QUOTE Nobody in Israel asks what religion you are: everyone is accepted in theory as being a Jew unless you make it obvious in some way that you aren`t. UNQUOTE
I have experienced otherwise while living in Israel. Meeting my neighbours in the elevator (who I did not know at all when I first moved in to the apartment in Tel Aviv) asked me boldly: " are you Jewish " ? I answered : " are you? " Then the conversation ended immediately. I was asked that question more than once, perhaps because of my green eyes and dark blond hair?? I noticed two things in Israel 1) Being Jewish does matter, even among the seculars, 2) the original country of birth of your ancestors matter even if you are 4th generation Israeli. One still gets a stamp such as "Temani (Yemenite), Hodi (Indian), Ashkenasi etc etc. Sure, Israel is a melting pot of many origins, but after 60 years it should not be of importance where one`s ancestors came from. |
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