1
American or Jew: the View of an Experimenting Oleh in Israel
By MICHAEL SEALING
JERUSALEM—In Detroit, where
I grew up, I was usually Michael,
sometimes Mike, and once in a
while, ''The Jew." It depended
largely on my surroundings,
whether or not the latter term was
used to define my being.
In my youth I was sheltered by
the walls of the self-made Jewish
ghetto. I knew few Gentiles, and
except for the cleaning woman
and a few teachers at school, my
first 13 years were practically in
an all Jewish environ. I even be-
lieved that Abraham Lincoln,
Harvey Kuenn and Santa Claus
were benevolent leaders of my
faith.
After my Bar Mitzva, I had the
unique experience of spending
every Saturday at my father's
store, a lumber and hardware
business in a small town where
not one Jew resided. It was there
that I first learned my Jewish
world was false It became sud-
denly apparent that the world was
Gentile, and that I had just be-
gun to realize what it was all
about.
For many in this small town,
my father and his partner were
the first Jews they had ever seen.
Blatant anti-Semitism was rare.
However, derogatory comments
were often made. They usually-
came in the form of a joke, but
every once in a while, angry out-
bursts were witnessed.
The second phase of awakening
took place when I entered the
university campus. I was accept.
ed at Michigan State University
at age 17. There I was to begin
a search for my identity, far from
the roots of the Jewish ghetto.
Since I was required to live in
a dormitory. the university asked
if I had any special preferences
to aid them in picking a roommate
for me. I requested that he be
Jewish. I was placed on a 90-man
floor in a huge dormitory. Out
of the 90 young men, two were
Jewish; myself and my roommate.
The year proved to be quite an
enlightening one Most of the 90
were similar
that they came from sheltered
homes where they were only ex-
posed to people similar to them-
selves. The 90 included: Catholics,
Protestants of all denominations,
Blacks, Orientals, farmers, Euro-
peans and the two Jewish room-
mates.
For many of us a great oppor-
tunity arose to throw off our so-
ciety instilled prejudices. For
others, the opportunity merely pre-
sented the chance to exercise
those prejudices. To the latter
group. I was often referred to as
'The Jew" or the "The Liebe."
Although this disturbed me, the
positive aspects of learning through
intense interaction far outweighed
the negative encounters
The next phase of my Jewish
consciousness was realized as a
poverty lawyer in a low-income, j
all-white suburban area. People j
would often come into my office
and instead of using the phrase,
was taken." or "I was screwed," j
they would use the age-old idiom.
was Jewed." At least once a
week I heard that phrase. Most
of the time, my clients would de-
-
AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
32_Frid THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
ay, August 18, 1972
Editor's Note: Michael Serling, a recent Detroit College of Law
"One must also pass the Israeli
Israel where he has been admitted to bar exam. It can be taken in Eng-
the Israel Bar. He was confronted with the difficulties that inevitably lish and is quite easy, compared
mar the early years of a new settler's life there and has described to American state bar exams. In
his experiences in a special article written for The Jewish News; and fact, the American lawyer is ex-
in advice to lawyers who hope to settle in Israel he has written a empt from taking nearly one-third
story for "The Summons," the periodical published by his fraternity,
of the exams by virtue of an Amer-
Tau Epsilon Rho.
ican law degree.
Serling is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Seymour Serling, 22855
"One section is in Hebrew and
It was reported late Wednesday
Providence, Southfield.
tests the immigrant's proficiency. that the explosion of a bomb hid-
His wife, the former Elaine Stone, who has given service as a In order to begin the apprentice- den in a record player injured
nurse while in Israel with her husband, is the daughter of Mr. and ship one must pass the language
three aboard an El Al 747 bound
Mrs. Philip Stone of Detroit.
proficiency section but may take
Bomb Goes Off
on El Al Jet; 3
Reported Hurt
graduate, is temporarily in
scribe or refer to the people they
were complaining about by name.
On a few occasions, when the par-
ticular wrong-doer happened to be
a Jew, some clients would throw
off the formality of names and
simply refer to the alleged wrong-
doer as "The Jew."
• •
Since I do not have a Jewish
name, people were more at ease
to expose their hidden prejudices.
These prejudices were not con-
fined only to the lower income
bracket clients. On one occasion,
an opposing attorney, unaware of
my ethnic background, referred to
a former governor of our state as
a "sellout to Jewish interests."
When I left the United States on
July 4, 1971, I felt that I had a
pretty good understanding of the
Jews' position in America. I didn't
then, and still do not believe to-
day, that at this point in history,
America is a dangerous place to
live for Jews. America is a Gen-
tile world. Jews, although they can
and do band together in their Jew-
ish worlds, must not kid them-
selves about this fact. They must
also not assume that the Gentile
world around them considers them
to be full-fledged American broth-
ers.
LoOking back, I recall that there
were many times in my life when
I felt that I just wanted to be an
American. I wanted others to see
me as being an American. No
matter how hard I tried, people
always let me know that I was
a Jew. I left America knowing
the full impact of Jewish con-
sciousness."
The irony has just begun. I am
now in the Jewish State, but no
longer feel Jewish consciousness.
Here I am experiencing American
consciousness. In America I was
"The Jew" and here I am the
"American." In America, Jews
band together in "colonies" set off
from the majority. In Israel,
American colonies exist in many
kibutzim and in the larger cities.
