I am 31, not Jewish and not even blonde, but involved with an Israeli guy too. It is scary what sensible old me have done in my new life.

My family objects to it even as visions of being taunted as a shiksa floats in my head (earlier on, he said that his mother will not do anything to make him angry, but I always wonder … )And my friends, Jewish or otherwise, overwhelmingly tell me what a bad idea it is, with the Jewish landlady taking it upon herself to let me know that the charming young man concerned may just see me as an exotic and fashionable little piece of baggage, to be used and discarded.

So far, we are mostly living in the middle ground known as NYC, with a lot of questions hanging in the air between us, where talk of marriage and children is taboo, and even something as innocent as the holidays and our aspirations for the next 5 years are probably flashpoints of tension. It makes me wonder about the easy camaraderie, friendship and innocent banter and kisses of earlier days.

I have considered the inevitable of permanently living in Israel and having children brought up in a culture that is very alien from mine, and might possibly teach them to turn away from outsiders like myself, even as they themselves would probably be always discriminated against. So the tears come with the laughter, the happiness with the fears.

It’s been an emotional roller-coaster, but a tad more exciting than working in a cubicle in my own little corner of the world, and dating and marrying an appropriate guy from an appropriate family – if I am that kind of person, I would never have the memories of the funny, kind and tall Israeli who gave me shelter one cold winter night and spent days in hospital with me, along with other equally kind and interesting characters.

I’m thinking of packing my bags for another exotic locale to experience a part of my own distant and mixed heritage – alone if necessary, but happy to have him along if he wants to come.

– from a mixed-up girl who dared to say that she loved an Israeli guy

from a Catholic married to an Israeli (he says he’s not Jewish, he’s Israeli!)

I’m not trying to discourage anyone from doing this, but if they do, they have to take all these factors into consideration.

With more than a quarter million non-Jewish Russiam olim here, this situation has resulted in their creating a ’sub-culture’ within the one already in existance. They socialize within their own group and even marry each other, skipping over to Cyprus or other locals to officially tie the knot.

Without legal civil marriage, this is the reality of living in Israel.

As far as the title of your articles go, even Jews often get asked the same question (what are you doing here?) especially those from North America.

I wish you well and all the best.