American Jews
The problem with Americans is: they think they can relocate to anywhere in the world with no problems. Talking to a few friends and not believing what I was hearing I’ve decided to talk to a few co-workers. My co-workers are not Jewish and for most I am the first Jewish person they have met. Most of my co-workers have 4 year degrees; the others have some education out of high school. Overwhelmingly, most think that there is no big deal to just up and move to Canada, or in fact any other country in the WORLD.
I find this to be absolutely absurd.
Maybe because I grew up in Canada I have an appreciation for what it means to immigrate into another country such as the United States of America, whereas Americans take this as a granted right.
This I find is one of the problems with Aliah advertising. The people for the PR of Aliah need to take a look at this Phenomenon. One reason Americans aren’t interested in making Aliah is because they feel that they have the same rights that they do in America all over the world, so why would Israel be any different? As someone pointed out to me “People don’t realize that Israel will let you in, let you be a citizen with all rights the day that you land. This has been the case for the last 50 some years and people don’t appreciate that”. My response to that is OF COURSE THEY DON’T APPRECIATE IT. How can you APPRECIATE something when you think that you have it all over the world?
Just a thought.
3 comments:
Fortunately there are neighbourhoods in Ramat Beit Shemesh and other places where there are so many Americans they've managed to turn everything into English and pretend they're in an extended New York suburb. So it's not such an adjustment after all.
I'm not sure that was my point. Yet, I do see yours.
I think the real answer to your concern is that American education tends to be very, well, American-centric. As a Canadian, I recall spending a year in Israel with 15 Americans and shocking them with the notion that Canada had contributed significantly to the Allied effort in both World Wars. This was something they had no idea about (also they thought they'd won the war of 1812 but I straightened them out on that too).
Consider popular entertainment. American films portray the world in one of two ways: either a copy of America or a seedy scummy place where no self-respecting American not packing two guns and a long hunting knife would ever visit.
So of course they think that when they move to anywhere else in the world, it'll be JUST LIKE HOME. That's their philosophy.
The amazing thing is that in Ramat Beit Shemesh, to use my example, they have done that to the best of their ability. Sometimes I think that's a good thing but other times I wonder if they would benefit from becoming a little more Israeli.
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