Kfar Yonah, Israel

Two weeks ago, my husband and I signed the contract that made us homeowners for the first time. The house, a thirty year old semi-attached made of stucco, has been empty for nearly a year now, with the color faded and the weeds and wildflowers pretty much taking over the entire garden. It captured us from the moment we first set eyes on it, and with my husband's flare for carpentry and mine for design, this special little jewel will soon be ready for us to move in. But there's something even more special here than the house, and that would be the town it was built in, a town named Kfar Yonah.

'Kfar' is the Hebrew word for country, not country as in nation but country as in a 'country cottage' or 'country music.' Yonah is the Hebrew form of Jonah, the biblical character rescued from the ocean by a whale. A latter-day namesake of his was an Israeli named Yonah Fisher, who became one of the first to begin developing the land in Kfar Yonah, in the hopes that it would one day be a thriving town. His dreams were fulfilled, and the town now bears his name with honor.

We moved here nearly three years ago and completely by chance; neither my husband nor I had set foot inside the town until the day we got a call from a real estate agent to come and see something special that was surely for us. We found ourselves standing in front of a small house surrounded by a big yard that was full of olive, mango and pomegranate trees. A winding path led to a covered porch and an old-fashioned front door. The living room had two large French windows opening onto the garden, and a small addition that had been built onto the house contained its own bathroom and side entrance: perfect for my home office. My husband and I looked at the house, we looked at each other, and we smiled. The rental contract was signed the following week and we moved in soon after.

What is a small town in Israel like? Imagine a small American suburb and you have some idea; it's a place that offers all the amenities and facilities one would need without the noise, traffic and congestion of a city. There is a tiny mall, complete with bank, supermarket, clothing store and gift shop, not to mention pizza and falafel (the most Israeli of all foods: fried balls of chickpeas, covered in sesame dressing and stuffed inside a pocket pita bread), movie rentals and a shoe shop. The water park, which provides both children and adults alike with a very welcome relief from the hot Israeli summers, is a stone's throw away and a large community center offers a variety of programs, classes and events for all ages.

Surrounding the town are groves of orange trees, where we like to take our dog so she can run in the fields. Another favorite is to stroll among the new houses going up. Kfar Yonah is becoming one of Israel's most popular places live, and all throughout the town there is construction going on, with each contractor building a few houses in his own particular style. I like to wander in and around the building sites, examining what wood people have chosen for their front doors, how they've designed their front gardens and what tile they've used on their porches, filling my head and heart with inspiration, and my senses with delight. The townspeople have expressed themselves through beautiful colors and unique shapes and designs; some are wacky and some are whimsical and still others are elegant and sophisticated, but all speak of their owners' sense of home.

The residents themselves are a grand and cosmopolitan mixture of people from all over the world: Americans such as myself, English roses and expatriate Australians, native born Israelis known as 'Sephardim,' who hail from the surrounding Arab countries as well as Morocco, Turkey and Spain, and natives known as 'Ashkenazim,' whose ancestors came to Israel from Eastern Europe. There are Russians here, and Ethiopians, South Africans and South Americans. I hail from New York City, and one of the features I had so dearly missed upon moving to Israel was that feeling of all cultures living and mixing and melting together, a feature I was delighted to find here, where it was least expected.

Not everything in the town is perfect, but somehow even the imperfections have a certain charm about them. One that took time to get used to is that residents driving in opposite directions down the narrow streets will stop to have a chat – right in the middle of the road. It's not uncommon to be heading off to buy some groceries and find the way blocked by two cars whose owners are exchanging recipes or discussing last night's football game. I shake my head in apparent chagrin, but the truth is I secretly love it - love the fact that the people here haven't succumbed to the pressures and stresses of daily life but can make the time for such sweet neighborly moments.

Another interesting feature is that if I arrive home late at night, sometimes there is a security car waiting at the entrance to the village, checking each car as it turns in. Security checks at the entrances to towns as well as malls and restaurants are by now something I've accepted as a 'normal' and necessary part of life here. Three or four men and women will be standing by the parked car and chatting with each other. As I slow down and come to a stop, one will come over to my car, peer in my window, give me a warm smile and ask in Hebrew: "Is everything alright?" I say yes and offer a warm smile of thanks back, greatly appreciating the feeling of safety they have provided me with as I drive on through roundabouts and down narrow streets until I arrive home.

So Kfar Yonah has indeed captured our hearts, and we plan to stay here for many years to come. Soon we'll wave farewell to our little house with its big yard and fruit trees, and begin a new romance with the house we now call our own. We'll form friendships with new neighbors, and settle in to becoming a part of a new street in a different part of the town. But truly we are happy simply to be here, in what has grown from a ramshackle little village to a lively and burgeoning town. With its charm, its beauty and its neighborly ways, Kfar Yonah has become our home.

Joy P

Submitted: Wednesday 25th February 2004, 2:28 PM

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