which has very breathtaking views.
The Israeli lifestyle is one that encourages healthy exercises
and physical fitness and so it’s common to find many people
jogging in the hot sun or doing physical exercises in some of
the numerous outdoor gyms in the parks.
Living in Israel is an exciting experience as the one has to
learn the country’s official language- Hebrew. Prior to arriving
in Israel, I had only thought of Hebrew as a language in the
Bible and it was really surprising when everyone who would
great you would say ‘Shalom’, which essentially means,’ peace
upon you’. The country has a sizeable Jewish religious population and the result of their influence on the country is that the
seventh day of the week, The Shabbat, is entirely a day of rest.
This means that there are no shops open or public transportation available as everything shuts down. Additionally, there
are various festivals and traditional holidays from the Bible
that are kept as national holidays such as The Passover,
Pentecost among others while historically significant moments
are also remembered. For example The Holocaust Memorial
Day remembers the memory of the 6 million Jews who died in
Europe.
I have interacted with people from many nationalities within
Israel. It is important to note that the country has many immigrants from almost everywhere in the world, who are Jewish.
The Kenyan community in Israel is also very vibrant with most
of them living in Tel Aviv and a few others in Jerusalem and
Haifa. The ambassador of Kenya to Israel, Amb. Lt. Agostino
Njoroge is very approachable. I had the opportunity to have
coffee with him on the sidelines of an international conference
at our university and he has a very engaging vision for the
Kenya-Israel relations. Here Kenyans are engaged in numerous
vocations with respect to their skill or profession.
Kenya has a lot to benefit from its relationship with Israel in
many respective fields. The agricultural sector is awash with
many resources that our beloved country can tap into. The
potential that exists in our country’s bread basket with its
fertile soils and undulating landscapes can be exploited with
maximum returns as a result of enhanced productivity. In my
discussions with some of the experts here on the bilateral
relations we can create between the countries, I continuously
hear the clarion call for Africa to awake from its dependency
cycle under international aid. I completely agree with such
sentiment as we have far outlived our grace period for receiving aid. As Zambian economist, Dambisa Moyo asserts, aid is
harmful for the African countries and we should identify ways
of eradicating debt and strengthening fiscal systems to ensure
sound and sustainable economic progress.
Great dreams within which the achievements of developed
countries are realized are borne by its own citizens and patriots, who were ready to take on the hard work of building the
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nation. I wish to carry this same hard working spirit back home
and encourage all the young Kenyan men and women to do the
same.