Poll: Majority of Israelis Oppose Concessions

[Roudy]

I don't agree that it paints an ugly picture of Jewish culture because Jewish culture is NOT inherently racist, intolerant or bigoted - but it does paint an ugly picture of the individuals who tolerate his ignorance and vulgarity.

i do not evaluate individuals based upon their cultural group but cultures inculcate certain values and begaviours in their members. i evaluate cultures based upon the behaviour of the members of that culture i meet or otherwise encounter. most people do, and with the good comes the bad.

i grew up in europe, off and on. i know european, mainly french, jews. i moved to new york city for awhile and lived there. i had many jewish friends in college and was pretty well accepted by the "tribe" (their word). i read the jewish press and especially the talkback material. i see jewish websites. most of them are like pam geller's in attitude. scratch any bigoted anti-muslim site and you will find better than even odds thaat there are jewish people behind it. look at the material from jewish organisations posted by jewish posters on this board. the "mass resignation" from jimmy carter's charity's advisory board after he published the "apartheid" were jewish members having a hissy fit.

look at their humour. joan rivers is widely appreciated. look at alan king. you can tell a lot about people by the humour they produce and appreciate. much of their humour ridicules gentiles and particularly catholics although, lately, it is turning to ridiculing muslims.

so, as a culture, i find they are contentious, rude, racist, self centered and care little about others. who could like that. if i go out and 90% of green people i run into whack me with a 2x4, guess what...i am not going to likie green people...and not because they are green, but because past experience has dictated i better duck.

i can hear the howls of "anti-semite" as i speak. that is their usual criticism directed towards anyone who doesn't lavish and gush praise on them. well, i do not dislike jews for what they are, but i sure as hell do dislike individual jews for what they do and when, that seems to be a cultural characteristic, well, it is what it is.

i bring it up sometimes. so does sunni man, and i think it is an absolutlely legitimate observation. throughout history, jews have complained about not being accepted by society from the time of abraham to the present. they are constantly being persecuted and expelled, or so they claim. i imagine that isn't entirely true, but many of the societies where jews have not been accepted have readily accepted peoples outside their culture into their culture with no problems, and people with ar greater differences.

sooner or later, instead of blaming everyone else for their misfortune, it would behoove them perhaps to examine their own conscience and behaviour.

You have picked out what you wanted to and generalized. You do not have the slightest idea about Jews, but of course that is not surprising.

Funny part is he posts an utterly bigoted statement like this, and then he SQUEALS about "Jewish racism". I guess he learned the Nazi art of turnspeak real well, accusing others of what you yourself are most guilty of.

Goebbels would have been proud of Squeal. His statement about Jews looked like it came out of 1930's Nazi Germany.

 

[Sweet_Caroline]

i do not evaluate individuals based upon their cultural group but cultures inculcate certain values and begaviours in their members. i evaluate cultures based upon the behaviour of the members of that culture i meet or otherwise encounter. most people do, and with the good comes the bad.

i grew up in europe, off and on. i know european, mainly french, jews. i moved to new york city for awhile and lived there. i had many jewish friends in college and was pretty well accepted by the "tribe" (their word). i read the jewish press and especially the talkback material. i see jewish websites. most of them are like pam geller's in attitude. scratch any bigoted anti-muslim site and you will find better than even odds thaat there are jewish people behind it. look at the material from jewish organisations posted by jewish posters on this board. the "mass resignation" from jimmy carter's charity's advisory board after he published the "apartheid" were jewish members having a hissy fit.

look at their humour. joan rivers is widely appreciated. look at alan king. you can tell a lot about people by the humour they produce and appreciate. much of their humour ridicules gentiles and particularly catholics although, lately, it is turning to ridiculing muslims.

so, as a culture, i find they are contentious, rude, racist, self centered and care little about others. who could like that. if i go out and 90% of green people i run into whack me with a 2x4, guess what...i am not going to likie green people...and not because they are green, but because past experience has dictated i better duck.

i can hear the howls of "anti-semite" as i speak. that is their usual criticism directed towards anyone who doesn't lavish and gush praise on them. well, i do not dislike jews for what they are, but i sure as hell do dislike individual jews for what they do and when, that seems to be a cultural characteristic, well, it is what it is.

i bring it up sometimes. so does sunni man, and i think it is an absolutlely legitimate observation. throughout history, jews have complained about not being accepted by society from the time of abraham to the present. they are constantly being persecuted and expelled, or so they claim. i imagine that isn't entirely true, but many of the societies where jews have not been accepted have readily accepted peoples outside their culture into their culture with no problems, and people with ar greater differences.

sooner or later, instead of blaming everyone else for their misfortune, it would behoove them perhaps to examine their own conscience and behaviour.

