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Are Israelis Really as Happy as the World Happiness Report Says?

(Jerusalem Post) Herb Keinon - Israel again ranked exceptionally high in the UN's annual World Happiness Report released Wednesday, ranking fifth. With Israel at war after having just experienced the single bloodiest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust, how can this be? According to David Leiser, a professor of social psychology and dean of behavioral sciences at Netanya Academic College, what the report ranks is not happiness but rather life satisfaction. "If you feel that your life is meaningful, you may have all kinds of issues and still feel that your life is satisfying." Edith Zakai-Or, the CEO of the Maytiv Center for Positive Psychology at Reichman University, said, "One of the things that make people happier in Israel is connecting to meaning. And in Israel, there are many opportunities to connect to something that is greater than yourself. There is a lot of ideology around here. We are here for a reason....When you feel that you are doing something for the greater good, it makes you happy." Zakai-Or said the sense of being a part of a community, of not being alone, of having someone to lean on, and of being connected to family and friends is a major factor in explaining Israeli happiness despite all the country's issues. "When you have no challenges, then something inside you doesn't grow. Here we are challenged all the time, and we have succeeded. We grow, and this is also a part of being happy."
2024-03-22 00:00:00
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