2007 December 26 | Peoplehood.org

WHEN FAMILY CALLS: “The Sarah Silverman Project” regular Laura Silverman is trekking to Israel to see her sister, Rabbi Susan Silverman, and family this week — and says the increasing turmoil in the Middle East didn’t make her think twice about going. “They live in the country on a kibbutz, and I feel very safe. It’s kind of a nice idyllic life for a kid. There’s a lot of freedom, they can run around outside, they have a whole community of people looking after them. Yes, there’s the occasional bombing, but there’s little to no street crime or anything like that. You don’t see homelessness. You don’t see begging. It’s exactly like a really very well run country.” She adds, “The kibbutz where my sister lives has taken in several Sudanese families, which really moves me because Sudan is the sworn enemy of Israel but nonetheless the Israeli people are taking them into their homes and they’re being integrated into society. They want them there, and they’re doing everything they can to allow these people to make Israel their home.”

For her part, traveling all the way around the world to see her nieces and nephews “is worth it. My sister has five children — 14, 12, 8, 5 and 4, and I feel like they don’t know me that well though I was there last Christmas. I just miss them so much. I can’t wait to just go and chill and play with the kids.”

With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Fortune Feimster.

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