American Jews as Viewed by Israelis

By MURRAY ZUCKOFF
JTA News Editor
(Copyright. Ism ZIA zac.)
TEL AVIV — "Poor Jews in
America? You must be kidding,"
said a young Israeli journalist as
she motioned toward tourists en-
tering and emerging from a posh
hotel in Tel Aviv.
"Rich American Jews view Is-
rael as their colony and Israelis
as backward natives who must be
educated in the ways of a higher
culture," said a taxi driver as he
waited to pick up fares near the
same hotel.
"If there are poor Jews in
America how is it that millions of
dollars are contributed each year
and each year more than the pre-
vious one?" asked an engineer as
he dipped another piece of pita
into a plate of humus during a
garden party at the home of a
successful businessman in a fa-
shionable section of Tel Aviv.
These expressions of skeptic-
ism about the extent of poverty
among American Jews and the

Dirth

,Announcernertts

Aug. 10—To Mr. and Mrs. Stu-
art Siegel, former Detroiters of
Brooklyn, a son, Philip Jonathan.

Aug. 8—To Dr. and Mrs. Eugene
L. Fealk (Claudia Selitsky), 25918
Franklin Pte., Southfield, a son,
Dean.
• • •
Aug. 7—To Dr. and Mrs. Ralph
Sands, former Detroiters of Tar-
zana, Calif., a. son, Bradly.

Aug. 4—To Mr. and Mrs. Jer-
ald Haber (Marcia Harris), 14100
Manhattan, Oak Park, a son, Jef-
frey Michael.
• • •
Aug. 4-2-To Mr. and Mrs. Alan
Dorfman (Marcia Beckwith), 6193
Wynford,'West Bloomfield, a son,
Adam Lee.
• • •
July 30—To Mr. and Mrs. Law-
rence R. Gechter (Zelda Shuster),
34222 Commons, Farmington, a
son, Kenneth Marc.
• • •
July 26—To Dr. and Mrs. Mur-
ray M. Snyder (Sharri Bennett),
24626 Maryland, Southfield, a son,
Jason Allan.
• • •

To Dr. and Mrs. Earl T. Hecker,
20750 Kipling, Oak Park, a daugh-
ter, Jennifer Gayle.
• • •
To Mr. and Mrs. Larry Shook
(Patricia Weinstein), 6715 Post
Oak. West Bloomfield, an adopted
daughter. Emily Ann.

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genuine concern among Ameri -
can Jews for Israel, coupled with
what borders on contempt for
"those rich Jews from the United
States," are expressed in numer-
ous ways by Israelis for whom
poor Jews are invisible but for
whom affluent Jews are an every-
day phenomenon. Rich Ameri-
can Jews are not only accepted
as the only reality but some Is-
raelis even insinuate that Ameri-
can Jews who come to Israel
as olim and claim to be poor are
doing so only as a ploy to get
either generous assistance or
sympathy or both.
As far as poor Israelis are con-
cerned, poverty among American
Jews is a condition they couldn't
be concerned with less. "We have
our own problems," is the in-
variant reply. Besides, as one wo-
man whose husband, a factory
worker, earns IL 600 ($143) a
month replied, "I haven't the time
or the strength to think about
someone else's poverty. My own
takes up all my time." There are
numerous factory workers and un-
skilled laborers who earn between
IL 600 ana IL 800 ($190) a month.
One Israeli official in Jerusalem
noted that "many Israelis realize
that there are poor Jews in Ameri-
ca but prefer, for psychological
reasons, to believe otherwise. It
sustains a feeling that somewhere
out there they can rely on some-
one. As for their contempt, I sus-
pect it's a little bit justified al-
though highly overstated."
Dina, a well-educated middle
class sabra who writes a popular
weekly column in a leading He-
brew daily, fixed her gaze on the
tourists and said, "Look at them.
They flaunt their credit cards,
jewelry, rented cars and expense
accounts. The most expensive res-
taurants and gift shops are always
filled with them. They spend more
money in one day than most Is-
raelis earn in a week. -
She refused to acknowledge
that tourists—any tourists—are
not a standard by which to judge
the economic level of a whole
people; that many tourists
scrimp and save for one or two
weeks of vacation; and that if
one were to judge all Israelis by
the life style and spending habits
of Israeli tourists in the U.S. one
would have to conclude that there
are no Israeli poor,
Dina persisted, however. "Olim
from the United States seem al-
ways to have money to buy cars
and apartments. Even your so-call-
ed poor American Jews who come
here to settle get benefits, exemp-
tions and subsidies that no Israeli
can get. So even if they are poor
in America they are rich here
compared with Israelis." Almost
as an afterthought she said, "I
don't begrudge them anything. I
just wish they would stop flaunt-
ing their affluence."
Dov has been a taxi driver for
some 10 years. He readily con-
cedes that his contact with Ameri-
can Jews is limited to passen-
gers who flag down his cab in
front of hotels or at Lod Airport.
His gripe is not so much against
American Jews because they are
rich but because of what he dis-
dainfully refers to as their "ooh
and aah" attitude toward Israel.
"They look at us through their
dollar bills, treat us like poor
relatives, give us advice on how
we should live and conduct our af-
fairs. tell us how much money they
contributed to this or that organi-
zation and complain that we have
failed to achieve the standard of
living they're accustomed to."
This, says Dov, is irritating
enough. But what really raises
the blood pressure of the average
Israeli is the almost constant
whining about the absence of
"the
ind of comforts they're
used to back home. - It's this
kind of nagging together with
the attitude of American Jews

