I sat across from Guy at dinner at the Roladin Café in the new posh Mamila Shopping area adjacent to the David Citadel Hotel. It is clear from the stores- Tommy Hilfiger, North Face, Roledex- that the majority of the people who shop there are wealthy tourists. Scattered between the tourist traps are some decent cafes that have breathtaking views of the old city.
We asked each other the normal get-to-know- you questions of any first date and on the surface, we have very similar lives. Guy lives in Tel Aviv (like most Israeli young adults), hangs out with friends and plays sports for fun, enjoys going to the beach on his day off and loves to travel. Then we started talking about life experiences and suddenly the disconnect was apparent. Guy is twenty-six and just finishing up his BA because he chose to become an officer in the Israeli army which obligated him to an extra three years beyond his compulsory service. He couldn’t give me the specifics of his job, but recounted stories of patrolling settlements in the freezing cold middle of the night as part of officer training.
With Facebook and Youtube, we are connected to the same global world. As young adults, the same issues concern us- love, money, future- but at some point the reality of our worlds are completely different. At 17, I was sitting in Pikesville High School consumed with what college I would attend and who I wanted to ask me to prom while Guy was running kilometers a day to prepare for the physical tests to be placed in a good unit. I told him stories about my sorority in college and he told me about being in the Gaza strip. Not only that, but Judaism in Israel manifests itself as a nationalistic pride. Just as Americans are proud to be American, Israelis are proud to be Jews. In the case of many secular Israelis, the two are synonymous. They may never go to shul, celebrate Shabbat, or willingly keep kosher, but they are Jewish because they are Israeli.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/16/08 at 06:04 AM | Comments (0)
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