Haaretz gets it. The great newspaper is trying to lead Israelis away from apartheid and toward respect for Arabs, how–by publishing this piece arguing that New York is a better place for Jews than Israel:
What do "we Jews" look for in a city?…
It must be Jewish but not "too Jewish." In other words, not,
Monsey, New York. There are great people there, and I happen to have
met a few, including, and after some initial trepidation, on El Al
flights, but I'm no Hasid, although it does bring us back to Jerusalem.
Here's my take: It is way too sacred and precious, and getting up there
in years, to have to enter such competitions. Plus, the vibe there is
just too heavy. If one of the most popular sayings about Jerusalem is
any indication, I'm in no mood to lose my hand if I forget about the
city's centrality in my life. That's scary.
Don't get me wrong, Jews like to be around other Jews, and be a
five minute ride away from lox (must be nova) and bagel or
pastrami-on-rye, but they also like to be part of a larger urban and
multicultural mix…
It must be Jewish but not "too Jewish." In other words, not,
Monsey, New York. There are great people there, and I happen to have
met a few, including, and after some initial trepidation, on El Al
flights, but I'm no Hasid, although it does bring us back to Jerusalem.
Here's my take: It is way too sacred and precious, and getting up there
in years, to have to enter such competitions. Plus, the vibe there is
just too heavy. If one of the most popular sayings about Jerusalem is
any indication, I'm in no mood to lose my hand if I forget about the
city's centrality in my life. That's scary.
Don't get me wrong, Jews like to be around other Jews, and be a
five minute ride away from lox (must be nova) and bagel or
pastrami-on-rye, but they also like to be part of a larger urban and
multicultural mix…
The end of parochialism is dawning!