You have picked out what you wanted to and generalized. You do not have the slightest idea about Jews, but of course that is not surprising.

Funny part is he posts an utterly bigoted statement like this, and then he SQUEALS about "Jewish racism". I guess he learned the Nazi art of turnspeak real well, accusing others of what you yourself are most guilty of.

Goebbels would have been proud of Squeal. His statement about Jews looked like it came out of 1930's Nazi Germany.

There are many typical of him on forums though. You know the type - some of my best friends are Jewish, I've been to Jewish diners, I had a Jewish best friend in school, I have nothing against Jews, blah blah blah. You can spot them a mile off. They cover their antisemitism very carefully but it soon surfaces.

 

[Roudy]

You have picked out what you wanted to and generalized. You do not have the slightest idea about Jews, but of course that is not surprising.

Funny part is he posts an utterly bigoted statement like this, and then he SQUEALS about "Jewish racism". I guess he learned the Nazi art of turnspeak real well, accusing others of what you yourself are most guilty of.

Goebbels would have been proud of Squeal. His statement about Jews looked like it came out of 1930's Nazi Germany.

There are many typical of him on forums though. You know the type - some of my best friends are Jewish, I've been to Jewish diners, I had a Jewish best friend in school, I have nothing against Jews, blah blah blah. You can spot them a mile off. They cover their antisemitism very carefully but it soon surfaces.

Yup, they always start out by saying, "I know many Jews, and you're nothing like them...." And then they proceed to complement you, expecting to be thanked.

That's when you know you're dealing with a stinky bigot. LOL

 

[sealadaigh]

I don't agree that it paints an ugly picture of Jewish culture because Jewish culture is NOT inherently racist, intolerant or bigoted - but it does paint an ugly picture of the individuals who tolerate his ignorance and vulgarity.

i do not evaluate individuals based upon their cultural group but cultures inculcate certain values and begaviours in their members. i evaluate cultures based upon the behaviour of the members of that culture i meet or otherwise encounter. most people do, and with the good comes the bad.

i grew up in europe, off and on. i know european, mainly french, jews. i moved to new york city for awhile and lived there. i had many jewish friends in college and was pretty well accepted by the "tribe" (their word). i read the jewish press and especially the talkback material. i see jewish websites. most of them are like pam geller's in attitude. scratch any bigoted anti-muslim site and you will find better than even odds thaat there are jewish people behind it. look at the material from jewish organisations posted by jewish posters on this board. the "mass resignation" from jimmy carter's charity's advisory board after he published the "apartheid" were jewish members having a hissy fit.

look at their humour. joan rivers is widely appreciated. look at alan king. you can tell a lot about people by the humour they produce and appreciate. much of their humour ridicules gentiles and particularly catholics although, lately, it is turning to ridiculing muslims.

so, as a culture, i find they are contentious, rude, racist, self centered and care little about others. who could like that. if i go out and 90% of green people i run into whack me with a 2x4, guess what...i am not going to likie green people...and not because they are green, but because past experience has dictated i better duck.

i can hear the howls of "anti-semite" as i speak. that is their usual criticism directed towards anyone who doesn't lavish and gush praise on them. well, i do not dislike jews for what they are, but i sure as hell do dislike individual jews for what they do and when, that seems to be a cultural characteristic, well, it is what it is.

i bring it up sometimes. so does sunni man, and i think it is an absolutlely legitimate observation. throughout history, jews have complained about not being accepted by society from the time of abraham to the present. they are constantly being persecuted and expelled, or so they claim. i imagine that isn't entirely true, but many of the societies where jews have not been accepted have readily accepted peoples outside their culture into their culture with no problems, and people with ar greater differences.

sooner or later, instead of blaming everyone else for their misfortune, it would behoove them perhaps to examine their own conscience and behaviour.

You have picked out what you wanted to and generalized. You do not have the slightest idea about Jews, but of course that is not surprising.

lol...it is kind of hard not to speak in broad and general terms when you are speaking about a culture.