In America, Jews carry the stereo.
type of being rich and shrewd. In
Israel, Americans carry the stereo-
type of being rich and soft.
. •
In America I once tried to for-
get that I was a Jew in the hopes
of becoming an American. Here I
tried to forget that I was an
American, in the hopes of becom-
ing an Israeli. In each place the
point was driven home that I be-
long to the respective minority
group.
home. It is something to behold;
every town, valley or seashore.
It is evidence that the wandering
is over. This the American can
never feel.
The dilemma of Jewish or Amer-
ican identity is an interesting com-
mentary on human beings. The
majority group in any society
seems to stroke its ego by iden-
tifying and marking the minority
as different. The minority thus
grows to feel different, to seek
out its own members, and to iso-
late itself into its own sub-cul-
ture.
If this is the experience of man,
as I am convinced it is, then I am
compelled to admit that even the
Chosen People in the Chosen Land
have net escaped this dilemma.
Perhaps this is the most inexcus-
able irony of the 20th Century.
Advice to Lawyers
Planning on Aliya
for Israel from Rome.
the rest of the exams during the
The record player reportedly was
apprenticeship (stash) period. Fur-
handed to a passenger by an Arab
ther information may be obtained
woman. The plane returned to
by writing to: The Chamber of
Rome.
Advocates, 2 Hasoreg, Jerusalem,
Further details were not known
Israel.
when The Jewish News went to
"After being here for one year,
press.
I now realize my mistakes. I came
to Israel with too little capital,
For The Very Best •
not enough experience and far
too little Hebrew. I did manage
NURSERY PROGRAM
to pass the Hebrew proficiency
Art Linkletter Schools for Kids
section of the bar exam and was
12 We A Evergreen
13 Mlle A Mom
Southfield
Royal 0.5
offered an apprenticeship with the
357 - 1215
588 - 0300
ministry of tourism legal depart-
Free Bus Transporlatto, too!
ment. I was faced with the deci-
sion of accepting the offer, which
would have paid $75 per month for
the next two years, or returning
Proscription
to the States with the dim hope
that in another 10 years I might
try again. I chose the latter.
"In the meantime, before leav-
ing Israel I have been working
closely with a group of attorneys
in the hope of organizing a legal
aid program for Israel's poor, My
experience as a legal Najd attor-
ney in the Detroit area gave me
the impetus to try and help organ-
ize the fledging program now be-
ing set up in Israel,
In his article written for Tau
Epsilon Rho's "The Summons" un-
der the title "Finding Your Way
in the Israeli Legal System," Mi-
chael Serling, a member of the
fraternity's graduate c h a p t e r,
"The program is headed here by
commences with a bitter anecdote:
attorney Fred Weisgal, an im-
When I informed the Israeli
migrant attorney from Baltimore.
Immigration Authorities that I
When I return to the States I plan
intended to immigrate to Israel,
on
furthering these efforts in my
their comment was, "Great
(Tov)—what's your occupation?" spare time. From that side of the
world I will concentrate mainly
When I replied that I was a
lawyer, the comment was, "You on fundraising. The program re-
lies mostly on money raised from
had to tell me that."
Jewish charitable contributions
He states that he never forgot
throughout the world."
this incident and after a year's
"Any lawyer interested in this
residence in Israel he admonishes
program may contact attorney
that for an American to practice
Fred Weisgal, in care of the Min-
law in Israel requires much ideal-
istry of Justice, 21 Jaffa Rd.,
ism and devotion to Israel. He ad-
Jerusalem, Israel.
vises not counting on making too
much money in such practice, that
For Romantics Only
while many do well "there is a
saying that if one were to throw
Jocelyn & Her Gypsies
a stone through the center of the
Strolling Strings
country from north to south, the
love Songs in ony Language
stone would most likely strike a
354-3149
cat or an attorney. (There are
wild cats every - where in this coun-
try)."
He explains: the profession is
overcrowded, it is highly competi-
tive, it is important that the new-
comer learn the Hebrew language.
He points out: "Since all lawyers
are obligated to do an apprentice-
ship (stash in Hebrew) for very
low compensation, the burdens
upon the young lawyer often be-
come overbearing." He adds:
"In real facts and figures an
attorney with less than two
years' experience must do an
additional two-year apprentice-
ship before he can receive cer-
tification. The pay for this ap•
prenticeship varies from a maxi-
mum of $120 per month down to
a minimum of $60 per month.
The former figure includes a
subsidy from the Jewish Agen-
The amazing phenomenon is
that each place has awakened in
me ,a sense of immense pride in
both my American and Jewish
heritage. Those people in either
place, who have not experienced
the richness of both backgrounds'!
will never appreciate the freedom
of mobility which Americans pos-
sess, just as the Americans will
Serling offers further advice:
never know what it means to be
"One advantage offered to the
a Jew' with enormous pride in the
immigrant attorney from the Unit-
very existence of a JEWISH state. ed States is that there are many
America for me is the place
English-speaking immigrants liv-
w here all is possible—both good
ing in Israel today. They have
and had It is the world experi- come here from the United States.
mental showcase for the mixing
Canada, South Africa. England
of man. It is the great democra- and Australia. They offer a ready-
tic dream that has yet to be proven
made market for the native Eng-
myth or reality This the Israeli
lish speaking attorney. These im-
can never feel
migrants feel more comfortable
Israel is
rolfillinent of a
with an attorney speaking their
.1'71
;t 11.1 , en,,.
-!.are joinPv
•
121
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