False Dichotomies

LITERATURE HIP-HOP ISRAEL INDIA LOVE MISCELLANY
Archive for May 11th, 2009

Star Status

It doesn’t take long for my accent to give me away. And when it does, they are ready to pounce. “Where are you from?” they ask me. “Guess,” I say. Nine times out of ten, they plump for the United States. But America is not the world, I remind them, and after mentioning all the other Anglo countries, they finally manage to get it right. When they learn I am 26 and have already done two degrees, they are agape. And in their gormless stares, I can detect a tension between their admiration for one who seems – from their perspective – a lot worldlier than the average jobnik, and contempt for the fact that I have chosen to come to Israel and serve in the army. Keep it schtum, but there doesn’t seem to be much Zionist spirit around… Read more

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