What a completely ignorant article. I hope Jewcy will not sink to that level of "writing" again. Where do you get off slagging an entire nation. As if the Israelis don't have to put up with enough crap from the Jew-hating masses.
Worse stereotypes are made about Americans as if you are all alike. It is simply shocking to read shit like this. I thought maybe it was going to be a joke or satirical. No such luck. It's borderline hate material. Good thing you're not in Canada. You could get criminally charged.
Have a nice day.

There are so many things wrong with Jeff Koyen’s faux-empirical opinion piece that it’s difficult to decide where to start critiquing it. There is also the question of motivation: why even bother addressing such an uninformed, multi-directional racist piece of mind. But perhaps the reason is this: Jeff Koyen, without any awareness or sophistication, represents the most elusive kind of imperialism. He travels the third world certain of his superiority and the superiority of his culture. He is offended to find travelers unlike him. He would like the world to be as he wants it, gentle, accepting terrain for his polite dollar-rich gaze. He identifies with the poor natives of the countries he visits and their alleged wish to retain an unharmed authenticity, to serve food in their restaurants without being roughed-out. He would like them to be left alone by those rude Israelis. Please don’t bother the animals in the zoo while I visit, he pleads. Please don’t step on the grass. Perhaps Jeff Koyen, the American, should become aware of how in the polite, western boardrooms of American corporations and the International Monetary fund, decisions are constantly made that rob Thailand (for example) of its resources, force upon it the most brutal regime of free-market competition, and bring most of its citizens below acceptable poverty lines. Perhaps, then, he would realize that the table-manners or Israelis – or for that matter anyone’s – are not the most worthy cause for the critical efforts of his insightful traveling mind.

Wow, it didn't take long for the politically correct thought police to start ranting jibberish and slinging accusations of racism attempting to stifle any constructive commentary and dialog.

I think this piece gives a great deal of insight into a major cultural difference between Israelis and Diaspora Jews. That is that Israelis are rarely in the position where they think that their actions will be judged in the context of Jewish stereotypes and this leads to very different behavior and attitude. I often joke that Israelis don't really know what it's like to be Jewish. It certainly seems to me that the ideas in this article can lead to more constructive and interesting dialog than the whining of politically correct thugs.

For the record, I loathe political correctness. My comments had nothing to do with being politically correct. To start off a piece with the words "Why Israelis are Pricks" sounds like hatemongering to me. It presupposes that all Israelis are pricks which I know to be untrue. Living in Canada, I am forced to listen to America bashing all the time. The Ugly Amreican syndrome. "Why Americans are Pricks". Do you have any idea how many people believe that shit? My point is the article is just ignorant stereotyping. Most people are aware of the cultural differences between Israelis and Diaspora Jews. And yes, we are generally more polite. These differences could have been pointed out in a more appropriate article. If I'm a tad more sensitive to this type of BS, it might have something to do with the Iranian government's plans to kill all the pricks!

I’m sorry, Mr. Halper, but it’s a bunch of a stinky bilge. All this hissing and clawing at Mr. Koyen, I dismiss it with lusty vigor.

You were wounded by Mr. Koyen's report, as were we all. It pains us to see our coreligionists slurred in so unkind a way. But the man of faculty and self-possession contains that anger until the appropriate target is within reach. Only then does he strike. You behaved differently. You fired your missiles at the messenger. A messenger who encountered such contempt for Israelis and yet did not internalize that contempt himself. To the contrary. Mr. Koyen assumes that these rude sons of Israel are no better nor worse than any of the rest of the sons of Adam. Such is his warmth of heart and capaciousness of spirit. Anything less benign or meek would be entirely foreign to him.

Among all peoples and populations there are individuals falling along virtually all conceivable points on all conceivable spectrums. The worldly man should not be startled to encounter a svelte Hottentot, or a short Norseman, or a hirsute Korean or a well-smelling Caucasian or a martial Buddhist or a charming Canadian or any of those other anomalies that the most vulgar among us suppose cannot exist, for the mere reason than that they are not quite so common as their opposite.

Mr. Koyen knows all this. All he did was collect the information that was offered to him by both his Southeast Asian hosts and his Israeli friends, acquaintances, and correspondents. He took them at their word, as is his nature. And he found that the very large preponderance of both groups agreed that if one could quantify brusqueness, there would surely be found a greater average allocation of brusqueness among Israelis than among most other populations. There is nothing surprising or controversial in this finding, as you yourself acknowledge.

