Moving to Afula is an exciting experience. One of the surprises is how the Arabs are a part of everyday life. There are 75,000 Arabs living in the neighboring city. Maybe you've heard of it – Nazareth. There are also another 50,000 living in towns and villages in the surrounding areas.

We met one. He was very happy, outgoing, and insisted on offering us candies he brought with him for sundown. It was the beginning of Ramadan where Muslims fast during the day. We spoke a little bit, then he started to sell me sealant for my windows.

I learned two lessons.

One, if you want to become an expert salesperson, ask either Tom Hopkins or your local Arab. He was good. He was aggressive, positive, and wouldn't take no for an answer without making you feel like you have a gun to your head – certainly useful given his, ahem, heritage.

In the end we got the sealant. I remember how much hot air we shared with the outside when we had a small apartment in Efrat and knew that we would save tons in electricity bills.


Those Arabs who want peace can have it.
This taught me another lesson: Those Arabs who want peace can have it.

The 1.45 million Palestinian Arabs of Gaza who decided not to charge our country by bum rushing our border weren't harmed at all. Only the 50,000 fanatics who insisted on trying to infiltrate our country to steal, murder, and rape got shot.

The sadistic ones in East Israel (what the weak-minded call the West Bank) who choose to kill us are either dead or in jail. The ones who are more concerned with the welfare of their kids are eating chocolate souffle in the swankiest and most decadent city in Israel – Ramallah.

The Arabs up north also have a decision to make. The Druze live in peace and prosperity. Some of the best clothing and toy outlet stores are in their towns and each year millions of Israelis go there to spend lots of money.

One of the largest meat wholesalers in Israel is an Arab. He has two sides to his operations, the Halal side for Muslims and non-Jews, and the Kosher side for observant Jews. He does very well for himself.

I will admit that I don't know many Arabs, but the ones I do are pretty successful. Three Arabs I know all own their own homes. Housing prices for apartments in Arab Nazareth are higher than Jewish Afula. The Arabs have enjoyed the same prosperity of rising real estate wealth as the Jews. They are all making their own windfall from the Israeli prosperity over the past two decades.

Even in Jenin.

In 2004, they made a wise decision. They decided to stop fighting and start building. What was once a post-war wasteland in 2002 is now so prosperous they installed a Ferris wheel in the city’s amusement park.

Tell that to the people of Gaza who passively choose Hamas, war, and death. They all live dirt-poor lives. Tell that to the Arabs that choose to hate, fight, and kill. They end up in jail, dead, or on the run.

We in Israel don't just offer peace to the Arab collective. We offer it to every Arab living on our eternal Land. G-d will bless those that bless us. For every Arab that can accept that Israel is our eternal homeland, he or she can enjoy peace, prosperity, equality under the law, and the good life millions of their brothers and sisters in Yemen, Libya, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria are dreaming about.

The Ethiopian and the Shuk

My wife and I were walking through the shuk (outdoor Bazaar) when we saw a very interesting sight. 

An Ethiopian man was selling his wares in Russian. My wife approached him and asked how he learned the language.

"Simple." He said. 

"I read some books."

She asked how he became so proficient after reading only a few books.

"It's because I have a Jewish brain."

Every week you can expect me, David Ben Horin, to be writing this column, Thank God for Israel. Writing and fighting to give my every morsel of wisdom to the good people who love my beloved country. Even to the not so good people who should love my country, it's never too late to see the light. Do me a favor and check out http://www.succeedinisrael.com.