Out of Ashkelon

I’m told Israel is roughly the size of New Jersey, with a population of 6 million (excluding occupied territories). Ashkelon, where I spent most of my time, has about 100,000 inhabitants. Roughly the size of Manchester, NH, or about half the size of my hometown of Jackson, MS. Something like half of her people are first generation Israelis, the majority being from FSU (former soviet union) origin. Other large groups are north Africans, Ethiopians as well as people from many middle eastern countries. It seems virtually anyone over 40 is from another country.

Growing up in Mississippi, one tends to fit into either of two cultural groups; black or white. This has as much to do with which party you go to after the high school football game as it does with race. When I was a kid I always thought of my Jewish friends as just being white people who happen to go to “church” on Saturday. Spending time in the Jewish homeland showed me how distinct and diverse Judaism really is. It seems every skin tone and every accent is united for the Jewish state.

The Hebrew language is another uniting force. Its hard to believe that less than a hundred years ago, this language was virtually extinct. Like Latin, it was only used for religious services. I don’t know the exact history, but it was decidedly brought back to be the official language of Israel. This was not with out some resistance from ultra religious Jews, who felt it was only to be used for holy purposes. They still speak only Yiddish.

But Hebrew won out, big time. Everyone learns it, all the signs display it, and it has produced a variety of new words such as those for technology and slang. It has become a living, breathing, evolving tongue. There are Hebrew news channels, sitcoms and even an equivalent to MTV, complete with screaming teenagers. After Hebrew, school children are taught Arabic(20% of Israeli citizens are Arab) and English (the “international language“). You can basically assume anyone under 30 speaks decent English.

All of these things make Israel an excellent vacation destination. Its exotic, but familiar. Its western, but in the middle east. You can read the road signs. Driving is like the US, except with more honking. Necessities are affordable. People are generally very welcoming, once you meet them. They seem to really like Americans, and I think this could be the only country on the globe where most people really like President Bush. Besides, where else in the middle east would you go?

It also seems to be a very safe country. Many of my friends and family asked about safety. While they have plenty of petty crime, I understand violent crime is virtually unheard of. That is of course not including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Ashkelon is quite close to the Gaza Strip, and people do worry about the Quassam rockets, that have come out of Gaza, though they also joke about it a lot. But they almost never make it as far as Ashkelon, and fortunately, I never heard anything unusual during my visit, even though someone scared the crap out of me by shooting of fireworks on the beach one night.

There is more security than American’s are used to. Any crowded place will have an armed guard checking bags. Still I felt completely safe the whole time. I think your odds of getting iced in Jackson over $20 are much greater than anything happening to you in Israel.

Its hard to sum up Israeli culture, because it is such a melting pot. And considering I only saw the south of the country I shouldn’t make generalizations, but I’m going to anyway. People here have a directness that some would consider rude, combined with a heart warming hospitality. Its almost like a combination of Northern and Southern US. People don’t great each other or smile on the street, but they welcome you into there homes once they know you are a guest.

On the playground site a lady from the neighborhood came out and told us that she was “very upset” the playground was going up close to her home, and she was “very angry” about the noise. Then she made us herbal tea from her garden and welcomed us to come to her house if we needed anything. That really summed up a lot for me.