It's been awhile. Funny thing about Israel Independence Day. I felt strangely good when during the eve of the celebrations, I was stopped by a soldier and asked for my ID. This normally doesn't happen much to Jewish Israelis like myself, but mostly to Arabs - and they, for the most part, avoid trips to most of west Jerusalem to avoid the hassle. But - hey- we were all being treated equal this time around. So I felt good.