"My Israel" by Chemi Peres, 70 stories of love for the land, a journey through places, people, and memories of the country

"My Israel" by Chemi Peres, a book of 70 stories of love for the land, a journey through places, people, and memories of the country.
“In the last 12 years of his life, physician and Hebrew poet Shaul Tchernichovsky had the privilege of living in the land he had dreamed of his entire life: the Land of Israel. Five years after his death, the State of Israel was founded. Tchernichovsky never lived in the state, but he expressed his powerful love for this land in his poetry. In one of his most famous poems, he writes: ‘Man is nothing but the image of his native landscape.'"

Thus begins the essay by Adi Altschuler, "Always on the Way to Arsuf Beach" featured in the book My Israel: Seventy Faces of the Land, a new publication by Gefen Publishing House in Jerusalem. Altschuler, an acclaimed social entrepreneur, is the founder and CEO of Israel Inclusive Schools and created the youth organization Krembo Wings. In her essay, she writes about the place she loves most in Israel: Arsuf Beach. On the facing page is a breathtaking photograph of the beach, which is unknown to many, even to those who have lived in Israel for years.

Altschuler’s essay is one of the 70 that make up My Israel, a collection of writings by 70 Israelis from various walks of life. Each author shares their personal perspective on what "My Israel" means, choosing a place in the country that holds special significance for them. The authors are passionate individuals who love Israel and can explain why.

“This book shows my Israel: the Israel of nature, beauty, history, and much more. A large coffee-table book, My Israel is enriched with extraordinary photography and well-written, truly inspiring essays. Thank you to Chemi Peres and Ilan Greenfield for conceiving this idea and bringing it to life! I love this book because it is beautiful and because it presents Israel as the extraordinary country it is. In these difficult times, when Israeli society is so divided and struggling to stay united, here is a book that reminds us of what Israel is truly about. I recommend My Israel to those living in Israel to discover places they’ve never noticed before, and to tourists looking for destinations off the usual itinerary.”

How the book "My Israel" was born

My Israel came from the idea of two childhood friends, Peres and Greenfield. Chemi Peres is the managing partner and co-founder of Pitango Venture Capital, Israel’s leading venture capital firm, as well as the chairman of the board of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, founded by his father, former prime minister and ninth president of Israel, Shimon Peres.

Ilan Greenfield is the owner and CEO of Gefen Publishing House, founded by his parents, Hana Greenfield, of blessed memory, and Murray Greenfield. The story of the latter is included in the book. Today, in his late 90s, Murray Greenfield was an American Jew from New York who served in the Merchant Marines during World War II. In 1947, he volunteered to sail across the ocean to pick up Holocaust survivors from a Mediterranean port and attempt to bring them clandestinely to Palestine, despite the blockade imposed by the British. His ship, Hatikvah, was intercepted by the British, and the passengers were sent to an internment camp in Cyprus. In his essay, Greenfield chooses to tell the story of the Atlit Immigrant Detention Camp, a place that, like the camps in Cyprus, was used by the British to intern those they called “illegal refugees.”

“Israel established Atlit as a national monument in 1987, restoring and reconstructing the historic camp with barbed wire fences, British watchtowers, and residential barracks… Today it is an educational center that teaches the history of ha’apalah (illegal immigration of ships attempting to break through the British blockade around Palestine before and after World War II), helping visitors imagine the trauma of the survivors subjected to this imprisonment.”

My Israel is divided into five sections, each consisting of essays that focus on a different aspect of Israel. Among the authors are professors, mayors, entrepreneurs, high-tech professionals, athletes, former members of the Knesset, media personalities, rabbis, artists, actors, and many others.

Who is Chemi Peres, son of Shimon Peres, former prime minister and ninth president of Israel

Born in July 1958 in Tel Aviv, Chemi Peres is the youngest son of Sonia and Shimon Peres, and the brother of Tsvia Walden (“Tziki”) and Yoni Peres. His name is a tribute to Nechemia Argov, Military Secretary to Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and a friend of his father. The family lived in a modest apartment in the northern and historic part of Tel Aviv. Many of Peres' classmates were children of prominent figures in Israeli society, including his father, who was already the Minister of Defense at the time.

In 1976, Peres graduated from the ORT Technicum High School in Givatayim. He enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces and began flight school at the Israeli Air Force Academy. However, his participation was suspended due to asthma, and his medical profile was downgraded to 45, preventing him from serving in combat roles. Determined, he was able to raise his medical profile and joined the Armored Corps. After completing basic and advanced training as a tank crew member, he transferred back to the Air Force Academy. After completing basic flight training, Peres considered abandoning the program. However, after six months as a non-commissioned officer, he returned and completed his training, becoming a helicopter pilot. Later, during his service in the Israeli Air Force, he served as a pilot of the Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter.

During his service, Peres received a certificate of excellence, along with his co-pilot Noam Nachmani, for saving the crew of a Cobra helicopter that was flying with them at night and had crashed on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.