 

[Sweet_Caroline]

i do not evaluate individuals based upon their cultural group but cultures inculcate certain values and begaviours in their members. i evaluate cultures based upon the behaviour of the members of that culture i meet or otherwise encounter. most people do, and with the good comes the bad.

i grew up in europe, off and on. i know european, mainly french, jews. i moved to new york city for awhile and lived there. i had many jewish friends in college and was pretty well accepted by the "tribe" (their word). i read the jewish press and especially the talkback material. i see jewish websites. most of them are like pam geller's in attitude. scratch any bigoted anti-muslim site and you will find better than even odds thaat there are jewish people behind it. look at the material from jewish organisations posted by jewish posters on this board. the "mass resignation" from jimmy carter's charity's advisory board after he published the "apartheid" were jewish members having a hissy fit.

look at their humour. joan rivers is widely appreciated. look at alan king. you can tell a lot about people by the humour they produce and appreciate. much of their humour ridicules gentiles and particularly catholics although, lately, it is turning to ridiculing muslims.

so, as a culture, i find they are contentious, rude, racist, self centered and care little about others. who could like that. if i go out and 90% of green people i run into whack me with a 2x4, guess what...i am not going to likie green people...and not because they are green, but because past experience has dictated i better duck.

i can hear the howls of "anti-semite" as i speak. that is their usual criticism directed towards anyone who doesn't lavish and gush praise on them. well, i do not dislike jews for what they are, but i sure as hell do dislike individual jews for what they do and when, that seems to be a cultural characteristic, well, it is what it is.

i bring it up sometimes. so does sunni man, and i think it is an absolutlely legitimate observation. throughout history, jews have complained about not being accepted by society from the time of abraham to the present. they are constantly being persecuted and expelled, or so they claim. i imagine that isn't entirely true, but many of the societies where jews have not been accepted have readily accepted peoples outside their culture into their culture with no problems, and people with ar greater differences.

sooner or later, instead of blaming everyone else for their misfortune, it would behoove them perhaps to examine their own conscience and behaviour.

You have picked out what you wanted to and generalized. You do not have the slightest idea about Jews, but of course that is not surprising.

lol...it is kind of hard not to speak in broad and general terms when you are speaking about a culture.

Culture? How can you call Judaism a culture? There are so many observance levels that you can't paint them with the same brush.

Me, I am using the internet on the Sabbath, but others would not even dare do that.

I don't eat non-kosher, but others do, and they don't use the internet on the Sabbath.

And you ought to try hard not to speak in broad and general terms because it shows that you are being antisemitic, and of course you wouldn't want to be labelled as one, would you.

 

[Dot Com]

 

[sealadaigh]

You have picked out what you wanted to and generalized. You do not have the slightest idea about Jews, but of course that is not surprising.

Funny part is he posts an utterly bigoted statement like this, and then he SQUEALS about "Jewish racism". I guess he learned the Nazi art of turnspeak real well, accusing others of what you yourself are most guilty of.

Goebbels would have been proud of Squeal. His statement about Jews looked like it came out of 1930's Nazi Germany.

There are many typical of him on forums though. You know the type - some of my best friends are Jewish, I've been to Jewish diners, I had a Jewish best friend in school, I have nothing against Jews, blah blah blah. You can spot them a mile off. They cover their antisemitism very carefully but it soon surfaces.

i gave my analysis of your culture and did not extol any individuals. i said, as a culture, i don't like your people, based upon my interactions with many jewish people.

apparently, i have a lot of ccompany, seeing as how you are disliked everywhere you go, or so you allege, and by peoples who accept all cultures.

i am not particularly "sqealing" about jewish raccism particularly. i believe it is your poll that does that. i neither like people because they are jewish nor dislike them because they are jewish, but as a culture, you are...well, you have been kicked out o everywhere you go and have whined about every place has abused you when you really are nothing more really than your average white people.

something else, too, roudy and caroline...i rarely actually indulge in personal attacks but you two very frequently do without addressing any issue. people who do that usually do so when confronted with truths, hard truths.

it is your poll who depicts you as racists and bigots. you posted it.

 

[sealadaigh]

You have picked out what you wanted to and generalized. You do not have the slightest idea about Jews, but of course that is not surprising.

lol...it is kind of hard not to speak in broad and general terms when you are speaking about a culture.

