Ghosts in Israel? Not likely

October 27, 2009 - 10:17 AM by

Israel may be an ancient land, with an ancient, not to mention, bloody history, but despite this, it doesn’t seem to be a land of ghosts.

What with Halloween coming up, I thought I’d do a story on the top 10 hauntings in Israel, expecting to find some fascinating material dating back to biblical times that would scare the pants off even veteran ghost observer Melinda Gordon, AKA Jennifer Love Hewitt. I scoured the web. Then scoured it again. There were many references to ghosts and hauntings – but only the living kind.

“There isn’t a culture of ghosts in Israel,” said an American friend who’d done similar research just a few years ago and also drawn a blank. “They just don’t have a history of it.”

I asked my sabra husband. “Ghosts!” he said, looking baffled. “We don’t have ghosts in Israel!”

But wait a minute. This is the country that spawned Paranormal Activity – supposedly the scariest movie about ghosts around today.

I carried on my research and discovered an article from Ynet last year. Apparently, the research by the German Bertelsmann Foundation showed, only 16 percent of Israelis believe in ghosts and spirits. A pretty low figure that could explain the absence of ghost stories. Compare that to the US, for example, where 48 percent of the population say they believe in ghosts , and a sizable 22 percent say they’ve actually seen or felt a ghost.

Interestingly enough, however, in the same Israeli poll, 45% of participants said they believed in angels.

It would make an interesting research paper to examine why Israelis don’t believe in ghosts. I’m sure it reveals much about the society, since ghost stories are an essential part of most cultures around the world.

Is it because they are well-grounded people with a surprisingly strong sense of optimism (angels!)? Is it because a country that has so many living enemies doesn’t have time to waste thinking about spectral enemies? Or could it be that the country, founded as it is in the wake of the Holocaust, is haunted enough by the very real loss of six million people?

I did come across one haunting – on a base in Israel. See above. Speculation runs from a speck of dust on the screen, to an energy orb, or a dead motorcyclist haunting the road.

And I’d love to hear your ghost stories too. Come on, there must be one or two stories of troubled spirits in Israel.

Tags: , , , , , • Category: General, History and Culture, Holidays, Israeliness, Pop Culture 

Comments

4 Comments on Ghosts in Israel? Not likely

  1. Ghosts in Israel? Not likely | JewPI on Tue, Oct 27th 2009 11:25 AM

    2. [...] in Israel, expecting to find some fascinating material dating back to biblical times [… Read More » Share and Enjoy:Tags: bloody history, Halloween, hauntings, Israel, land of ghostsIsraelity [...]

  2. the Wire » Paranormal Hollywood on Mon, Nov 2nd 2009 12:01 PM

    3. [...] after moving to San Diego and being creeped out by the silence of suburbia. Clearly, there are few ghosts in suburban Israeli [...]

  3. Karin on Wed, Nov 4th 2009 7:20 PM

    4. The sages say that Israel with its direct channel to God and all is protected from ghosts. They are simply not here. Zero tolerance. I notice the difference when I fly back to Canada. I feel all the old spirits breathing down my neck, especially when in my parent’s basement. The under the stairs area is particularly scary…

  4. Nicky on Thu, Nov 5th 2009 8:25 AM

    5. Karin, that’s fascinating. Where can I read this?

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