I Think That, In Hebrew, It's Like

Most Of The Jewish Writer Friends I Have Are American, And I Feel Closer To Them Because They're Always Obsessed With One Issue - Identity: What Does It Mean To Be An American Jew?

What Connects Me So Strongly To Israel Is The Fact That I'm Second Generation.

When I Was A Kid, I Wanted To Make My Parents Happy. I'd Always Say To Them, "what Do You Want Me To Do? Do Sports? Be Rich? Be Funny?" My Mother Would Say, "whatever We Want From You, You Already Gave Us - We Wanted You To Be Alive, And You Made It."

What Connects Me So Strongly To Israel Is The Fact That I'm Second Generation. My Parents Said, "we Have A Place Where We Can Just Be Ourselves And Nobody Says, 'don't Tell Me Your Opinion, You Damn Jew, Go Somewhere Else.'" Then You Go To This Country And Other Jews Tell You To Shut Up. It's Frustrating. I Think That We Have A Bad Government And That Some People Are Fearful. They're Going With The Class Bully. But I Really Truly Believe - You Read It In My Stories - That Deep Inside, People Have Goodness.

Apparently, I'm Very, Very Popular In Jails. They Often Ask Me To Come And Speak.