Culture? How can you call Judaism a culture? There are so many observance levels that you can't paint them with the same brush.

Me, I am using the internet on the Sabbath, but others would not even dare do that.

I don't eat non-kosher, but others do, and they don't use the internet on the Sabbath.

And you ought to try hard not to speak in broad and general terms because it shows that you are being antisemitic, and of course you wouldn't want to be labelled as one, would you.

there is a difference a culture and a religion. i think another attribute of jewish culture is an incessant need to be contrary, to never leave well enough alone.

i am pointing out general commonalities of the culture, not the attributes of sects or groups in particular.

are you saying that there is no jewish culture? what are the attributes if, in your opinion, there is such a culture?

 

[Sweet_Caroline]

Funny part is he posts an utterly bigoted statement like this, and then he SQUEALS about "Jewish racism". I guess he learned the Nazi art of turnspeak real well, accusing others of what you yourself are most guilty of.

Goebbels would have been proud of Squeal. His statement about Jews looked like it came out of 1930's Nazi Germany.

There are many typical of him on forums though. You know the type - some of my best friends are Jewish, I've been to Jewish diners, I had a Jewish best friend in school, I have nothing against Jews, blah blah blah. You can spot them a mile off. They cover their antisemitism very carefully but it soon surfaces.

i gave my analysis of your culture and did not extol any individuals. i said, as a culture, i don't like your people, based upon my interactions with many jewish people.

apparently, i have a lot of ccompany, seeing as how you are disliked everywhere you go, or so you allege, and by peoples who accept all cultures.

i am not particularly "sqealing" about jewish raccism particularly. i believe it is your poll that does that. i neither like people because they are jewish nor dislike them because they are jewish, but as a culture, you are...well, you have been kicked out o everywhere you go and have whined about every place has abused you when you really are nothing more really than your average white people.

something else, too, roudy and caroline...i rarely actually indulge in personal attacks but you two very frequently do without addressing any issue. people who do that usually do so when confronted with truths, hard truths.

it is your poll who depicts you as racists and bigots. you posted it.

there is a difference a culture and a religion. i think another attribute of jewish culture is an incessant need to be contrary, to never leave well enough alone.

i am pointing out general commonalities of the culture, not the attributes of sects or groups in particular.

are you saying that there is no jewish culture? what are the attributes if, in your opinion, there is such a culture?

There is no Jewish culture. Only people who stereotype Jewish people say there is a culture.

Yes, the Jews have been kicked out of countries, the latest being the Jordanians kicking them out of the West Bank in 1948, but of course other countries do not make the Jews lives that tolerable even nowadays.

Now that the Jews have their own country again and have come back home as it were, there is a place for those who are "whining" as you put it to go to to settle in peace. No need to whine, as seal puts it, any longer. There is a home for the Jews in Israel.

 

[patrickcaturday]

There are many typical of him on forums though. You know the type - some of my best friends are Jewish, I've been to Jewish diners, I had a Jewish best friend in school, I have nothing against Jews, blah blah blah. You can spot them a mile off. They cover their antisemitism very carefully but it soon surfaces.

i gave my analysis of your culture and did not extol any individuals. i said, as a culture, i don't like your people, based upon my interactions with many jewish people.

apparently, i have a lot of ccompany, seeing as how you are disliked everywhere you go, or so you allege, and by peoples who accept all cultures.

i am not particularly "sqealing" about jewish raccism particularly. i believe it is your poll that does that. i neither like people because they are jewish nor dislike them because they are jewish, but as a culture, you are...well, you have been kicked out o everywhere you go and have whined about every place has abused you when you really are nothing more really than your average white people.

something else, too, roudy and caroline...i rarely actually indulge in personal attacks but you two very frequently do without addressing any issue. people who do that usually do so when confronted with truths, hard truths.

it is your poll who depicts you as racists and bigots. you posted it.

there is a difference a culture and a religion. i think another attribute of jewish culture is an incessant need to be contrary, to never leave well enough alone.

i am pointing out general commonalities of the culture, not the attributes of sects or groups in particular.

are you saying that there is no jewish culture? what are the attributes if, in your opinion, there is such a culture?

Yes, the Jews have been kicked out of countries, the latest being the Jordanians kicking them out of the West bank in 1948, but of course other countries do not make the Jews lives that tolerable even nowadays.

