Why I Love Israel? As a student, the first foreign country I traveled to was Egypt. I arrived in Cairo and stayed at the Mansour Hotel on Sharia Sherif Pasha street in 1981. That street was the central hub for Somali students in Egypt. Later, in 1981, I left Cairo for Baghdad. A year after that, I left Baghdad and moved to Istanbul. The reason I mention this journey is that, as a young man with little knowledge of world history at the time, I was stepping right into the cradle of human existence. In Egypt, I visited the Pyramids of Giza, where one of humanity’s greatest early civilisations took root. In Iraq, I visited Najaf, Basra, Nasiriyah, and many other historic cities where the very foundations of human civilisation were laid: the rise of the first cities, the advent of farming, the invention of writing, the wheel, the birth of government, and many other advancements that humanity still enjoys today. As I grew older and realised the significance of these regions, I began studying the history of the Middle East, including Israel, a process of learning that I continue to this day. Among all these nations, the country I have come to admire most is #Israel after reading its history. It has been an integral part of this ancient world through every era, from the Babylonian Kingdom, Pharaoh Ramesses the Great, Moses, and the Jewish Exodus, to the Roman Empire, the European Renaissance, and down to the unstable world we live in today. Despite being a small nation, the Jewish people have produced some of the greatest minds, scientists, thinkers, and economists in human history, earning more Nobel Prizes per capita than any other group. For over 4,000 years, they have strived to live peacefully in their ancestral homeland while facing some of the most destructive wars and genocides in history. Time and again, they fought wars not to conquer other countries, but simply to exist safely in their own homeland. The modern State of Israel, established in 1948 following World War II, started from nothing to become one of the most technologically advanced and economically powerful nations on earth. Today, Israel's GDP per capita stands at over $54,000, placing it well ahead of many major global powers. My admiration for Israel is not simply because of recent geopolitical developments, such as their recognition of #Somaliland, but because of what Israel truly represents: a long history of resilience, achievement, and an enduring legacy as one of the most pivotal nations in human civilisation. Somaliland and Israel share key similarities: both have built a nation from nothing into the premier democracy in their respective regions, the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, while overcoming war, genocide, hostile neighbours, and Islamic extremism.