Top 5

Today is my pal Yehudit's birthday. She lives in Israel, so, in honor of the event, I've produced a Top 5 List.

Top 5 Ways Iowa and Israel are Alike

5) Both have famous acronyms:
Iowa has RAGBRAI (Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa.
Israel has FALAFEL (For Americans, Looking At a Falafel Equals Love)

4)
Within hours of declaring it's statehood, several neighboring states declared war on Israel.
Within 23 years of Iowa declaring statehood, William Semple of Ohio patents chewing gum

3)
The Jewish population of Israel is over 72%.
The Jewish population of Iowa increased 72% when I arrived on 7/2/07.

2) Both start with "I". (sorry, that was lame, but would you rather I just wrote a top four list?)

1) And the most eery similarity of them all . . .

Israel has been in border disputes, cultural clashes, and unsteady ceasefires since 1948.
In 1948, a Nebraskan gave an Iowan a passive aggressive half-turn when the driver cut him off on Route 20. Unsteady relations ensued ever since.