Now that the Jews have their own country again and have come back home as it were, there is a place for those who are "whining" as you put it to go to to settle in peace. No need to whine, as seal puts it, any longer. There is a home for the Jews in Israel.

I notice that you did not even attempt to answer Seal's question. I wonder why that is ???

 

[Sweet_Caroline]

Yes, the Jews have been kicked out of countries, the latest being the Jordanians kicking them out of the West bank in 1948, but of course other countries do not make the Jews lives that tolerable even nowadays.

Now that the Jews have their own country again and have come back home as it were, there is a place for those who are "whining" as you put it to go to to settle in peace. No need to whine, as seal puts it, any longer. There is a home for the Jews in Israel.

I notice that you did not even attempt to answer Seal's question. I wonder why that is ???

Yet again I state there is no Jewish culture. Judaism is a religion. Jews are different, as I said above, from semi-observant, to observant to non-observant. How much more plain-speaking can I get.

 

[sealadaigh]

There are many typical of him on forums though. You know the type - some of my best friends are Jewish, I've been to Jewish diners, I had a Jewish best friend in school, I have nothing against Jews, blah blah blah. You can spot them a mile off. They cover their antisemitism very carefully but it soon surfaces.

i gave my analysis of your culture and did not extol any individuals. i said, as a culture, i don't like your people, based upon my interactions with many jewish people.

apparently, i have a lot of ccompany, seeing as how you are disliked everywhere you go, or so you allege, and by peoples who accept all cultures.

i am not particularly "sqealing" about jewish raccism particularly. i believe it is your poll that does that. i neither like people because they are jewish nor dislike them because they are jewish, but as a culture, you are...well, you have been kicked out o everywhere you go and have whined about every place has abused you when you really are nothing more really than your average white people.

something else, too, roudy and caroline...i rarely actually indulge in personal attacks but you two very frequently do without addressing any issue. people who do that usually do so when confronted with truths, hard truths.

it is your poll who depicts you as racists and bigots. you posted it.

there is a difference a culture and a religion. i think another attribute of jewish culture is an incessant need to be contrary, to never leave well enough alone.

i am pointing out general commonalities of the culture, not the attributes of sects or groups in particular.

are you saying that there is no jewish culture? what are the attributes if, in your opinion, there is such a culture?

There is no Jewish culture. Only people who stereotype Jewish people say there is a culture.

Yes, the Jews have been kicked out of countries, the latest being the Jordanians kicking them out of the West Bank in 1948, but of course other countries do not make the Jews lives that tolerable even nowadays.

Now that the Jews have their own country again and have come back home as it were, there is a place for those who are "whining" as you put it to go to to settle in peace. No need to whine, as seal puts it, any longer. There is a home for the Jews in Israel.

seems like a lot of people, many of them jews, are trying to reinforce that stereotype.

http://search.aol.com/aol/search?s_it=topsearchbox.search&v_t=keyword_rollover&q=jewish+culture+

religions do not have homes but i will again ask the question thaat has so far remained unanswered.

i would like a zionist to state, in general terms but using israel as a model, their principles that serves as a justification for the jewish state...

here is a for instance..."i believe that a religious group or people of a belief system should be allowed to form and declare a sovereign state and/or nation based upon those beliefs and further, they have a right to create that state on a geographical location where that religion/belief system once resided and at the expense of the current inhabitants."

something like that...people can argue particulars forever but when we speak of concepts in general terms, they take on a whole new life.

 

[patrickcaturday]

I notice that you did not even attempt to answer Seal's question. I wonder why that is ???

Yet again I state there is no Jewish culture. Judaism is a religion. Jews are different, as I said above, from semi-observant, to observant to non-observant. How much more plain-speaking can I get.

I think that you need to understand what culture means , there are definad definitions in the academic world that define the study of that discipline. It can be historical, anthropolgical, political, or other. All peoples have certain commonalities that establish there uniquness among other peoples wheather it be in art, music or food. Taking this into consideration maybe you would like to take another swing at the question.

 

[Sweet_Caroline]

I notice that you did not even attempt to answer Seal's question. I wonder why that is ???

Yet again I state there is no Jewish culture. Judaism is a religion. Jews are different, as I said above, from semi-observant, to observant to non-observant. How much more plain-speaking can I get.

