Prejudice

It never ceases to amaze me the prejudices that people have and that they feel comfortable expressing, regardless of who they are around (although more often than not it seems exacerbated by who one is around). Traveling around Jerusalem, this tension is constantly felt. And it really doesn't matter whom you are with. The secular like to believe that it is the religious who cause all the problems. They get angry that some of the streets are blocked off on Shabbat so that no cars can drive through, they complain about the lack of stores and transportation in operation on Shabbat and holidays as well. The religious contribute to the problem, and the fanatics throw stones or bleach at those who disrupt their lifestyles. Everyone is so angry at everyone else.

What bothers me the most about the prejudice that I am most often exposed to, that of the secular, is that it comes from international students. I have never even heard an Israeli citizen living in Jerusalem complain about living in Jerusalem. This could be because I am not around Israelis very often, but I wonder if they also understand that, having chosen to live in Jerusalem, this is how things operate. It is not true of the rest of Israel. Almost everywhere else, things continue to operate on Shabbat, even if at a slower pace, similar to that of Sundays in the States. I simply cannot understand this prejudice. Often times I say something or make a mean face when someone makes fun of the eight little children crowded around a tired looking Hasidic woman or when people make blanket statements about the religious, but I more and more feel the increase of this antipathy.

A friend once told me, although it is completely out of context, to get off my fucking high horse.

But I won't. Not on this one. I do not understand this frustration, this blame, this prejudice. Yes, it can be difficult to live in Jerusalem. But we chose this. And I do not feel like it is our places as visitors, as temporary residents to judge Israel. We can make our own observations and we can talk about the differences between this society and ours, but I think it is completely out of place to make fun of and/or to place the inhabitants of this place lower or higher on a chain of "modernized" based on what we are used to. Besides, we are experiencing such a rare culture here and I am fascinated by it. It can wear on one, certainly, but just because we are not used to it, do not understand it, do not always agree with it does not mean that it deserves any less respect or consideration than our own lifestyle. After all, the religious and the Israelis are often judging us equally harshly.

In my Hasidism class this week, I had to bury my hands in my face and count to ten multiple times because I was so filled with frustration. We were talking about the different clothes that the Hasidim wear. This was a fascinating conversation because it brought out many of the prejudices that we as secular students have about the modest way that the Hasidim dress. Our teacher is really good at being understanding of these but then explaining them and also adding his own thoughts about them, which often are highly conflictual. This type of back and forth was going on (ignorant, prejudiced thing said, deflected and explained by the teacher) when he brought up pictures of a new group of Jewish women who dress in what basically look like burkas. They wear 4 layers of clothing, covering themselves from head to foot. They are a new sect in Judaism. "I just don't understand them," my teacher said. "They are so weird. I mean, isn't that taking it a bit far?" I could not believe my ears. The exact same prejudice that my classmates had been expressing for an hour were voiced by my professor who is seen as such a novelty to our class (even though the conservativeness of many of the students is alien to many of the non-religious students, as well). The people sitting in front of me couldn't handle that level of difference. "They look like dementors," they giggled to each other and started pulling up pictures of said fictional character to compare. I could not handle this.

At the end of the day, I react like this whenever ANY prejudice is expressed. Maybe it is because of my own diverse background or just because of who I am, but I do not participate in such conversations and I try, although not often enough, to stop them. And this tension that exists, almost all tensions that exist, because people REFUSE to try to understand one another. No one is getting anywhere this way and it bothers me immensely.