1. Israel is a country surrounded on all sides by enemies, but the people’s headaches are caused by the neighbors upstairs.

2. Israel is a country where the same drivers who cuss you and flip you the bird will immediately pull over and offer you all forms of help if you look like you need it.

3. Israel is the only country in the world with bus drivers and taxi drivers who read Spinoza and Maimonides.

4. Israel is the only country in the world where no one cares what rules say when an important goal can be achieved by bending them.

5. Israel is the only country in the world where military reservists are bossed around and commanded by officers — male and female — younger than their own children.

6. Israel is the only country in the world where “small talk” consists of loud, angry debate over politics and religion.

7. Israel is the only country in the world where the coffee is already so good that Starbucks couldn’t break into the local market.

8. Israel is one of the few places in the world where the sun sets into the Mediterranean Sea.

9. Israel is the only country in the world where one is unlikely to dig a cellar without hitting ancient archaeological artifacts.

10. Israel is the only country in the world where inviting someone “out for a drink” means drinking cola, coffee, or tea.

11. Israel is the only country in the world where no one has a foreign accent because everyone has a foreign accent.

12. Israel is the only country in the world where people cuss using dirty words in Russian or Arabic because Hebrew has never developed them.

13. Israel is the only country in the world where everyone strikes up conversations while waiting in lines.