Sadly, we've been giving Israel-haters plenty of material to work with
"We always had problems around here, but up until a few years ago we were still one of the coolest states on earth. When we would meet Americans and tell them we're from Israel, their immediate response would be "Wow." It wasn't always clear why they said it – because of the high-tech, the most beautiful girls in the world, the Entebbe Operation, the Six-Day War, the kibbutzim, Exodus, the Mossad, the oranges, or the fact that the feeble Jews suddenly got a tan and went to the beach.
Yet somehow, at some point in the last decade, it ended. You tell John Smith "I'm from Israel" while he drinks his beer and he gives you a foggy stare and says: "You've got quite a few problems there, man. Must be tough.".............
.......Because we are no longer cool. Everything that used to be funny has become problematic. The kibbutznik who would walk into the opera house in Vienna wearing sandals had been replaced by a bunch of teenagers who vandalize hotels in Cyprus. That Israeli guy who arrived in New York with $10 in his pocket and became a millionaire is currently suspected of real-estate fraud and is wanted in six states. Instead of exporting irrigation systems to Africa, we sell weapons to the worst regimes on earth. Meanwhile, the best army in the world is being portrayed in the worst way possible on CNN.
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And you thought it would last for ever, you poor thing?
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Entebbe Operation, the Six-Day War, the kibbutzim, Exodus, the Mossad
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NOTHING to be proud of here.
by the way, the previously thriving Arab citrus industry (pre-48 their biggest export) was decimated because Israel got 86 percent of the agricultural land WITHIN the 48 borders. they got more after stealing more of the prime farmland in the West Bank. by the way, i mentioned a week ago - i went to a west bank town on the green line and it's very green -- the fruits here are amazing. people think it's all barren rock and olive trees - not true. agriculture has historically been the core of the economy,
Jewish people are cool. Are Israeli Jews less cool than non Israeli Jews? Serious question.
ReplyDeletei've only seen a few israelis in East Jerusalem. i'm not the arbiter of cool, but in general my impression - not to be mean - is that Israelis have poor manners. for instance, they'll bump into each other on the street and not say excuse me. it's pretty hilarious, actually.
ReplyDeletei haven't seen any cool idf soldiers, to say the least.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Perhaps to some degree American Jews would agree that Israeli Jews are less cool than American Jews.
ReplyDeleteAre a lot of the IDF at check points etc woman? How do they behave compared to male IDF?
most are arrogant and masculine.
ReplyDelete"Jewish people are cool ..."
ReplyDeleteThere's that stereotyping again. Now let's hear about that poll that shows that 97% of Afghans think Jews are cool.
Yasmin, I know it sounds perverse, but many men dig arrogant woman. Masculine, now that is a step too far.
ReplyDeleteHow are the men and woman in the Palestinian national security forces? Palestinians seem more handsome and beautiful than IDF in pictures.
Jewish people are cool:
ReplyDeleteLet's ask the Palestinians themselves ( Shithead) , they should know.What percentage can you come up with ?
and BTW anan, 99.99999999 % of your comments contain religious, or racial flavour , even if the topic is a beauty contest. And 110 % contain dumb statements.
Racial flavour above should read racial hatred flavour.
ReplyDelete<span>Jewish people are cool: </span>
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Sounds like (positive) stereotyping to me..
<span> many men dig arrogant woman.</span>
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?!!
"many" dig submissive women too! What does that prove?
Personal anecdotal observation. Israelis seem different from American Jews (or Indian Jews for that matter.)
ReplyDeleteAn Arab Moslem is different to a Turkish Moslem , both are different to an Indonesian Moslem they don't even speak the same language.
ReplyDeleteSO WHAT ARE YOU TRYING AND TRYING AND TRYING TO SAY ??
TGIA, not everything is meant to be taken too seriously. :LOL:
ReplyDeleteI think Israeli woman might not like Yasmin or other Arab woman (yes I know that Yasmin is half Arab), because the men prefer them. Maybe this accounts for the woman IDF attitude that Yasmin describes.
It may be slowly dawning on the cretin that Jewish is not an ethnic identity.
ReplyDeleteHeard a funny joke on the radio this am. It was told by a caller. The lead radio personality is jewish, and frequently makes reference to that fact. He groaned, but laughed all the same (because he has a sense of humor, much unlike many here):
ReplyDeleteWhat is the difference between a jew and santa claus?
Santa Claus goes UP the chimney...LOL
Have you got that the right way round, flem?
ReplyDeleteI thought Fleming was banned.
ReplyDeleteDamn! I screwed it up.
ReplyDeleteYes, it should read Santa goes down the chimney!
Thanks for the correction Jemmy! LOL
thought you might want to see the rest of the article - the part 2 not posted anywhere...
