Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In the original context, the song is a comical one. After all, the authors were saying — and their
audiences took for granted — that it would be unimaginable for someone born in England not
to be English. But many of Israel's Jews could have decided to be French, Turkish, or English,
along with lots of other possibilities; they could have stayed in their Diaspora communities
or migrated elsewhere. Therefore, their identity is based on a conscious rejection of such as-
similation and an acceptance of the risk of living in a country that, in effect, is at war, often
unpopular internationally, and situated among hostile neighbors.
Israeli society's pioneer ethos, familial aspect, and contempt for snobbishness or class dis-
tinctions is refl ected in its high levels of informality. With the exception of the Haredim, most
Israelis wear casual clothing. The ubiquitous Western suit and tie stay in the closet, even for
weddings and funerals. Students interact on a fi rst-name basis with their teachers, and busi-
ness dealings are often managed on the same level as social conversation. Punctuality is not a
high priority. It is not unusual for events and even television programming to start later than
scheduled.
Unpredictability, ingenuity, and thinking outside the box are highly valued. As the Ameri-
can investor, businessman, and philanthropist Warren Buffett said, “Israel possesses a dispro-
portionate quantity of brains and ideas.” This is refl ected in the proportionately large number
of Israelis who have won Nobel Prizes. Such a fl exible, somewhat freewheeling approach has
advantages and disadvantages. A strong sense of innovation fosters creativity, as seen in the
Israelis' propensity for innovation and adaptation and their advances in science, medicine, and
high technology. There is also, however, an equal tendency toward disorganization, delay, and
lack of responsibility. This unsystematic approach to solving problems may mean that they
linger for a long time.
Two other patterns central to Israeli society are its historically not-so-rigid class identity
and the seesawing between an emotional attachment to country and a strong skepticism to-
ward national symbols and government. The patterns are historically interrelated.
During the pre-state era and in Israel's early years, necessary national projects involved
high risks, limited profi ts, and little individual fi nancial capital. Establishing a state required
a state-oriented, mildly paternalistic socialism, albeit with full freedom for generally smaller-
scale, private enterprises. Given the strong connection between the building of the state and
various public enterprises and the security and well-being of each individual, the ruling elite
emphasized the values of sacrifi ce and communal service, and the general public responded
strongly to this appeal. A typical member of this elite was born in Russia or Poland, came from
a religious family but had become secular, spent the early years as a manual laborer or an of-
fi cial in a Yishuv institution, supported the Labor Party, and wore a white shirt but no tie or
jacket. They were not interested, and did not attain, wealth or luxury. They extolled manual
labor, hard work, and — especially in the early period — rural life and agriculture.
Immigrants from German-speaking countries, who usually came in the 1920s and 1930s —
that is, after the East European - origin leadership of the Yishuv took hold — tended to be cen-
trist in politics, involved in the professions or business, more formal, more highly educated,
and more assimilated to their previous host communities. One lasting joke was to call them
Yekkes
, from the Yiddish word for “jacket,” a reference to their tendency to wear sports jackets