He then assembled a theory so congenial to the reputation of the Israeli people that one might suspect that Mr. Koyen has been too kind. Their brusqueness is nothing less than a testament to their greatness as a people and to the triumph of that glorious project, that noble dream that was born 109 years ago in Basel, Switzerland, when for the first time a significant number of Jews came together and said, with a tremble in their voices but thunder in their hearts, "We are Zionists, and we shall remake our people!"

And so they have. Mr. Koyen brings you word of their success. And he does this at a time when we hear so much of their troubles and so little of anything else. And for that act of lovingkindness, for that ingenious and generous interpretation, you hiss and claw at him. You show him no warmth. You return neither his generosity nor his lovingkindness.

I hope you are now sufficiently contrite.

בשר זה רצח,

Joey

I appreciate Mr. Koyen's article. Great information and lots to think about. No offense taken here. Bunya

Chabad of Thailand
96 Rambuttri St.
Banglamphu, Bangkok
10200 Thailand

December 28, 2004

Dear Friends,

I write to you in the midst of the mounting humanitarian disaster affecting Southeast Asia.

As the only local based Jewish service agency in the country dealing with this catastrophe, our offices and staff in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Ko Samui have put everything else aside, working 24/7 to assist those in need and comfort.

I therefore turn to everyone for urgent help in funding our humanitarian efforts during the crisis,

Chabad of Thailand’s response to the crisis was immediate and is growing daily.

Rabbi Nehemya Wilhelm was dispatched to the scene of the tragedy in Phuket to aid in the rescue efforts where he is making the rounds of the hospitals, identifying bodies, arranging medical help and transportation for survivors, connecting survivors with each other, and helping the Israeli government in many other ways.

Thailand’s three Chabad Houses, staffed by six full time Rabbis and twelve Rabbinical trainees, were immediately converted into crisis centers where dazed survivors are:

receiving medical help

receiving free meals

receiving funds for new clothing

placing free international phone calls (and same for internet use) to their loved ones to inform them of their whereabouts.

being helped in their efforts to locate their friends as of yet unaccounted for.

Chabad volunteers are standing by at the local hospitals to visit the injured and provide them with kosher food and any other help needed.

Chabad staff is providing counseling to the survivors who are in a state of emotional trauma.

Chabad staff has already fielded several thousand phone calls from Israel, trying to help families locate their relatives.

Chabad has been instrumental in notifying thousands of Israelis in Thailand who have not been affected by the quake to contact their families back home.

Please note that the Israeli Consul in Thailand, Yakov Dvir, asked for our help in locating hundreds of Israelis who are stranded in the ravaged seaside towns of Thailand which we are doing to the best of our abilities. Israel’s Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom has acknowledged the help we are providing to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

As the initial efforts of search and rescue wind down over the next week, the grim work of identifying bodies and counseling bereaved families will unfortunately keep the Chabad staff fully occupied for the foreseeable future. We are also expecting the stream of survivors of this natural disaster appearing at our doors in Bangkok to increase, placing the burden on us to clothe, feed and accommodate them as they slowly try to make their way home.

The initial estimate of expenses incurred to our organization as a result of this Tsunami already runs into tens of thousands of dollars for food, clothing, shelter, medical expenses and transportation to and from the disaster zones.It seems very possible that hospital expenses as well as transportation of bodies for burial may also become a significant expense as the situation unfolds.

Please contact us at (24 hour phone number for emergencies) (661) 837 7618

Or email rabbi@jewishthailand.com

Thanks in advance for your assistance in this most important Mitzva

Rabbi Yosef Chaim Kantor
Executive Director
Chabad of Thailand

Send your money!

Doing a search on "frayer" and what it means to whom, I found Koyen's article. I read it. I read the comments.

See Ra'anon Alexandrowisc's film, James' Journey to Jerusalem.

We, and you know who you are, my brothers and sisters, must make choices. Which of the ten thousand threads of our heritage will we sew into the garments we wear today?

Honor is due to all our parents, from the Avot and Imahot through the generations to even the ones who passed life to us. But it's not like they never disagreed, right? There's room in our memories for Bar Kochba and Spinoza, for saints, sinners, for Jackie Mason, for Bontshe the Silent, for Rabbi Akiva and for Tevye and for everyone else from whom we might learn something about life.

