Israelis at their best

One of the greatest things about going camping, besides the obvious things like connecting to the land, bonding with family, cheap vacation, feeling like you really roughed it even though you had a 3G connection, is that you get to see Israelis at their best.

In plenty of situations, we are all to familiar with Israelis at their worst. They are famous for stealing towels from hotels, making noise and damage to tourist sites around the world, typical brashness, etc. If you go camping, you will see the opposite - the Israeli at his best.

We camped overnight in three different locations over the past few days. When camping out, Israelis are generally at their best. They clean up after themselves. The grounds were kept beautiful, and people were careful to pick up their trash. People shared excess food with others, or equipment or coals after a bbq was finished but the coals could still be used, rather than throw it out. People were friendly, and not rude. People davened together, despite the different types of people and dress - Haredim with Dati Leumi made minyanim together without hesitating, people in full dress garb along with people in shorts and t-shirt. People helping each other on tiyulim, whether actually lending a hand or just sharing information.

When you go "La-Tzafon" for vacation, you will see Israelis at their best.