* I spent the weekend with Gahl and his family in a city called Nes Tsiona. It's a cozy place near the beach and full of good people (mainly Gahl's family). I got a chance to speak to one of his cousins while we were on the beach and somehow we got on the topic of modern zionism and Israel's challenge when it comes to the current generation. What Gahl's cousin was saying is that the current generation of Israeli kids are completely apathetic towards Israel, zionism, and the Jewish state. There is no pride, no dedication, and lack of connection to the country. At first this came to me as a surprise. Afterall, how can Israeli's - who study the history in school, have these amazing historical sites right at their fingertips, and serve in the army - how can they be apathetic?!? But it kind of makes sense.
When you grow up 5 minutes from the Kotel and visit it on a regular basis, it's understandable how these things can eventually become part of daily life and lose their significance. I suppose it is similar to my luke warm feelings towards San Francisco, despite the fact that people from all over the world pay lots of money just to see the golden gate bridge.
It's also understandable that the current generation might just be tired, completely exhausted, of fighting for their survival and dealing with this ongoing conflict.
Or maybe its the fact that our generation is more committed to their cellphones, lap tops, ipods, and personal needs rather than upholding 'ancient values'.
I asked Gahl's cousin what he thinks the cause of the apathy is and he said it is probably a combination of all sorts of things. Regardless, it is a problem that is not being adequately dealt with.
This is even more interesting when you look at how Jews in the diaspora are dealing with this issue. For example, America has a plethora of resources which are specifically aimed at reconnecting the modern Jew to his roots. Programs such as Birthright, Masa, IGF, ect ect - they all have the same common goal - and from what I understand, it's pretty successful. Take a look at me, for example ;-)
But Israel doesn't seem to have this kind of support structure. Either from lack of funds, fragmentations within the society, insufficient education, what ever. You'd think that kids growing up in Israeli are getting brainwashed with all sorts of zionist propaganda and what not, but that doesn't seem to be the case. hmmmm....
* Another thing which I noticed, is that the moment I leave Jerusalem - I don't feel like I am surrounded by 'the conflict'. Tel Aviv, Nes Tziona, Bat Yam - these feel like places which are far removed from all the political and religious commotion associated with Israel. Maybe its because you see far less arabs or religious jews - maybe it really is just the geographic distance, or a change in mentality (it's hard to think of the conflict when you are lounging on the beach). Anyways, I just kind of noticed this today.
* Oh, one more thing you should know......I decided that I am going to (try) to run the Jerusalem Half Marathon. This is a total of 23 km / 13 miles and it's taking place some time in March. For those of you who know me well enough, this should come as a complete shock, seeing as how I absolutely despise running. But I'm going to give it a shot and see how far I get. Gahl and Noah have taken it upon themselves to help me train, so I'm lucky enough to have a great support system. Mom and dad are also behind me on this one, which is awesome. In fact, if they come some time in march, they might even be able to watch me run - which would be totally amazing! Above all though, I just want to prove to myself that I am capable of setting a real challenge for myself and sticking to it until I've done it. There are a lot of things that I am really interested in or want to do, and despite having the passion, I always fall short on the follow through. So i figure this is a good excuse to stop being lazy, put my thoughts into actions, and and prove to myself that I am in control of my will power. We'll see how this goes ;-)
on that note - time for me to get some sleep. tomorrow is a day off, and i really want to study my hebrew and run a few errands.
laila tov!
<3
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Bella, not sure if you're amazing or just crazy for wanting to run a marathon to show you can set a goal and stick to it; but I'm confident you'll make it if you want to! Sounds like you're really experiencing life while you're there, and I hope you're learning as much about you as about Israel!
ReplyDeleteCrazy girl for wanting to run the marathon-- but I'm very proud that you wan to go for it.
ReplyDeleteInteresting comment about youth apathy in Israel. But what do you define as apathy? It takes many different forms and perhaps what 1 person may describe as apathy, another may think that it's just moderate activism.
So that's why I'm curious to see how this apathy reflects itself.
- If a lack of support for Zionism, I would argue that it's simply a different political view, but that youth may be more active within their political frameworks.
- If it's apathy in a sense that youth are not voting, then this is a endemic problem prevalent in all states, and honestly a serious issue to address globally
- If it's apathy in their knowledge of current events, active avoidance of news and current debates, then perhaps it really is a "I'm sick and tired of this, and I just want to live my life" attitude after being constantly bombarded with conflicts.
- If it's apathy in their lack of appreciation to religious and historical sites, it can be a twofold problem. One being, like you said, just human nature to not see the wonders right under the nose. Another may be that there they perhaps youth are less religious, or less conscious of the religious/historical significance of other non-Jewish sites.
Also just a bunch of random thoughts.
And regarding the disparity between regions in terms of "attitudes" or "the conflict," I've heard that before as well, but glad that it is confirmed by your observations.
Oh, and I miss you. <3