There are some Israelis who believe we should be just like every other nation. They don't mind our unique history but don't want any special responsibility. But they're not the only Israelis, right?

There are some of us in exile who believe they already are like everyone else, so why not blend in and eventually pass. But they're not the only Jews.

We mustn't measure ourselves by anyone else's definitions - Am Yisrael is not a nation, or a religion, or a race - it is the choice that binds us together, the choice to become more than what we are, the choice to hope, the choice to grow despite the world's uncertainties.

"Arbeit macht frei", read the iron gates to the camps, and woe to the "frei-er" who believes every gate he walks through. But "Don't be a frayer" is merely one of the lessons of exile, albeit one of the more twisted kind, the legacy of letting our guard down with those who hate us. There are other lessons, other wisdoms we can claim from being Jewish in the world. How sad and small and empty it would be if "Don't be a frayer" became the only one we lived by.

Jeff Koyan,

Your article was interesting, articulate and supported by other credible sources which you took the time to seek out.

I was surprised to see that the first comment was an attack upon you -- saying you'd be jailed if this were Canada. Yes, seemed pretty angry to me.

I have no idea why that person was so angry or, at the very least, disapproving of your article. Too bad he/she did not explain themselves.

This type of article is the eptiome of what I had hoped to find on a website with the title "Jewcy" -- a smart, contemportary analysis of issues facing Jews.

I'm only in my 20's and this is a new generation -- I need more to understand Jewry and its attendant issues (Israel, etc.) than what is provided by the old guard.

Thanks and shaloM!

When you assume Israelis are ruder than other tourists that gives you something interesting to "explain." But if Israelis are not actually ruder than other tourists you have something else entirely to explain don't you...? That one little sign in Thailand doesn't prove anything. My guess is that stereotypes about Israeli tourists come from the same place as most stereotypes about Israelis...Personally I find European tourists the most rude and annoying--they think they own the entire world.

Jeff (the author) -

Excellent article. Many Israelis behave toward those who they consider "lower class" in a despicable, condescending, rudest way. Once in China I shared a breakfast table with three Israelis who were so loud and rude to a young waiter that I had to ask them to try to be less aggressive. The remark I got back I still hear in my ears "You, Americans, spoil them. They need to know who is the white man here!". And the rest cheered. They were feeling that they do their duty - "white man's burden" - to keep all these "colored" in check. Same stories about Israelis I always heard from my colleagues from South Africa with which, a the times of Apartheid, Israel was great friends.

To be fair, I have to say that my former countrymen (Russians) are no better at being despicable racist jerks. The only reason they are not banned in the hotels worldwide is that they are quite generous with the money. Israelis, on the other hand...

All nations have jerks and rude assholes. Some more, some less. But percentage wise, Israelis are champs, no doubt in my mind. And to their credit  - they never try to conceal it. It's like they enjoy it. "Its our turn to be assholes!" Well, Godspeed.

So, I do not buy your conclusion at all, but I understand that you had to be sowhat politically correct at the end.

Joey -

I do not agree with every word you said, but excellent analysis. 

The anti-Israeli sentiment you describe matches my experience in Latin America, where Israelis may be the most numerous nationality on the backpacking circuit. 

But I've found that the locals generally don't care much either way about Israelis' personality except for one character trait: their insistence on haggling over every dime spent. In general any local annoyance (and it's more often than not annoyance, rather than overt hostility or racism) with Israelis is purely a business matter: it's just not profitable for a hotel owner/tour operator/cab driver to spend 15 unpleasant minutes negotiating with a scraggly tourist looking to shave 5 pesos off the listed price.

I'd also add that in Brazil, which has a substantial Jewish population, a local tour operator went out of his way to say he had plenty of Jewish Brazilian friends and was not an anti-semite,  but just couldn't stand to do business with Israelis.  This tour operator had no idea that I was Jewish.

In some cultures (i.e.: the Middle East) haggling is standard practice, but in other places it's considered rude.  The problem with some (not all) Israeli backpackers is that they don't learn (or actively ignore) the local mores, and the bad apples spoil the reputations of all Israelis (and by extension, of non-Israeli Jews).  Of course, this is a stereotype, and the world would be a better place if people judged everyone by their character rather than by their nationality.  But that's just not how the world works. 

