Thursday, August 21, 2008
I'm not Jewish and I haven't been much of a blogger lately, but I was in town and it was definitely worth a visit. Judith, Omri, Dave of IsraeliCool and Yael (Oleh Girl), Marjorie of In One Hour and Lyn of Orlando Heritage were there.
Omri liveblogged the whole event - here -
Benjamin Netanyahu showed up to talk, which was a surprise treat. He's a good speaker, with a tendency to digress.
The most ironic moment:
Although most Americans support Israel, they don't see it as a friendly or welcoming place. They seem to think that the country is restrictive, barren, ruled by a bunch of bossy, severe, pious patriarchs. Zavi, an attractive, casually-dressed woman, told the (half female) audience that they had to stress Israeli innovation and creativity to attract business and tourism.
As Zavi finished her speech, a bossy, bearded patriarch seemingly directly out of central casting shouted "No, Israel is a Jewish state! It's a Jewish state!"
Although he was a perfect illustration of why some Americans have this impression of Israel, visiting the country would prove that the patriarch and the focus group were wrong. As Yael said, most of Israel is not like Jerusalem. Most of Israel is secular, modern, and very welcoming to visitors.
After the conference I discovered that even Jerusalem has a few neighborhoods that are not Jerusalem. There are bars, open after 11 pm, serving all kinds of crazy things. I'm still recovering from the Absinthe, which tasted like Vicks cough syrup mixed with vodka. I didn't hallucinate anything worth mentioning, nor did I paint any depressed barmaids, but it was worth trying once.
Pardon my ignorance but...paint any depressed barmaids? What in the world does that mean?
Yes, from my old memories in Switzerland, I recall that absinthe makes the heart grow fonder...
..paint any depressed barmaids? What in the world does that mean?
Impressionist and expressionist artists apparently consumed a lot of Absinthe, and it was much stronger than it is now.
Edouard Mamet painted "The Absinthe Drinker", which, like just about everything artists did at the time, scandalized the Paris establishment. He also painted the "A Bar at the Follies Bergere", a nice portrait of a depressed barmaid.
I was supposed to be there. I am sorry that I missed out.
To get a sense of the scene in fin de ciècle Paris, check out the movie with Nicole Kidman and John Leguiziamo. Who know before checking IMDb for the name
(Nappy was in Paris only once, 26 years ago. Does absinthe make the heart grow fonder?)
They seem to think that the country is restrictive, barren, ruled by a bunch of bossy, severe, pious patriarchs.
It all comes from the vicious stereotyping the media apply.
You should only hear opinions about America from some whose knowledge base stems from "Law and Order" etc :-)
Then again I hope you spent some time at the beach and got to visit Tel Aviv to disabuse you of the image above.
.... believe it or not, many religious Jews are ALSO modern AND welcoming.
But what do I know - I'm religious, and everyone knows that secular people are the EXPERTS when it comes to TOLERANCE for DIVERSITY...
/sarcasm>
.... believe it or not, many religious Jews are ALSO modern AND welcoming
Many religious Jews I met were also modern and welcoming.
The patriarch's statement was ironic, and not just because he was providing an illustration of the kinds of attitudes Zavi was talking about.
It was also ironic because the subject that seemed to anger him the most was the idea that Israelis should portray themselves, not just as Jews, but as innovators, reaching out to people who are not Jewish. Most modern, welcoming types would embrace this concept, whether they're religious or not.
This is funny, but bring a good question to mind - why do the does American liberals tend to hate Israel?
1. It is an easy way to express one's hatred for America.
2. Israel is viewed as an outpost of colonialism and an active practitioner of it.
3. Israel is a western nation, and hence can be judged by the left. Israel is not protected by cultural relativism, as the Arabs are.
4. Leftist Christian churches can escape any lingering guilt about the Holocaust, by turning Israel into a villain. Some leftist churches hate Israel because they think this will help protect their members in the holy land— in other words they feel threatened.
5. Ferocious Muslim hatred of Israel and the Jews reinforces the natural cowardice of many on the left who go along with the Muslims to stay out of their line of fire.
6. Jewish leftists are prominent in the anti—Israel movement. This opens the floodgates for everybody else.
Some leftist churches hate Israel because they think this will help protect their members in the holy land— in other words they feel threatened.
Roni D,
Take a look at Christian behaviour towards their fellow Christians in Lebanon during the PLO's rampage there in the 70s and 80s, and in the West Bank this century as Arafat's thugs threw their "weight" around.
Those Middle Eastern Christians were thrown to the dogs to satisfy the urge to get at the Jews.
Mary:
Many religious Jews I met were also modern and welcoming.
The patriarch's statement was ironic, and not just because he was providing an illustration of the kinds of attitudes Zavi was talking about.
It was also ironic because the subject that seemed to anger him the most was the idea that Israelis should portray themselves, not just as Jews, but as innovators, reaching out to people who are not Jewish. Most modern, welcoming types would embrace this concept, whether they're religious or not.
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His statement was ironic in the *immediate* context - but was made in a larger context.
That larger context is the decades-long attempt by socialist Israeli officialdom to scrub any vestige of overt, proud Jewishness out of the public image of Israel - and the self-image of most Israelis.
That is what "angered" him - not the notion of being open and welcoming. That gloss comes from your own pre-assumptions about religious people.
I don't know you, but it's likely that the underlying prejudice towards religious people you expressed comes, as well, out of that larger struggle between leftists and traditionalists, and not just in Israel...
I'm glad Zavi and the others responsible for Israeli PR have caught on to what works and what doesn't.
Guess what?
Pride in one's heritage also goes a long way in getting others to respect you.
And reminding people of your land/culture's deep connection to their own cultures also works.
In the language of marketing this is called the "unique selling proposition" - the USP - what makes the product special and gives it unique value compared to other "products".
Usually the product's USP is front-and-center in a good promotional program.
Instead Zavi and her pals are flogging "Ingenuity, Passion, and Fusion" - none of them uniquely Israeli.
There is a reason why the secular Israeli establishment continues to soft-pedal the Jewish aspects of Israel's identity among the nations - and it has nothing to do with good PR practice.
It has to do with a previous ideological struggle over Israel's identity. One the "patriarch" groks - and you apparently don't.
In the language of marketing this is called the "unique selling proposition" - the USP - what makes the product special and gives it unique value compared to other "products".
In the language of business and marketing, 'value' is not determined by the cost of something or by the pride the seller feels for something. Value is determined by what the market is willing to pay for the tour/business/object.
Zavi noted that, at the current time, the tourist/business market doesn't value Israel as much as it values other tourist/business destinations. The point of her speech was to determine why.
The focus groups that Zavi's group polled were not leftists and they were politically pro-Israel. But the study found that they saw most of Israel as being like the sort of Jerusalem that this patriarch represented, and they did not feel that this image was welcoming.
You can criticize 'secular' types all you want, and then you can contradict yourself by claiming that the religious are 'welcoming' while refusing to welcome secular opinions, but that's not going to increase tourism or bring more business to Israel.
The people who are likely to come to Israel to celebrate Jewish culture are already part of Israel's market. Zavi is seeking to expand the market to others who presently have a skewed view of the country.