Watch out for the secular guy

April 17, 2009 - 1:45 PM by

haredimIf there’s one thing Israelis like to do, it’s categorizing people. Not that we’re prejudiced, but it’s second nature when describing someone that’s not like you to use a term like ‘haredim’ (Ultra-Orthodox), “Roosim’ (Russian), or ‘Aravim’ (Arab).

And it’s not only religion or nationality, it can also describe behavior or cultural bents – someone can be a ‘freche’ (Israeli version of a Jewish American Princess), an ‘Arse’ (a male JAP), or a Tzfon Tel Avivi (beourgouise, Left-wing Tel Aviv resident).

But did you ever think that those same people you’re labelling with the greatest of ease are also stereotyping you?

I was walking to work yesterday afternoon through a Jerusalem neighborhood inhabited mostly by devoutly religious Jews who generally dress in black and sport peyot around their ears. There, how’s that for political correctness?

Three boys, around nine or 10 years old, were playing in the street when a car drove by slowing down by them. After passing the first two boys, the driver stopped at the last one and appeared to be asking him a question.

The first two boys looked on excitedly. “Hey, he’s talking to Yediya,” one of them said.

“Who is he, an Arab?” asked the second boy.

“No, I don’t think so. He looks hiloni (secular),” was the first boy’s response.

I cracked up. To them, this perfectly normal looking guy, who I would describe as a middle-aged white male, was to these haredi youth, a non-religious outsider. To them, he was as exotic and foreign as an Arab or an Ethiopian is to a white, Ashkenazi, secular Israeli.

No moral to the story here, it’s just interesting to once in a while look at things from the other guy’s point of view. And maybe if we stopped labelling everyone we saw, we might all be a little better off.

Tags: , , • Category: A New Reality, coexistence, General, Israeliness, Life 

Comments

One Comment on Watch out for the secular guy

  1. Maya on Tue, Apr 21st 2009 12:21 PM

    2. Actually, I feel like there’s kind of a deep moral to this post! And that’s rather hillarious

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