I remember every time my elementary school went on a field trip, the teacher made a point of how our behavior on the "outside" would influence people's opinion of our school.  The same can be said of countries.  Not all French travelers are snotty bad tippers, but their reputation precedes them nonetheless.  And of course, every globe-trotting American must answer for both dubya and for every loud, obnoxious American frat boy who's every thrown up in the common room of a youth hostel.  

--Z

I live in Florida and have a number of friends who work(ed) in a major theme park (not the mouse one...) when I told my friends I was visiting Israel most responded that Israelis are by far the most obnoxious foreigners they had to deal with (tied neck and neck with brits). After visiting a number of times I have found this to be completely true. Compared to Americans Israeli people are really obnoxious, loud, and tactless. Most are pretty proud of it even and will make jokes, but that doesnt really make you feel better when someone cuts in the front of the line at the ATM, or your waitress is too busy yaking on her cell phone to serve you. However the article also fails to mention that Israeli people are also generally warm hearted, funny, and kind people. Many of whom are willing to take a stranger into their home and treat them like family. People who refer to any jew as brother or cousin. So maybe its not so much that they are obnoxious but this is simply attributed to cultural differences. That is to say, here in Florida (Central Florida, not Miami or Boca Raton...) a New Yorker would be considered kind of abrasive and loud. To those from the north east Floridians seem lazy and slow. These things are all on some level true , but people seem to naturally see differences as exaggerated and one has to look harder to see the similarities.

I agree that Israelis are rude but that is because life in Israel is a struggle for survival. But rudeness is not the worst character trait in the scheme of things.
Israelis can also be very warm, generous, genuine and caring. It is a shame more people don't see these things. As someone who lives in Israel, I sometimes visit America and can't help feeling that Americans are cold, empty-headedselfish and self-absorbed. But then I try not to stereotype.

I feel the same way about those damn shanty Irishmen. Everywhere they go those drunken Irish stink up the damn place. Is it no wonder they are not welcome anywhere?

Not true! Last time I checked, both Germany and England had higher per capita consumption of beer than the Irish. But the Irish had the highest per capita consumption of tea in the world! Put that in your pipe and smoke it, you dirty Prod!

don't the Irish have the highest literacy rate? something like 99%. they are teching their kids to read, they deserve to drink a little.

I have lived in Israel in the past and visit often frequently. One of the things that I really really miss when not there is the ability to express myself, anger and all, when I need and want to. It feels so good to be able to get out some of that fake niceness out that has accumulated. (I recomend a visit to misrad ha-pnim for in-depth cleansing)

an Israeli:

Son,

When you will travel a little bit  more you will realise that your countrymen's rudeness has nothing to do with survival. You have no idea what survival is. A tip - if you do not put your kids to bed hungry, you are not surviving. Rural Northern China, Most of Africa, Bangladesh, huge parts of India and finally - your Palestinian neighbors - these are the areas where daily survival is a reality for so many. And you would not believe how polite and noble these people are, despite their almost hopeless misery.  I do not KNOW why Israelis are so disgustingly rude, but I SUSPECT that it is because of total lack of simple respect for another human being. Not rich, not famous, not influential, not a friend or a relative, not someone who you know personally - but just a simple guy who walks the street.

And yes, you are right, comparing to Middle Eastern stock, Americans (Anglos) are colder. They mostly admit it themselves. Empty-headed and self-absorbed they are not. There are no empty-headed people on this planet, to say this about a nation is... vintage Israeli snobbish rudeness. And when it comes to self-absorption, it's really funny to hear that from an Israeli! 

Perhaps most Israeli's do not put their children to bed hungry, although I am sure there are plenty that do. And perhaps there is not a daily struggle for survival for the average Israeli, but there is the constant prevailing feeling that one's overall survival is at risk. The risk may not be a real one daily, but there are daily reminders of it and enough days when it is real. And I suspect that rudeness is not the only sympton resulting from the precieved or real threat felt when living in Israel.

Or maybe its just the oppresive humidity.

Oh and by the way, Mr. Kurtzman, that stinky bilge is emanating from your keyboard.

Nuh-uh. Yours.

Hadar -

 See, I do not subscribe to the famous Kissinger's bullshit that "The perception of the reality is more important than the reality itself" I mean, if you are an idiot, certainly you are free to accept any "perception" that is fed to you by the "perceptors" from cable, media, government propaganda.After 9/11 American pubic was "percepted" to feel that the whole country is "surviving", while 40,000 Americans still die every year in highway accidents, cancer research is stifled by rich cancer surgeons' associations and drug companies making billions on it  for half a century now and magically most Americans still believe that Iraq attacked us on 9/11. But if you own and know how to use that round thing than is attached to your neck, you know that this is all bullshit.

