”Putting the Israeli flag on my work will make people judge it in a different way”

Hello Kim,

My name is Barak and I have a small games and applications company here in Israel.
I’ve been around the world and seen many places, even got family in Germany and in Belgium.
I often ask myself: what would the world do without Israel?
Would it become a better place? Or maybe the ones that lead the attacks on Israel (for their own benefits to draw the attention from their corruption and such) will just choose a different prey…

I’m not a religious man, don’t have anything for Judaism except the respect for its traditions, but I eat pork and everything else I want.
I see myself as a man of logic and science, and most of all: Live and let live, trying to be a perfect neighbour in my building and help where I can.

And of course I love video games – to play them and to make them. That is my love and it hurts me to know that when I’m proud of my work and release it around the world, I think twice about putting the Israeli flag on it, because when I do, people will judge it in a different way.

I don’t care for politics, religion or anything that’s supposed to make a debate in these kinds of things, but when people see Israel associated with anything, it gets nasty.
Also according to what I see, it’s a new trend to hate Israel and support the Palestinians, cause that’s what’s ”in” right now. I suggest all the homosexuals that are very devoted to this cause, to try to live in Palestine as declared gays (some of my closest friends are gay so don’t think I’m talking against them. 🙂 )
I guess most of the people just like to be part of the horde (which disables them to think and make decisions for themselves).

Anyway, people like you, few as there is, are small beacons to me. I hope that god, or what ever control this sick world, gives you strength to keep doing it.
And if you ever come back to Tel Aviv, I’ll be more than happy to host you in my humble flat. 🙂

Sorry for the long email, may the force be with you and thank you for listening and doing what you do.

Cheers
Barak

”We love living, and we’ll do everything in our power to safeguard life”

Dear Kim,

You asked for letters from Israelis so here is my two-cents-worth.
I actually don’t want to write about conflicts. I don’t want to write about Gaza or the Palestinians.
What I always wanted is for people around the world to understand what we are really like, and not what is shown on television.
So what are we like? I guess the best way is to describe what I like best about Israel.
First and foremost I love the food! Almost any restaurant you walk into in Israel you are sure to get freshly made excellent food. Since there are both eastern and western influences, the fusion here is fantastic.
We are a free spirited nation, full of ambition, color, diversity, creativity and spirituality. This is why we are so successful in information technologies. We can improvise and innovate better than any other nation.
We love living, and we’ll do everything in our power to safeguard life. That is why we have so many medical instrument companies and start-ups. Medical care is one of the top priorities in the country.
I guess I will stop here and continue this another day because it is getting late.

Best regards,

Yishai