I think that you need to understand what culture means , there are definad definitions in the academic world that define the study of that discipline. It can be historical, anthropolgical, political, or other. All peoples have certain commonalities that establish there uniquness among other peoples wheather it be in art, music or food. Taking this into consideration maybe you would like to take another swing at the question.

Sorry, you are not going to get me to say what you are trying to hear from me because I am unable to generalize. Again, with the various levels of observances of Jews, there is no way to put them into any specific pigeon-hole.

 

[patrickcaturday]

Yet again I state there is no Jewish culture. Judaism is a religion. Jews are different, as I said above, from semi-observant, to observant to non-observant. How much more plain-speaking can I get.

I think that you need to understand what culture means , there are definad definitions in the academic world that define the study of that discipline. It can be historical, anthropolgical, political, or other. All peoples have certain commonalities that establish there uniquness among other peoples wheather it be in art, music or food. Taking this into consideration maybe you would like to take another swing at the question.

Sorry, you are not going to get me to say what you are trying to hear from me because I am unable to generalize. Again, with the various levels of observances of Jews, there is no way to put them into any specific pigeon-hole.

So you are either unwilling or unable to answer the question and that in and of itself is a disturbing quandry

 

[Sweet_Caroline]

Sorry, you are not going to get me to say what you are trying to hear from me because I am unable to generalize. Again, with the various levels of observances of Jews, there is no way to put them into any specific pigeon-hole.

So you are either unwilling or unable to answer the question and that in and of itself is a disturbing quandry

I would be willing to answer if I had an answer to give you. I have told you a few times my views. The fact that I am not telling you what you want to hear is a shame, because it shows you are trying to make me say what you want to hear. There is no Jewish culture, for the fourth time. There are different levels of observance, and one Jew may not be of the same culture as another. Obviously this comes as a complete surprise to you, but as they say, you learn something new every day.

 

[sealadaigh]

So you are either unwilling or unable to answer the question and that in and of itself is a disturbing quandry

I would be willing to answer if I had an answer to give you. I have told you a few times my views. The fact that I am not telling you what you want to hear is a shame, because it shows you are trying to make me say what you want to hear. There is no Jewish culture, for the fourth time. There are different levels of observance, and one Jew may not be of the same culture as another. Obviously this comes as a complete surprise to you, but as they say, you learn something new every day.

i noticed your signature line invoking the jewish virtual library...

jewish culture - Google Search

 

[patrickcaturday]

So you are either unwilling or unable to answer the question and that in and of itself is a disturbing quandry

I would be willing to answer if I had an answer to give you. I have told you a few times my views. The fact that I am not telling you what you want to hear is a shame, because it shows you are trying to make me say what you want to hear. There is no Jewish culture, for the fourth time. There are different levels of observance, and one Jew may not be of the same culture as another. Obviously this comes as a complete surprise to you, but as they say, you learn something new every day.

I am not trying to get you to say anything you are free to say anything you wish. I just think you are making things way to complicated, I am not seeking unanimity I am seeking commonality. I will try one last time and then I will let it go. I challenge you to go to the library in your home town and go to the cookbooks under ethnicities I bet you will find a Jewish Cookbook if the library is big enough. That is an example of Jewish Culture.

 

[Sweet_Caroline]

So you are either unwilling or unable to answer the question and that in and of itself is a disturbing quandry

I would be willing to answer if I had an answer to give you. I have told you a few times my views. The fact that I am not telling you what you want to hear is a shame, because it shows you are trying to make me say what you want to hear. There is no Jewish culture, for the fourth time. There are different levels of observance, and one Jew may not be of the same culture as another. Obviously this comes as a complete surprise to you, but as they say, you learn something new every day.

i noticed your signature line invoking the jewish virtual library...

jewish culture - Google Search

And below is the page. Tell me what that has to do with "Jewish culture." It is a country or countries' culture, not a religion's culture.
Culture in Israel

Culture in Israel

by Asher Weill

(June 2000)

A review of any country's cultural history over the last fifty years would show enormous changes - undoubtedly a quantum leap - and certainly more changes than in any other fifty year period in history. How much more so in Israel, where that same period was marked by a series of cataclysmic events which had - and are still having - an effect on the very nature and cultural character of this young but old nation.

