A Place to Call Home - Israel vs. Diaspora
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March 4th, 2010 at 8:04 am
Iraqi city hit by triple bombing
November 12th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
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April 6th, 2008 at 7:15 am
“That uncomfortability you felt is not something you feel in Israel” I find that in reference to someones jewish identity interesting.. I have a real problem with the alyia focus in my community in Australia, and couldn’t feel comfortable as a jew in Israel, though from time to time i feel that here to but not from non-jews, more because of other jews..
If your judiasm is ‘pure’ enough then I guess that comment holds truth, my mother converted (progressive) so within the progressive community I am jewish, outside of it I am not. I could go to Israel and be a citizen due to jewish heritage, but I could not be burried in a jewish cemetary nor could I be married even if I had a ‘pure’ jewish partner who did not care for my ‘mixed’ heritage..
The irony is my son is going to be raised ‘jewish’ and my partner is converting, at least when/if my son experiences the same discrimination I felt from other parts of the jewish community I can sympathise with his feelings, but I can’t fix it, and it does cause me to doubt my choice to raise him as jewish at times. I would certainly not send him to a school run by orthodox jews in it as my father did to me.
September 26th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
What bothered me was the whole “too easy to be Jewish in Israel” thing.
1. There are challenges religiously in Israel. Jews show hate within sects and to different sects.
2. Our Jewish communities should be what strengthens us. The fact that it is “easy” should inspire gratitude.
Also: to Joseph and Rachel, I think the difference between American Jews and Jewish Americans is that an American Jew is an American, who happens to be Jewish. Calling oneself a Jewish American implies priority and emphasis on your Judaism.
September 20th, 2007 at 9:08 am
My Grandfather, Lazlo was a Jew from Hungary who came to America in 1904 at the age of eleven. After 5 years he returned to Europe briefly only to return at age 16 and live here until he died at age 41.
My mother who is now 85 years old now denies any connection to what my be her Jewish roots.
The story continues…but I think it will end in Israel when Israel become the “head” and not the “tail”..
Nu?
Shanna Tovah!
Captain Bob
September 7th, 2007 at 7:32 am
Let’s look at this for a second:
1. Not all Jews are Israeli
2. Not all Israelis are Jews
3. Labels and tags don’t work very well anymore
Being Israeli is a nationality - just like any nation, you can apply for a passport, become a citizen and become a national.
Being Jewish is a religion - however you might want to observe the religious aspects - but it is not bound by a physical border.
So ask a random person on the street in Tel Aviv if they are a Jewish Israeli or an Israeli Jew - if they are in fact Jewish - their answer will be based on the level of religiosity or observance they have to Judaism.
So it’s a little hard to have absolute labels - especially when it comes to Judaism, where everyone is doing their own thing - and it brings up the question of what is this reconnection attempting to achieve.
As one who is or has been: American (10 yr), Israeli (20yr), Orthodox Jew (10yr) , Secular Jew (15), Overweight Jew (too long), and more, I just wonder what the point of a reconnection is. Was there ever connection to begin with?
I’ve ranted on too much.
September 6th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
just to make sure i’m understood i mean religious/philosophic beliefs not zionist
September 6th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
how about a debate with secular israeli’s and observant americans or visa versa about their beliefs
September 6th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
dan, your friend mike must be quite a person to find love in a war torn state of isreal. speaking of asians, are there many asian jews in isreal?
September 6th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
This really shows how diverse the Jewish population is. It’s a good thing to realize–about all religious groups and ethnicities. They’re not monolithic. They are groups of people with some things in common, but with so many different ideas and opinions and histories and points of view… I look forward to seeing more
September 6th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
I know one Arab-Israeli who was confronted on a Tel-Aviv beach with racial slurs. I also think there is a general treatment of non-Jews as second class citizens. This includes Asian care-takers and food service workers, as well as the many of the other “thankless jobs” that are filled by non-Jews. The gay community in Tel Aviv is thriving though and seems to be color blind. My asian friend Mike Chan had no problems finding lovers last summer.
September 6th, 2007 at 11:44 am
Dan, thats interesting. How are these groups being discriminated against? I find that shocking yet so is much of the crap that is going on else where in the world
September 6th, 2007 at 10:21 am
Like Marcy said, there are non-Jewish Israelis. Unfortunately in my experiences in Israel, many of these groups are discriminated against and this was quite a rude awakening for me. Acceptance and tolerance are issues that all Israelis need to address.
September 6th, 2007 at 12:18 am
Very interesting and well done. Thanks, and continued good luck; please keep me posted on how it’s going.
September 5th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
Very interesting. Thanx for this thought provoking look at identity.
September 5th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
From my perspective, Jewish American or American Jew places emphasis on different parts of ones identity.
There are definitely non-Jewish Israelis…there are Christian, Muslim, and Druze Israelis among others.
September 5th, 2007 at 10:23 am
I’m not Jewish, or an American Jew haha, but i was wondering if there was non Jewish Israelis?
September 5th, 2007 at 9:52 am
Wow, I can’t believe how beautiful Israel is - I don’t know why I thought it was more like a desert.
September 4th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
I don’t even understand what he means by the difference between jewish american or american jew….can someone explain??????
September 4th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
This is pretty cool. I think that everyone should be able to feel comfortable with whatever they choose to wear, for whatever reason. Don’t cave to the pressure - be true to yourself. And I don’t see the difference between Jewish American or American Jew.