Home. Sweet home. LaGuardia Airport. The chaos and cacophony. And I am happy. Relieved to see a sea of men in kippot and women in long skirts. I have returned from a week in the Midwest where Jews are few and far between.

Never before has LaGuardia felt so welcoming. Familiar. Recognizable. I know this place. These people. Two teenage girls with ponytails, long sleeves, flat shoes and backpacks. Five boys with knitted yarmulkes perched on curly hair. A cheerful Rebbe with a bushy black beard and a broad smile—his wife and children in tow.

There are others of course—folks from other cultures, wearing different garb, different head gear. But these—these Jews are mine and I am theirs. With the current wave of vitriol against Israel and Jews across the globe, I find that suddenly, I am in love with LaGuardia Airport.

Anna Gotlieb is the author of four books: Between the Lines, In Other Words, Full Circle and Pinkey’s. She spends a few minutes each day collecting her thoughts. Sometimes, she shares them with others.