Israeli society is divided, polarized and split. There is very little or no communication between the groups. Prejudice is more prevalent than falafel. And every day , it bothers me more.
I teach in a special program for Ethiopians. More often than not, we end up discussing things, which I think are no less important than English, which they're meant to be learning. I cannot punish them, give them a grade, or send them home, I'm not a part of the system. So we end up talking. They asked me where I live, I said, Ramat Bet Shemesh. One kid said, oh, but that's where all those violent people in black live. They attack you and scream something in Yiddish. Is that what their language is called? Another one said, we waved some sticks at them and they run away. They think we are all murderers. And he added, there is like a line between their area and ours. They don't come to us, and we don't go to them. But if they attack us, we can fight! I said, hold on one second. Do you hear yourselves? You say, these violent people in black, and yet, they are afraid of you because you wave sticks at them. (And I didn't say, prejudiced against your black skin). They think you are the violent ones! The bottom line is that no group is violent as a group - there are individuals who have problems, and cannot control themselves. And then I asked, have you ever spoken to any of them? Face to face? They admitted they have not. They don't feel safe or comfortable starting a conversation. I'm sure that fact applies in reverse. The Charedim have never sat down and had a conversation with the Ethiopians, who live 2 streets down. In my opinion, they have more in common than they know - dedication to customs, reverence of the elders, kids helping out at home, strict upbringing and living poverty, education challenges and rejection by the outside society, to name just a few. Yes, I'm aware of the stereotypes, but let's just say sometimes they are accurate. People in black are afraid of the black people, and visa versa. Oh, the irony.
Later that day I found myself waiting on the stairs of a regular Israeli school for my son to come out. He was taking an exam for a special program they run here in Bet Shemesh. We had about a half an hour left, more and more parents were coming. Eventually, they divided into 3 distinct groups, Israelis, Anglos, and Russians. As someone who's fully comfortable in all 3, I decided have a go listening in to all of them. The Israelis were waving their arms around, getting all emotional, blaming the police in light of the recent scandals, talking about education, kids' diet and the situation in the North.
When I joined the Anglos, I heard that they, too, were talking about schools, about the new location of the shuk in Bet Shemesh and the expenses involved in keeping a big car.
The Russians - guess what? - were talking about education, as well! And about the challenges of living in a bilingual home and the rising expenses of living.
They, too, have so much in common. But not in a million years will it occur to them to talk about these things to each other!
Dear Anglos, please don't tell me your Hebrew is terrible or non-existent after 20 years of living here. When you don't make an effort to meet Israelis, get to know them, and maybe even get friendly. Underneath our skin and mentality there is something we all share as humans and Jews.
Dear Israelis, don't tell me the Anglos are all snobs. Because you haven't made an effort to approach them and ask how are they settling here.
And lastly, dear Russians, don't tell me the society rejects you because of being Russian. Because you're quite comfortable being rejected and keeping to yourselves, with your own shops, music and newspapers, and away from the "natives" .
What Bet Shemesh (and Israel) needs is for people to meet each other. To look each other in the eyes and say 'hello'. We will not be a nation till we at least learn to talk to each other. To learn each others customs. To reduce the fear. We resemble a multi-coloured quilt, and it's wonderful. But the quilt has to hold together, with words being the stitches.
So, let me challenge you, dear readers. Be brave. Approach an Ethiopian and ask him what his favourite food is. Approach a Russian and ask where they like to go shopping. Ask a chassid if they're happy with the weather. It doesn't have to be complicated, or political, or charged. Just simple human interaction. Until that happens - we are not one people. We are not one city.We are exposed and vulnerable. Please comment below as to how you think we can fix it.