Israelis may have a perception that they survive, but so did every racist group that used that to justify the opression of others. Remember "Yellow peril"? Racist South was also surviving - preserving the ways of the White Race faced with hordes of Negroes raping white women. Aryans were surviving Jewish rapists and so on.

I do not know the statistics of driving accidents death in Israel but it must be outrageous, judging the way they drive. So, the possibility of an average Israeli to die under the car wheels  is many times over than that of falling a victim of a suicide bomber. Not that it makes it less horrible, but we are talking about SURVIVAL here.

When you write that you think that many Israels do put their kids to bed hungry, you are  crossing the line of reasonable. Especially if you remember the conditions on Israeli occupied land, where hunger is always just around the corner.

Alex, perhaps you do not believe in the power perception, but most of the human population is guided instinctually by what they perceive, it is an inate and ancient survival mechanism. It is not something to believe in or not, no faith required here, it is a hard wired response. It is just like when my cat sees a dog and the hair on his back stands. Even though the dog has no teeth is 100 years old and can't possibly reach the cat who is on the roof, and yet still, the cat percieves a threat and the hair stands up.

Perhaps you have found a way to override this mechanism, but I doubt it as you yourself have some very strong feelings or opinions, which undoubtedly were formed by perceptions that you have gathered all of your life.

You mention that media perpetrates perceptions - agreed. But wait, I really did carry a gas mask everywhere with me for a month waiting for the warning sirens to go off during the 1st Gulf War and before that there was the 1st intifada with the flood of terror attacks and let us not forget the 1st war in Lebanon, and then the 2nd intifada and most recently the 2nd war in Lebanon. I list these conflicts because it is not what I heard in the media that scared the hell out of me at times but the fact that I had to physically run to the bomb shelter with my 2 year old last year, and that many times I could hear and smell the missle/scud that landed a bit to close for comfort or that only 200 meters from my parents home 17 children were blown to bits on a bus coming home from school. Now of course you can argue the legitimacy of any of these events, but that has much less to do with the innate effect it has on those that experience it. I could continue to list more incidents, but the point is (and this is without taking anything away from anyone elses suffering) that the concept of survival is very much alive and well in Israel and why wouldn't it be?

Suffering is not a contest and just because some suffer more doesn't negate others 'lesser' suffering.

As to crossing the line of reasonable by saying Israelis put their kids to bed hungry - Unfortunately, yes some do. I am not comparing it to conditions in Gaza and the West Bank or to sub Saharian Africa, I though know there are too many children in Israel (all over the world) going to bed hungry.

It is not the real or percieved threat of survival that Israeli's endure that is in question, for facts support them - but perhaps your lack of empathy or sympathy towards this threat that makes you question it.

Hadar:

1. Please, do not compare people to cats. Its just plain silly. 

2. Overriding this mechanism is easy - start thinking for yourself. Do not accept anything as given. Study math - it helps to find holes in logic.

3 Nothing is absolute, even suffering. That is the biggest truth about men. Even on physical pain level. Visit a museum with some items of medieval medicine. Dentistry, especially. What you will see - was an everyday dentistry tools and procedures, that endured as NORMAL by everyday folks and even royals. The mere though that a contemporary men could be subjected to this will make you lose your sleep for a week. So, your suffering can only be taken into account as compared to the suffering of your neighbors. Especially if your country's miliraty and political powers are responsible for than IN YOUR AND MY NAME.

4. As for gas masks, I can tell you something. The masks that you have in Israel civilian defence are a joke. I have been through Russian military training in mid-70-ies when they forced us as soldiers to stay for couple of minutes in a special tent with very mild, non-toxic chemical vapors. Only after many training sessions were we able to take tiny sips of air through our own vomit that floods the mask as soon as the fist puffs of a chemical is released. And never for more than several minutes. Also, your head must be fresh shaved and a thick layer of grease must be applied to it. And even then it will only work if your mask has a full skull rubber head that covers your head entirely up to your neck and you have chosen one that fits you perfect after you try tens of them. The ones with straps are just given to civilians as a panic-mender. You will die in such a mask within seconds. And those who gave you these masks knew it.

