— 4 1 --
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Israel would be the weaker with-
out the sense of humor of its peo-
ple. The ability of Israelis to ex-
change puns at their own expense
is one of the healthiest elements
in the life of this young nation.
Israelis love to repeat the wis-
dom of their children. Often, the
stories by and about the the chil-
dren are the best related here.
The owner of the Dagon Hotel
at Ashkelon, the new wonder city
at the gate to the Negev, told a
story about his seven-year-old boy
who had never seen non-Jews. An
American couple came there on a
visit with a youngster his age.
Neither knew the language of the
other, but, as children will, they
played well. Later the Israeli
Sabra reported to his father:
"Hayom ra-iti goy"—"Today, I saw
a non-Jew."
All who see them are sure to fall
in love with the children of Israel.
They are uninhibited. They are
the most natural lot of our people.
They know no fears.
An interesting experience is
related about them. Children
who watched the showing of a
movie about the Auschwitz atro-
cities in a Tel Aviv cinema
shouted "It's a lie, it's a lie!"
When asked to explain, they
said: "It's impossible! No Jew
could ever submit to indignities
without fighting back and de-
fending his life!" That's the
spirit of the Israeli children.
The lack of inhibitions and the
thorough integration of Israel's
children into a full Jewish life —
contrary to criticisms about the
irreligiosity of Israelis — is re-
flected in a story about an Itraeli
youngster who is said to have
heard about a "kirche" (church)
for the first time. He thereafter
associated it With the "glocken"—
the church chimes. After being
shown a church in Jerusalem, a
youngster in Ramat Gan once
heard chimes. He ran into the
house and said to his mother:
"Ima, I hear a kirche."
Speaking of children, it is well
worth retelling the story about
newcomers to Israel who con-
tinued to speak their native
tongue. But their children learned
Hebrew quickly, as children will
and do. The parents, who were
addressed in the Hebrew they had
not yet learned, commented: "Do
you think you are speaking to
children?"
Not all the stories told in Israel
are complimentary, the indication
being that Israelis can stomach
eriticism. In one kibutz it was
told that newcomers, upon arrival
in Israel, are sure to know three
words: todah, shalom and b-vaka-
sha — thanks, peace and please.
Children learn Hebrew quickly,
they said, but forget the first three
words they knew. This, of course,
is not true: it is merely a pun on
the three words every one seems
to know and to repeat when first
setting foot on Israel soil.
A true story is told about Dr.
Chaim Weizmann and the chair-
man of the executive council of
the Weizmann Institute, Meyer W.
Weisgal. Making a call to New
York from the Weizmann home, in
Rehovot, Weisgal was speaking in
a high pitch. Weizmann heard him
from his room on the second floor
inquired what the shouting was all
about, whether any one was being
murdered. When he was told that
Weisgal was speaking to New
York, Weizmann said: "Why
doesn't he use the telephone?"
A waiter in a Haifa hotel is
said to have prepared himself to
be able to tell foreign visitors the
time of day in their respective
countries. He carried watches that
told time in Hong Kong and in
Greenland, watches that gave the
time of day in the Pacific and
Mountain areas, Eastern Standard
and Central time; Greenwich Mean
time and South African time.
"What do you do when some one
wants to know Haifa time," he was
asked. "For that," he replied, "I
must ask another waiter."
A Yemenite boarded one of the
new double-deck buses in Israel.
There were no seats left on the
lower deck and he was ordered to
go up. Soon, he ran down and com-
plained that he could not take the
risk: there was no driver above.
The right to criticize is a basic
privilege in Israel. Israelis have
had reason to grumble over so
many troubles that peeves are
taken for granted. Everybody is
peeved about something. People in
Israel joke about the sanity tests
that were given to people applying
for certain jobs. One man com-
plained about Israel's food, in the
course of an examination, but he
was passed. Others grumbled about
clothing, housing, the government,
and they, too, were given clean
bills of health and mind. Then
came another applicant, who said
about everything asked regarding
Israel's status: "Yi-ye tov"—"all
will be well;" he was sent to an
insane asylum.
Visitors in Israel love to gather
up funny stories, but some of their
personal experiences are, in a
sense, more fascinating than the
humor they hear.
Detroiter Aaron Burg relates
that on his recent visit in Haifa,
while searching for relatives in the
Carmel area, he suddenly realized
that he and his wife were late for
an appointment, and there was no
taxi in sight. He saw a repairman
on a pole and asked for help. In
less than five minutes a taxi drew
up. "I couldn't get as good service
in Detroit," Berg shouted to the
repair man.
Herman Frumin was at Ramat
Gan and was introduced to a man
as a Detroiter. Whereupon the Is-
raeli produced a letter he had just
received from Detroit and asked
Frumin to take to Rabbi Rosen-
zweig, at 2738 Richton, regards and
photographs of his family. Frumin
also had the joy of meeting Dr. and
Mrs. Reuben Katzuelson, who told
him that many years ago they
knew his grandfather, Fishel Ko-
bylanski, who was one of the few
Jews in Volhynia to be granted
honorary citizenship by the Czar
of Russia.
Many humorous stories are re-
lated in association with the de-
velopment of the Hebrew language
as Israel's spoken tongue. Many
foreign words have crept into the
Hebrew of modern Israel. For in-
stance, "sendvich" is commonly
used. Typically American slang has
been adopted. Chemical, medical
and mechanical terms have been
taken over from English. In sports,
many accepted terms will be rec-
ognized by Americans—such for
instance, as "pendle" for penalty.
Automobile parts are referred
to by their English terms, but the
corruptions are interesting. Thus,
the back axle has become Bek-
,exle," and by the same token a
front axle is often referred to as
"front Bekexle."
Flashback to Earlier Visit
Purely Commentary
From Jewish News of
Nov. 18, 1949
Ben - Gurion Story
Here is a Ben-Gurion story:
Israel's Prime Minister appeared
at a public dinner in shorts, tie-
less, collar unbuttoned. Some of
his associates were shocked.
"How can you do such a thing,
B.G.?" they asked.
"It's permissible," he replied.
"Who, under what circum-
stances, can possibly permit such
a break in etiquette?" the critics
persisted.
"Why, Winston Churchill him-
self gave me permission."
"Stop joking."
"But it's true. A couple of years
ago I was invited to a state dinner
in London and appeared in exactly
my present outfit. Churchill came
over to me and said: 'B. G., you
can do this in Palestine, but not in
England.' "
Friday, November 15, 1957—THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Humor: Israel's
Strong Weapon