Let's get stereotypical!

In our joint post, Hilary mentioned that there is to stereotypical Israeli.

Unfortunately, that's not true.

It's easy to see how someone could think this, based on the places Hilary and I went. The areas I frequent in Jerusalem--the Central Bus Station, the walk from the Jerusalem Post to my apartment (with stops in the shuk and Ben Yehuda St.)--these are places frequented by Anglos (as well as...everyone else). Many of the olim, the immigrants who come to Israel to make it their home, are of European descent. Were we to go to less affluent areas, the racial demographic would be very different.

The Ashkenazic (people of eastern European descent) Jews in Israel have the monopoly. Israel has racism, just like pretty much every other country. Pale skin might not be natural to the area, but it elevates its bearer to a certain status. Then there are the Jews of Middle Eastern descent. Upon arrival in Israel, many of these people were given second-rate jobs, because they were considered, as a whole, less intelligent.

It is possible to argue that some of these people did not recieve stellar educations. In this case, I shall compare them to American Jews. As a whole, Jews in America prefer to live in large cities or suburbs of large cities. (With the exception of Johnson City, TN, where I was born, my life has mirrored this trend...I've also lived in suburbs of Philadelphia and Chicago and am now at school in NYC.) These areas tend to have decent school systems. And for the areas that don't, there are still outside resources.

The same cannot be said for areas of the Middle East. While many Jews did live in large cities (Alexandria, Egypt, for example, before they were essentially expelled), they represented a religious minority, which posed problems that aren't as present in the United States.

First semester of freshman year, my Medieval Jewish History teacher told the class that medieval Jewish history is defined as the period in time when Jews were ruled by other religions. A time when religion was synonymous with politics. I know that this is a generalization, but for the purposes of this blog, it will suffice, because in the Middle East, Islam rules in a way that Christianity no longer does in the majority of the West.

It is for reasons such as this that many Jews in other Middle Eastern countries left. And now, many of them are second class citizens in a country where they are part of the religious powerhouse.

It's ironic, because these people represent the physical appearane of the "stereotypical Israeli".

There are also the Ethiopian Jews. Airlifted to Israel, they had to walk away from essentially everything. And there are generational rifts. The children who don't remember (or barely remember) living in Ethiopia are assimilating in a way that their parents can't. There are societal problems. Clashes.

This is an oversimplified explanation of the ethnic societal tensions in Israel. It does not include hard facts and sources, but this blog isn't really a hard facts and sources kind of blog. It's a blog where I get to ramble about the things I'm thinking about. It's also supposed to include the ridiculous things that I say/encounter when nobody else is around. And it will. But probably not until I get back to the States, because I try not to stick out too much here.

It's sad, I know. I mean, I have a reputation to uphold. In theory.

Balls.