If you ever think seriously about surviving and saving your child, do everything yourself. Have a plan.  Buy good, current  masks from the military (bribe someone), try them many times inside a small room with chlorine disinfectant vapors and train your child. The child training will be brutal. Prepare for that. Everything else is just pretending. 

5. Now about my empathy and sympathy. I have a lot of sympathy for Jewish boys and girls, their parents and their future kids. I wish they grow up engineers, scientists, musicians,  and yes, those ubiquitous Jewish doctors, anything but what they are becoming today - a young nation of prison guards and checkpoint dogs. There is no alternative to active pursue of peace with full restitutions for the Palestinian suffering. The strategy of fooling the whole world and bribing US Congress is running out. Study Jewish political history. We are making an old mistake again and again  - taking peoples for idiots while bribing their kings. The whole Jewish history is the history of these failed attempts to cajole the powers that be, do their dirty work for them, never knowing when and where to stop and finally see the kings turn away and hordes of simple folk who we robbed for their kings pleasures coming at us with knives and stones. To prevent this from happening yet again, to stop this vicious cycle of arrogant, STIFFNECKED stupidity - this is how I understand empathy. 

And sympathy. 

Alex, when it comes to "patrolling" our comment threads, Jewcy approaches the job like a languid hippy saying "it's-all-good" through an open mouth-full of delicious microwaved burrito. In other words, dialogue is unconstrained, as Voltaire would want it, and as our lethargy demands. But you must be respectful of Hadar. Hadar is queen. Think of each encounter with Hadar as a chance to practice being as charming as possible, extra solicitous and engaging. That's what I do.

I admit it: I'm going to cop out on addressing the comments in this thread.  But I do have a question: has anyone considered the gender aspect hinted at in the Jerusalem Post article (linked at the top of the page)?  Can we address how it is we--both Israelis and Americans, for that matter--raise males?

Bless you Joey (there are a few people that didn't get notice of my title change)

Alex the cat bit was an analogy used to express a point, communicate a thought, but never a comparison - so silly it is not. (And if I am not mistaken much of the knowledge we have of human physiology, behavior and response has been garnered by studying animals. Remember Pavlov?)

And I am sure that medieval medicine was no fun. But by your logic does only the one suffering the absolute most get to call it suffering while everyone else is just complaining?

I stand by my contention that Israel lives with a real or perceived threat of survival. (Is it the reason they are assholes? I have no idea but I am sure it doesn't help their assholeness factor) And your shpiel about the gas masks only strengthens this/my point, thank you. Can you imagine how people must have felt when learning that not only did they feel absolutely ridiculous and helpless in these makeshift 'sealed' rooms, but the masks were just hinderances to breathing and really not very attractive!

Joey: I thought I was the very example of gentlemanly grace. Pity you didn't notice.

Your Majesty:

1. Pavlov: Nope. Only conditional reflexes. Huge difference, Your Majesty. BTW, my grandmother Helena Heimann (Geiman) was one of the very first (if not THE first Pavlov's female students!) Not that it should make me an authority on the subject...

2. Suffering/complaning has nothing to do with survival.

3. Gas masks. Nope. Deep inside, instinctively, you knew it was only 10% danger and 90% propaganda. Otherwise you would not accept that laughable imitation of mask for your baby.

4. Your Majesty, think what you want, but you are very lucky to have such naive ideas about what survival is. I wish it will stay that way for you till your number comes up, and may it be far, far away from now. As for me, I prefer quick death to survival. I have been there twice and its not pretty. No third time for me, thanks.

Alex you remind me of my grandmother, the irrepressible Esther Rosenfarb. The woman could keep an arguement alive for generations. Her very adept technique was to completely ignore the logic of the opposition and just throw out more argueable points into the mix....

Once again my point was that many Israeli's do feel a threat, be it real or perceived for their survival.

Now maybe Israeli's also have 'naive ideas' about what survival is and as a result they unnecessarily feel their survival is threatened. But even that is immaterial because the result is still that feeling does exist and nothing you have written so far refutes this or could. Although it is very clear you are no fan of some of Israel's practices.

Hadar -

I do not deny the existence of the feeling at all. Nazis also felt victimized and threatened and that was the premise for all-out war to "save" and enlarge the Faterland. People feel billions of things that are not real and sometimes create non-existant threats to justify their own atrocities.

That does not make 'em TRUE. 