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<div>"and as a result we complain and grouch, and call them "antisemites", and that of course makes the situation worse, because there is nothing less "cool" from whining, but we're stuck with the insult in our throats, so what can you do? remain silent? leave the stage to the "bad guys"? except that it is not clear what we want from them, because even in our own eyes we are no longer "cool". Instead of drying up the swamps we are "drying up" waiting outside of our healthcare facilities, the bible is an occupation in the south of the hebron mount, and the one who's calling you "brother" will soon be pulling out a knife on you in the parking lot. </div>
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<div>We are the first to admit - in front page news - that nobody can stand us, but when someone else says it, we're always newly shocked. Because there is no Israeli that doesn't shrink away in horror when we kill (by accident, damn it, by accident) kids in Gaza, but when they write about it in "Newsweek" we get feel hurt to the bottom of our souls. Because we were hoping that nobody would see us, that that is inside information, that in the world of a thousand tv stations and a million internet sites nobody would notice. </div>
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<div>So while it is true that for years radical left wing groups have been operating against us - backed up by Islamic funds and self hating Jews - it's hard to say we haven't been giving them something to work with. Because the first rule of "being cool" is that nobody will love you if you don't love yourself. </div>
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<div>We are no longer cool. We were, and we stopped. We are a country - another country - that is stuck on the wrong side of the ball, projected between the riots in Malaysia and the earthquake in Indonesia, too sweaty, not especially graceful, one whose relatives are slightly emberassed with but keep loving because inspite all its quirks, if nobody forgives her for its mistakes then it will have to forgive herself, that it has good things - even great things - but it also makes, even many, mistakes. That she gained weight, that nobody falls in love with her at first site on the street, that has to pick between being pretty and being just, because the two of them don't get along. </div>
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<div>So do we give up? do we just forget it, understand that nobody will be looking at us from the side with an admiring look, and want to be like us, or at least our friend? of course not. </div>
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Part 2 of rest of article
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<div>Because those who loved us before, will be more than happy to snuggle up in our arms once again. Just look at what happened to the USA during the first months of Obama: in five minutes they turned from a hated empire to a sexy country everyone want to get into bed with. The big advantage of a flexible planet, is knowing that everything can change within minutes. Even China is suddenly "cool". A thousand years it was the "Yellow Giant" and now its us that are yellow, out of jealousy. </div>
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<div>It can happen to us too, but with all respect to the "explanation office" (everyone who knew this office was resurrected raise a hand, we even have a new "explanation officer". Of course we have, his name is Yuli Adelstein, haven't you noticed how popular we are since he got appointed?), so if we want to be the guy being invited to all the right parties - it has to be for the right reasons. </div>
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<div>You can't keep talking about the Holocaust, if you have holocaust survivors starving at your doorstep; you can't be mad about the hate against jews, when the hate of arabs is running your life; you can't expect to be taken seriously, when three 17 yr olds are running your life out of a Caravan in the Shomron; you can't keep asking for credit for being a " the only democracy in the middle east", when your democracy is not functioning. </div>
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<div>Because it's time that we admit that the world is not against us automatically. Even the Swedes - the same Swedes that made us so mad - were giving us Noble prizes not too long ago, and organizing - at their own initiative, but who here remembers good things - the most important in Europe in memory of the Holocaust. </div>
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<div>Many will say that being "cool" is not worth it. That for being "cool" it's not worth giving up the territories, or prevent the IDF its freedom of action, or interrupt Liberman from sticking his finger in their eye every time he gets a chance. Maybe. Israel was not created for people to say that Jews are nice - but so that jews could say "go take a hike". </div>
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<div>But you have to admit that you miss a time when every time we entered a party, all the best looking girls wanted to dance with us." </div>
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Part 2 of rest of article
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<div>Because those who loved us before, will be more than happy to snuggle up in our arms once again. Just look at what happened to the USA during the first months of Obama: in five minutes they turned from a hated empire to a sexy country everyone want to get into bed with. The big advantage of a flexible planet, is knowing that everything can change within minutes. Even China is suddenly "cool". A thousand years it was the "Yellow Giant" and now its us that are yellow, out of jealousy. </div>
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<div>It can happen to us too, but with all respect to the "explanation office" (everyone who knew this office was resurrected raise a hand, we even have a new "explanation officer". Of course we have, his name is Yuli Adelstein, haven't you noticed how popular we are since he got appointed?), so if we want to be the guy being invited to all the right parties - it has to be for the right reasons. </div>
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<div>You can't keep talking about the Holocaust, if you have holocaust survivors starving at your doorstep; you can't be mad about the hate against jews, when the hate of arabs is running your life; you can't expect to be taken seriously, when three 17 yr olds are running your life out of a Caravan in the Shomron; you can't keep asking for credit for being a " the only democracy in the middle east", when your democracy is not functioning. </div>
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<div>Because it's time that we admit that the world is not against us automatically. Even the Swedes - the same Swedes that made us so mad - were giving us Noble prizes not too long ago, and organizing - at their own initiative, but who here remembers good things - the most important in Europe in memory of the Holocaust. </div>
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<div>Many will say that being "cool" is not worth it. That for being "cool" it's not worth giving up the territories, or prevent the IDF its freedom of action, or interrupt Liberman from sticking his finger in their eye every time he gets a chance. Maybe. Israel was not created for people to say that Jews are nice - but so that jews could say "go take a hike". </div>
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<div>But you have to admit that you miss a time when every time we entered a party, all the best looking girls wanted to dance with us." </div>
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A good article..Not only Israel is not cool anymore it's also doomed.
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