We don't want to be shackled with
THE DETROIT JEWISH MEWS
the need to constantly explain
Friday, Arrest ll, 1972-31
ourselves and to stifle what we
'Tis better to have loved and lost
who come here as tourists and
feel is good for on by endlessly
"let us know that Israel Is a
agonizing over whether it's good than never to have been sued.—
—Kin Hubbard.
nice place to visit and even con-
for the Jews or if the goyim
tribute to but find us uncouth,"
will understand on and appreciate
that nettles Doc, . "As tourists
us. No people can live that way
they want immediate gratifica-
or make decisions on that kind
tion and instant recognition. And
of basis."
neeurativ0 Liiehting Fixtures
even those who settle here act
irnatarn Lamp Sissaies
This feeling, he added, is fairly
as if they were buying Israel as
Ire Rrpoir & Irete,re 'tamp.
common among many Israelis who
4626 N Woodward (S. of 14 Milo,
their personal property. Forgive
prefer more than contributions and
me, but I can do without this
549-6309
advice from afar. "Let them come
kind of Jew."
and settle here and provide us
Arye, the engineer, expressed with deir skills and know-how,"
OUR NEW
the same feelings but padded it Arye said. "What good is money,
with a more sophisticated formula- even unlimited money, when we
FALL
tion. "For your rich American have a limited number of Jews
Jews Israel is the answer to a to lay their lives on the line to
COLLECTION
guilty conscience," he said. "Some defend Israel? My feeling is this:
ARRIVING DAILY
became conscious Jews again for less advice and more money, but
the first time after the Six-Day better still, more aliya and less
War. Why? Because they couldn't money as a sop to conscience."
II 0171en ' S Fcrshion
face what they thought might be
As he pierced another portion of
-Ipparel
another holocaust. They felt guilty humus with his pita, he smiled
enough for not having done any- and said: "I myself made aliya
- Just a little Dttlerent -
thing or not enough to help Jews from New York many years ago.
escape the first holocaust. So now I wouldn't have it any other way."
they feel that Israel is their state.
The hell with them. Israel is our
To live is to function. Thatis all
state, the state we built and pro- there is in living.-
tected with our bodies while they
savrOoer
-Oliver W. Holmes, Jr.
11(614°/
sat safely in their homes in New
York and elsewhere."
MUSIC BY
But, he was asked, didn't con-
tributions from American Jews
THURS. & FRI. NITES TI1.1. 9
help build hospitals, schools, day
OTHER DAYS 9:30-5
care centers, universities? Yes, he
AND HIS ORCHESTRA
replied. But the help American
Closed Sunday tit Aug. 27th
968-2563
Jews give to Israel is similar to
Coolidge at 9 Mile, Oak Park
the help white liberals gave the
Blacks in the South. The liberals
participated in sit-ins and marches
but had alternatives of returning
to their homes in the North while
the Blacks had no choice but to
continue living among hostile
"the diet department store"
neighbors and defending themselves
after their liberal friends returned
announces
home.
This
Weeks Special
"Look," Arye said, "Israelis
welcome the help received from
Teenage Diets for boys and girls
American Jews. But we don't
Including Cheeseburgers and Real Ice Cream
want their help attached to a
promissory note that we will not
Call now 576-2895
offend the goyim and embarrass
the Diaspora Jews in the process.

LAMP SPOT

SAM BARNETT

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