Alex then what are you arguing about? I never made the statement that everyones feelings in Israel are true! Then again, I think saying that Israeli's are overreacting with regards to survival issues would be ridiculous and certainly not my place (or yours).

I am sure that the stressful conditions of living in a country constantly in conflict, perceived to be fighting for survival, contributes and is even the cause for anti-social behaviour - including loud, cheap backpackers. It doesn't make it OK or right, but I am not offering apologies only potential explanations.

Hadar - 

I was making a point that it is obscene to discuss Israel's, who has an almost superpower range military and a sizable nuclear arsenal, "perception" of its own survival (which is a very good business too, if you take into an account  that such a much propaganded fear makes many Diaspora Jews and US Congress very generous) when she actually OCCUPIES and subjects to REAL survival the whole neighboring people.

I mean, the psycological  suffering of a torturer may be very real, but I'd rather discuss the suffering of his actual victim that is being water-boarded in the same room even as we speak.

Regards. 

As an israeli jew, born and raised as such, i can tell you
that the writer is absolutely right, accurate and thorough.

ALL ISRAELIES act this way, because we are israelis and that is the way
we are more loving and open then europeans, we are more affectionate
and talkative, and accepting. we are REAL with everyone.

and we are jerks, only compared to others.

As an Israeli guy who traveled in south America i sure got to see the less positive side of the Israeli's , taking the chutzpa and not being a "friyer" to the limit, especially when traveling in packs like we often do. this is a normal behaviour for us Israelis , but this is just because we keep our eyes open, and don't take things as is, knowing that tourists are often an easy target for a good bargain. there are a lot of honest places in the world, hostels and restaurants who have earned the good reputation among us Israelis as a great place to come. and on these places you wouldn't find anyone say bad things about Israelis. we are a spicy combination of the Mediterranean temper and the Jewish Witt. i must say, the other side of the scale is no better. we Israelis often comment about the Americans, how they never just say what they mean. they will be polite, take their ability to form a fake smile into an art form, and the small talk into way of living. and i know this doesn't go for all living Americans, but i have the feeling you know what i mean. and you will excuse me for saying that, right? after all , what can you expect out if an Israeli guy.

My Yankee bretheren might be amused to know that when we Jews from the South are asked to describe Israelis, we say they are a lot like people from NYC: direct, blunt, assertive/aggressive, and paradoxically either amazingly caring and helpful or incredibly narcissistic.

The kindest people I have ever met are Israelis. The biggest bastards I've ever met, ditto. I can't explain it better than a Rabbi who once told me: "God gave us Jews great spiritual power, together with freedom of choice...that's why we tend to the extremes..."

I am jewish, I am married to a maroc Israeli, I lived in Dubai. Yep israelis can be rude and obnoxious as a a general rule. Especially the treck around asia types. So what? Plenty of hotels in asia have similar posts directed towards sex hungry, ill mannered arabs. A jew is not by default israeli or vice versa. Ding ding ding. I thought the russians in jerusalem praising hitler made that kinda clear. Come on ppl let's get over it together. Stereotypes are based on reality, it's just dangerous when they are used as a basis on which to collectively judge/single out/punish large groups.

You wrote:
it's just dangerous when they are used as a basis on which to collectively judge/single out/punish large groups.

Thats exactly what this racist writer is doing.

Sorry but this a site pertaining to all jewish topics and as such is being discussed. I don't understand what's wrong with that. The author is not punishing, singeling out or otherwise being racist. He is writing about an existing phenomena that even other israelis admit to!!!

For the love of all that's good and holy - unwanted behavior is just as obnoxious whether israeli, european or arab. Drunken brits annoy me as much as arrogant israelis. Sex hungry arabs too. Does that make me racist? No, I am juding their BEHAVIOR mainly. And yes many steroetypes exist about all kinds of people. Face it we all are racist in some way. Israelis are not exempt from this.

People cry racism so easily. Well maybe people are in part responsible for their behavior. I don't want to be obliged to pussy foot around every minority group for fear of being called a racist. A lot of blacks are gang bangers, a lot of brits are drunks and a lot of israelis are arrogant assholes. So what? As long as that doesn't become a reason to annihilate them - things are going well.

Like jews don't judge others, including other jews........... pass me a vomit bag. Hypocrisy

The author is singling out Israelis for attack.

What part of that do you not understand?

well 'attack' is kind extreme.

as an Israeli I can confirm there are a fair amount of assholes amougst us

we are good looking though

in every country.

