So it turns out I'm racist. Not because I hate or even really discriminate against anyone, but because when I think of black people, I automatically picture a certain set of images that are associated with black people in America. I picture a teenage gangster with his pants hanging off his butt, and I picture a gospel choir, and I picture young girls jumping double dutch, and also I picture my first grade teacher, Mrs. Armstrong. But these people, the people I picture when I think of black people, are not representative of dark-skinned people across the board. They simply are small pieces of a unique subculture that exists almost solely in the United States.
Black people in Israel.... they're not gangsters, and they don't sing gospel, and they don't jump rope, and they for sure don't teach first grade in public schools. Black people in Israel are not African American, or African Israeli, they're just straight up African. They're Eritrean and Somalian and Sudanese and Ethiopian, and I don't mean Jewish Ethiopian. Literally, these people are straight out of Darfur. It's crazy. And while being black in America comes with a whole lot of issues, being black in Israel has an entirely different set of problems and obstacles. In America, black people may have different cultural traditions, and different slang, and different music, but ultimately they speak the same language, observe the same religion, and generally blend in with the masses. Here, not so. Sudanese women walk around the streets in full traditional robes, and Ethiopian construction workers speak only Amarik, and, most notably, they're NOT JEWISH. This opens up the African population to a whole world of prejudices totally not associated with the color of their skin. Should they even be here? Does Israel, as a Jewish nation, have an obligation to accept refugees from the Sudan? Do we have an obligation to give them citizenship? And what about their children? Can they go to Jewish schools? Vote in our elections? Can they run for office in a Jewish state if they are not Jewish?
I don't know all these answers. I do know that Israel absorbs well over 6,000 African immigrants, refugees, and foreign workers every year, and I know that with the current birth and immigration rates in this country, Jews will be a minority in our own state by the year 2030. It's an issue that goes far beyond racism here, and it's something that I look forward to becoming more involved with next semester working with these immigrant populations.
On a different subject.... OLD PEOPLE. Since I moved here, I have been totally boggled by the vastly different role of old people in society here as compared to the States. In America, we are incredibly ageist, and generally believe that people beyond the age of 70 or so have little to no value in society. We put our old people in nursing homes, and leave the Mexicans/Asians/African Americans to take care of them (ironic...).
Here, old people are an entirely different creature. The oldest people in this country are old enough to remember the very first Yom HaAtzma'ut; they are old enough to have fought in the War for Independence. They are old enough that Hebrew may not be their first language, but rather Russian or German or Polish. They are the first generation of "New Jews", of Sabras. This comes with a fierce sense of independence and determination, and so despite their decaying bones or even mental capacity, I see elderly people here on a daily basis on the buses, in shops, and on the street. They are functioning citizens just like the rest of us. Furthermore, the respect that young people have for the elderly goes far beyond what is socially acceptable in the States. Giving up your seat on the bus or helping an old lady across the street is not an act of kindness, but simply a requirement, and if you are unwilling to live up to this responsibility, you are regarded as, well... a bad person.
I find it inspiring. This is a country full of Jewish heroes, and its spirit is driven partially by the fact that its oldest members are the original heroes of Zionism. They are not cast off as useless or a burden on society, but valued as primary sources and as Jewish heroes. This deep-rooted respect is something that we just do not (and probably never will) have in the United States, and it continues to amaze me on a daily basis here.
I'm not sure where I was going with this. It's 2:30 in the morning and I just finished a five-page paper and I spent the day cleaning and packing to move to Jerusalem next week, but this is something I've been thinking about a lot, and I thought I would share it.
Good night!
No comments:
Post a Comment