Israel in 1948: a country of 640,000 Jews; just three years after the annihilation of six million Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe. A country on the eve of invasion by five neighboring Arab nations intent on wiping it out, or, in the words of one Arab leader, "driving the Jews into the sea." A country in the throes of absorbing the remnant of decimated European Jewry - despoiled of all their worldly goods and brutally severed from their cultural and linguistic roots, but intent on surviving and creating a new life in the one piece of land that was prepared to accept them.

Each of the decades that followed was marked by yet more social and political convulsions. The fifties were the years of the mass immigration of Jews from Arab lands: from Morocco, from the Yemen, from Iraq; and of tens of thousands of Jews from some 70 countries worldwide, all of whom had brought with them their own language, national heritage and cultural baggage.

The sixties were, above all, marked by the military victory in the Six-Day War of 1967, when a whole new national mythos and sense of euphoria engulfed not only the Jewish population of Israel, but indeed the entire Jewish Diaspora - only to be shattered to a large extent by the Yom Kippur War of 1973 and its aftermath, some of the effects of which are still very much with us nearly three decades later. The seventies and the eighties saw the first tentative bridges to peace with the Arab world, beginning with the historic visit to Israel of President Anwar al-Sadat of Egypt in 1977.

New Relations With Arabs

As we cross over into the new century, Israel has embarked on the long path to normalization with much of the Arab world. There are full relations with Egypt and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and relations on various levels with several other Islamic countries, including Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, Oman and Qatar. With the new winds blowing in the Middle East, high hopes are placed on the outcome of the peace talks presently being held at various levels with some of Israel's most bitter foes in the past, including Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority and Syria. The results of these talks will have a decisive influence, not only on the political life of the country, but also on its cultural development.

The first task facing the young state, once its physical security had been assured, was to confront the existing educational system and build a structure that would make one Israeli people out of the multi-stranded population that made up this new state. Many mistakes were made in the process. It took a great deal of time and often bitter experience to realize that the aim was not a "melting pot," to use the concept that was then current, but rather a blend in which every individual could proudly maintain his or her cultural heritage within a receptive society that ensured room for everyone, while still forging a homogenous cultural identity - a bouillabaisse of individual flavors that would combine into a harmonious whole. That aim has still not been wholly achieved, but it is accepted as the target.

Introducing Hebrew

A reform of the educational system was closely linked to the necessity to teach Hebrew to the new immigrants, most of whom had no prior knowledge of the language. Hebrew, one of the world's oldest tongues, had almost died out as a language of everyday speech, although it was still used for prayer. Its revival was largely the work of one man, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda (1858-1922), who, together with a handful of adherents, created in one generation a "new" and dynamic language which increasingly became the mother tongue of the Jewish inhabitants of Eretz Israel (The Land of Israel). The Hebrew Language Committee, founded by Ben-Yehuda, coined literally thousands of new words and concepts based on biblical, talmudic and other sources, to cope with the needs and demands of twentieth century living. The acquisition of Hebrew became a national goal: a slogan current at the time was "Yehudi, daber ivrit" ("Jew - speak Hebrew"), an exhortation that was drilled into kindergarten pupils, schoolchildren and adults alike. Special intensive Hebrew schools called ulpanim were set up in towns, villages, kibbutzim and community centers throughout the country.

Pre-state Israel had, of course, a rich cultural life of its own, despite the paucity of its population. Literature flourished, with the national poet Chaim Nahman Bialik and the writer Shmuel Yosef Agnon leading the way. Agnon was to go on to receive Israel's only Nobel prize - for literature - so far, in 1966.

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[member]

So you are either unwilling or unable to answer the question and that in and of itself is a disturbing quandry

I would be willing to answer if I had an answer to give you. I have told you a few times my views. The fact that I am not telling you what you want to hear is a shame, because it shows you are trying to make me say what you want to hear. There is no Jewish culture, for the fourth time. There are different levels of observance, and one Jew may not be of the same culture as another. Obviously this comes as a complete surprise to you, but as they say, you learn something new every day.

i noticed your signature line invoking the jewish virtual library...

jewish culture - Google Search

"There is no Jewish culture, for the fourth time."

you may have to go there a fifth time ...i think jewish people have their own culture. traditions, way of life, foods, songs, places of worship,-- it's a culture. whether hasidic, orthodox.....or NEITHER -- you're all in that culture-circle.