Considerations

Since Israeli is a col­lec­tion of so many peo­ple from so many cul­tures and coun­tries, peo­ple here love to poke fun at each other (and them­selves). “Arsim” is a (plural), stereo­typ­i­cal, deroga­tory term for a cer­tain sub­cul­ture of Mizrahi Jews, those who came to Israel from the neigh­bor­ing Arab countries.

In the West­ern world, most Jews are Ashke­nazi and have the stereo­type per­son­i­fied in Woody Allen. This humor­ous video high­lights a dif­fer­ent type of Jew — the uncul­tured, coarse, une­d­u­cated, vio­lent arse in Israel. The con­trast was strik­ing when I first observed their behav­ior on a Birthright Israel trip before mov­ing to Israel two years later.

The humor­ous video seems to stop abruptly, but I can­not find a longer ver­sion anywhere.

Now Avail­able: E-Book down­load: “Let­ters from Israel: An Amer­i­can journalist’s adven­tures in the Holy Land.”

Related posts:

1. Birthright Israel and Israeli Stupidity
2. Photo Essay: The Birthright of Israel
3. Birthright Israel in the West Bank
4. Birthright Israel: Footage of (Pre-State) Israel
5. Photo Essay: Memo­r­ial Day and Birthright Israel