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arpadBurg got his minute of fame in New Yorker. Funny, but his story makes me not gloomy, but optimistic. In a way.
Israelis are stretched between family, army and multitude of jobs. Rift between orthodox and secular society, rifts between Jewish communities, Arab minority, outside enemies, tax burden, crisis of elite, corruption, et cetera. Makes one feel awful.
But when I read all that fuss about Burg - I understand that outside world don't know a thing about real Israel. Holocaust-obsessed, militaristic and xenophobic - that's the line that Burg is selling there.
Those who listen to him can't grasp that majority of people voting for Israel left had served in the army. They don't know that the best antidote from militarism is to have real enemies - you understand first-hand that army can only protect you to some degree, not solve any problems for you. They never saw Israel youth that can be called anything, but xenophobic. And difference between remembering Holocaust and being obsessed by it is something you can't explain to them.
And I see that our problems - are problems of real life.
1963 Ben-Gurion vs. Nasser
We did impossible task of rising a country from the ashes of thousand years long exile. We did it on barren land devoid of oil, surrounded by enemies, in spite of worst massacre in our history. And we didn't turned into fanatics. We didn't succumbed to socialist ideas. We didn't become a backward country struggling for survival.
We are here. Changing, growing, developing.
And of course we have a hell lot of problems. But it is an only way to have a future.
Israelis are stretched between family, army and multitude of jobs. Rift between orthodox and secular society, rifts between Jewish communities, Arab minority, outside enemies, tax burden, crisis of elite, corruption, et cetera. Makes one feel awful.
But when I read all that fuss about Burg - I understand that outside world don't know a thing about real Israel. Holocaust-obsessed, militaristic and xenophobic - that's the line that Burg is selling there.
Those who listen to him can't grasp that majority of people voting for Israel left had served in the army. They don't know that the best antidote from militarism is to have real enemies - you understand first-hand that army can only protect you to some degree, not solve any problems for you. They never saw Israel youth that can be called anything, but xenophobic. And difference between remembering Holocaust and being obsessed by it is something you can't explain to them.
And I see that our problems - are problems of real life.
1963 Ben-Gurion vs. Nasser
We did impossible task of rising a country from the ashes of thousand years long exile. We did it on barren land devoid of oil, surrounded by enemies, in spite of worst massacre in our history. And we didn't turned into fanatics. We didn't succumbed to socialist ideas. We didn't become a backward country struggling for survival.
We are here. Changing, growing, developing.
And of course we have a hell lot of problems. But it is an only way to have a future.
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no subject
Date: 2007-08-06 02:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-06 02:22 am (UTC)