, I can speak for what that means in broad or specific terms, but it does provide me with an idea of why my family is in the position they are in there. In that regard, much of the emphasis on order and manners, what other people think of you, among other things, can be explained by their position vis-a-vis other classes of people in Chile, Santiago specifically. For lack of a better term, my family either was or considered itself to be a part of the upper class, in both form and manner. This aristocrat attitude was undoubtedly brought down to me all the way in the United States, and even to here in Israel. To the point where I am not ashamed to say, no matter how shameful the fact is, the following: I am white and intelligent, so I shall have no problem in this world regarding social position or acceptance.

My mother emigrated from Chile soon after Allende was elected president of Chile in 1970. She was living in Puerto Rico when she met my father, and they married in 1974, which is how she became a US citizen. I have visited Chile many times in my life, and every time I have an amazing experience. My family there is very hospitable and make you truly feel like you a part of the family. In 2003, I stayed four months in Chile and got to know my family quite well, especially my Lala. I spent time with her almost every day, for hours, listening to her talk about everything and anything, including my Lalo, her time as a child and teenager, the time during the Allende and Pinochet eras, her values and beliefs, and so on. I cherish the time I spent with her, and I shall use how her family’s presence in her life there as a model for what our family shall be here in Israel.

I was a military brat. My father served in the United States Air Force for 20 years, retiring as a tech sergeant. I was born in the Panama Canal Zone and lived in Homestead AFB in Florida and Misawa AFB in Japan. My father retired in Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, Texas where I transitioned from military to civilian life (6th grade to graduation). There is no denying that this upbringing greatly impacted and shaped my life, in ways I am only beginning to discover in raising children of my own. Two such examples are my incredible precision in respect of time and remarkable sense of order, whether in regards to daily life or thoughts. I cherish such heritage.

My father was born in Colombia. He immigrated to the United States in his late teens and later joined the United States Air Force, at the age of 27 I believe. From my understanding, he grew up in a home with neither his mother nor father being present much. I had the pleasure of knowing my Abuelita, a beautiful woman who truly embodied the idea of a South American Latina. I visited Colombia when I was 26 years old, stayed there a month and tried to meet as many of his relatives as possible. I discovered he had three half siblings – one of whom was diagnosed with schizophrenia (which her mother had as well), a brother who was my Abuelo’s caretaker (and who was clearly mentally unstable as well) and another brother who had his own tax company he ran together with his wife – he had two beautiful kids. I met several cousins and granduncles and grandaunts, an amazing experience.

The state of Israel should be divided up into 12 districts, or tribes, modeled after the Swiss confederacy. The significance of this arrangement is a display of true Jewish sovereignty over the land of Israel; one will notice that Jewish majorities are ensured in each district and there is a separation that allows for Jewish freedom of religious expression and a freedom from the coercion of other districts.

I love the work of Rabbi Chaim Richman, Karl Marx, Noam Chomsky, Ben Shapiro, Alan Dershowitz, Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Yuval Noah Harari, Benyamin Netanyahu, Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid, Eliezer Ben Yehuda, Marc Chagall, Andy Kaufman, Larry David, the Coen brothers, Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin, Sam Altman, Jared Kushner, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, Bernie Sanders, Jon Stewart, and the list goes on and on. I love all aspects of Judaism, the Torah, the Jewish people, Shabbat, kashrut, toharat hamishpacha, tefillin, the tallit, the siddur, the food, the Talmud, all Jewish religious texts, the holidays, the communities, the culture, the history, Hebrew, the land of Israel… all amazing in my eyes. Find your place, find your people, one knows it when one has, contribute what you can to this world, sooner or later your contribution will bear fruit, be appreciated for what it is and recognized for what it entails.

I have voted Republican and Democrat. I have lived in Texas and New York. I supported Barack Obama and I supported George W. Bush. I have voted from Shas all the way to Haavoda. I support the Haredim and I support the Hilonim. I have offended and perplexed many with my views, but they all leave never thinking the same again, never talking to me about abstractions, never regurgitating the news to me and only speaking of original ideas that touch close to home. Ayala Herzog once told me that people tend to talk about things that don’t relate to them because it’s easier to label them good, bad, right, wrong, etc. So, read what I write, hear what I have to say, am I left or am I right?

I have a pioneering spirit. In fact, I would argue that most Americans do. It would probably be the most American practice possible if Americans left the United States abroad to pioneer, to where and for what purpose has always been left for the pioneer, but I can honestly say that I have implanted this spirit into a land craving it.