Atlanta's 2023 Community Journey to Israel: Dr. Chuck Fox

My favorite place to visit?
HaYarkon Park in Tel Aviv.

What was your favorite restaurant or menu item while in Israel?
Homemade mimounas at our Moroccan friends’ home.

What made this trip special from others?
Combination of vacation as a couple plus touring with old and new friends.

It was so lovely that my wife, Amy, and I could spend a week in Israel before the trip to get acclimated to the time change, visit with friends and family, and explore parts of Tel Aviv we had never seen before joining the mission. Then, once we met up with everyone from Atlanta, it was such a joy to hike outdoors in settings like the Elah Valley and Nahal HaMearot, to see where ancient stories and history occurred, while getting to know folks with whom we knew we could become friends back at home. Celebrating holidays and milestones such as Yom HaShoah, Yom Ha’atzmaut, Shabbat, and Havdalah in Israel brought a sense of authenticity and reality to the community we were building. Being in Israel during a time of tumult (shocking, I know), including the protests against judicial reform, made me feel confident in the future of the country. Despite reports of chaos and uncertainty back in the U.S., never in my four prior times in Israel did I have such a sense of certainty that the population of the country would persevere. Biking on the beach in Tel Aviv, praying alone at the Wall at midnight on Shabbat, and eating and walking through the country brought me a sense of stability and belonging that put the idea in my head for the first time ever that someday in the future I could find myself living in Eretz Yisrael.

Dr. Chuck Fox is the president-elect of Temple Sinai Atlanta in Sandy Springs.