Inc. All rights reserved. On a map, the Middle East looks like an unfriendly neighborhood. That's the global view. For the local view, walk down any street in Israel.
Children run from house to house, unaccompanied by their parents and unaccosted by strangers.
It's a safe neighborhood, after all. Israeli Jews tend to have large, extended families. Children are seen not as a nuisance but as a national treasure, and everyone pitches in. Your neighbor becomes a surrogate aunt or grandmother. When you take the baby out for a stroll, everyone has a warm compliment and a piece of advice.