My initial reaction is just to go--
But I know that the inquirers deserve a legitimate answer. So many misconceptions fly around about Israel, and there's undoubtedly a lot of hatred aimed at the inhabitants, so Israelis are eager to find out whether or not the country and land they're so proud of have wiped away any negative assumptions. Here are some of the fallacies that my experiences have disproved.
Belief: Israel is a barren desert.
Reality: Israel is kind of an oasis. Sure, if you go far enough inland, you'll encounter reddish-brown mountains reminiscent of Arizona, or New Mexico, with little-to-no visible wildlife beyond some brush. But the city I live in (Raanana), the city I work in (Herzliya), and Tel Aviv are all overflowing with greenery and critters. Raanana is greener, in fact, than Southern California. There are many flowers, tons of chirping birds, and palm trees. Herzliya is a beach community with ivy climbing up the walls of the buildings. Tel Aviv rests right on the Mediterranean and is filled with little emerald parks and tons of dogs (happy Aubs).
Belief: Everybody in Israel is a religious Jew.
Reality: Israel is a little bit more diverse than that. To be sure, you'll see many more kippahs (or yamakas) on men out and about than you ever would in SoCal or Cambridge, but only about 30% of Israelis are practicing Jews. There are also many Arab Muslims inhabiting Israel (and quite a bit of tension exists between the two groups), and non-practicing Jews. It's interesting; many Jewish Israelis identify not with the Jewish religion, but with the Jewish ethnicity and the Jewish culture. Some of these Jews could not begin to tell you about the history of the Torah, but they are proud of their ancestors and the strength of their people.
Belief: Israel is dangerous.
Reality: Most of Israel is actually very, very safe. Not just from rockets--which it is!--but from ordinary crime as well. I actually feel much safer walking down a dark street in Raanana than I do in Cambridge. A sense of camaraderie and community pervades the cities and streets. I think that's what happens when it feels like the whole world--or at least, your immediate world--is ganged up against you. You band together. You kind of have to.
Other things I've noticed:
- Almost everybody speaks English--except for the bus drivers, cuz that'd just be way too easy. But seriously, if you speak to five random people on the street, at least four of them would answer you coherently. Of course, I feel like an absolute idiot, considering I can barely speak one language (I've had to spell check, like, 15 different words in this entry alone). I do get this perverted sense of pride when somebody speaks Hebrew to me initially. Like, oooo, they think I'm Israeli, go me! Of course this pride is shattered the second I have to go "errr ummm inglit???" And then they look a little bit exasperated and disgusted and my ego deflates a tiny bit.
- People really like America. Whether my perceptions are slightly skewed because of the superstar quality of me coming from California, or my attendance at one of the top universities in the world, I'm not sure; but it really does seem that people are fond of the USA. Thank God for that, because I would feel very uncomfortable living in a country that had animosity, or even apathy, towards the US. In Egypt, for example, you're better off just telling people you're from Canada. I don't know if I could convincingly tell someone I come from "America's top hat." (Kidding.... A little bit.) But really, if anybody had walked into my bedroom on July 3rd at 11:59, this is what it would have looked like.
WOOOO
- Tel Aviv feels like an American or European city. It isn't "quintessentially Middle Eastern"--honestly, I don't really know what that'd look like, but I feel very comfortable in the city in a way I didn't feel comfortable in Istanbul.
- Israelis are a very hands-on, confrontational, and at times pushy people. They will demand what they believe they deserve. If you're dozing or blanking out, they will cut you in line. And they refuse to put up with any bullsh*t. For example, when the think tank I work for reserved a conference room, and students from the college were working in the space, they profusely and very stubbornly refused to leave. Let me clarify--an adult researcher for an international think tank on counter-terrorism had to fight with some college students to leave a room that had been reserved. They insisted that it was "their school" and they had the right to sit there.
The blatant disrespect of authority had me like
If anybody even semi-important looking walked into a room I was in at Harvard--even a freaking bathroom--and told me they had it reserved, I'd be like
OMG I'm so sorry, I'll leave right now, would you like some snacks, some orange juice, can I pull out that seat for you?
It's a very different, very authoritative culture. Perhaps when you have multiple nations and millions of people telling you that the land you live on doesn't actually belong to you, or the religion you practice garners enough hatred for millions to actively seek your death, you start to feel (or at least act) entitled to a few things--a conference room being one.
If you have any more questions about Israel, I'd be happy to answer them! Just leave a comment below, and I'll answer to the best of my abilities!
Much love,
Practically Israeli Aubrey
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