Israelis are not unique.

Here in NYC we get our fair share of tourist assholes too.

If say some Arabs piss me off, is it ok if I put up a sign saying no Arabs are allowed because we have our problems with them?

Give me a break.

Singeling out, attacking, racist etc etc. I know for a fact there are hotels in Dubai that refuse service to russians (mafia/crime/alcohol) or even arabs dressed in traditional clothing (scare the western tourists with their bin laden look). I know that in Thailand and Malaysia many hotels/bars/restaurants have signs that read no arabs (sex hungry, rude). I know that in Spain there are places that don't cater to brits (alcohol, fights).

Now what??? If someone writes an article about it and analyze the why and how are they being racist???

Sometimes your reputation precedes you and that goes for all sort of people. Too bad huh.

As a jewish lady I find it completly normal to refuse service to certain groups of ppl if they were a pain in the butt in my experience.

"As a jewish lady I find it completly normal to refuse service to certain groups of ppl if they were a pain in the butt in my experience."

You can ban individuals, but generalizing all people in a group is racism and in my book thats f*cked up.

Generalizing is racism. We have to judge each case individually. And that so happens because we have the time/opportunity/desire.

Yes in utopia we would. Meanwhile cops still stop mainly black guys on the freeway and ur experiences at O'hare int. airport will be slightly different if ur name is Ali Al Falasi instead of Mark Smith.

Tusk tusk what a racist world we live in.

Since when is reality not a factor in our opinions anymore??? And in the free world, in a capitalist market ppl are pretty much free to sell their services/goods to whomever they please (or not). Now we are gonna cry foul???

What if many israelis abroad are di**s? Does that even matter? The actual behavior of the ppl in question???

Bottomline: If a saudi comes into my establishment and acts like an ass it's an isolated incidence I brush off. If it happens very frequently, I will change my policy. Same goes for ANY and EVERY nationality.

And once again, I remind ppl that israelis are HARDLY the ONLY nationality that get banned from certain establishments in certain places. Again plenty of brits, russians and arabs encounter the same situation. Guess they all better star shaping up a bit then. Maybe that also helps... just maybe.

I don't think they are victims or easily accept victim status. And trust me I know plenty of israelis. I am married to one.

You'd fit in very well in apartheid South Africa. And don't complain when you're discriminated against.

Me, I prefer the USA and the rights guaranteed to me by the Constitution, including those preventing discrimination.

653 I gonna wager ur name is not Ali and u r not black. What utter bs. The most racism i ever encountered was in the great US of A

I lived in Israel for 4 months many years ago. Being a Jew I couldn't understand my dislike, even hate, of so many of the Israelis. I grew up in Canada, and lived in the US for 5 years also. On a superficial level (people on the street, etc), many Israelis I have encountered did act like jerks to my comparison of North Americans.

Ok, anyone who has traveled around the world may have witnessed Israelis' agressive manners. Nobody can deny from an American or European perspective, that many Israelis act with "Hutzpa," travelling in groups and haggling. 

I myself lived in Israel for a year before traveling to South America and even though I had great thoughts of Israelis, I did witnessed a few painfully rude Israeli episodes, as well as some amazingly sweet incidents between the Israelis and native people. Who would ever guess that a native Bolivian guide would know the Hebrew words to nostalgic Israeli songs and lead a sing along session where the whole group (which was not all Israelis) and himself included would sing themselves through laughter. And who would guess that the owner of a hostel, also in the rainforests of Bolivia, would know a special recipe of "Shakshuka" a traditional Israeli dish- because a group of four Israelis stayed with her and taught her their favorite dished to the T.

Let's not forget a few things about viewing Israelis from the outside.

1. Most Israeli travellers are YOUNG- after 1-3 year army service, leaving their home often for the first time. Get any young people travelling with groups/friends, and you're going to have a party.

2. They're young and used to the Israeli mentality, and yes, sorry to let you know, there is a sense of struggling for survival in Israeli society. Many people, not so long ago, came from lands that oppressed them and stole their possessions and more or less forced them to leave(Egypt, Syria, Iraq for example), or from dog-eat-dog countries such as the former USSR. If they didn't come, then their parent's did- and certain mentalities and behaviours get passed on to generations, whether they can help it or not.

That's why you may see an Israeli barganing for 5 pesos- because for as the author stated- being a "Freyer" or sucker is the worst thing in Israel. From an out