Coming from Germany, where the people try not to show to much of their private live to the public, the openness and of the Israeli people astounded me.
Of course, I had learned about Jewish religious customs in religion class in school and I had also read articles and watched documentaries in preparation for my stay in Israel. Nevertheless, it was still very unfamiliar to me. What overwhelmthed me when I came to Israel was the all-consuming presence of religion and how visible religious beliefs is and culture is expressed. I have the feeling that in northern Europe religious orientation is not often shown openly.
There are a lot of different ritual and religious objects in Judaism. Some are worn daily some only on Shabbat. What totally surprised me was how many options and styles there are and how many people wear them. People wear these objects every day and trough this openly and proudly show their religion.
My Israeli friends told me that when they are abroad, they try not to openly show that they are Israeli or Jewish. That led me to the conclusion that the Jewish people show their religion openly and proudly in Israel, because it is the only place, they can to that. Israel is their safe space where they make the laws and laws are made by Jews for Jews, a Jewish state. On Shabbat (Friday evening to Saturday evening) for example all the shops are closed and there is no public transport. In the beginning of my stay this felt very restrictive to me. People who wanted to keep Shabbat obviously stayed at home and rich people could just use their cars. But people like me who are not Jewish and do not have a car are forced to stay at home. The concept of Shabbat is like the Sunday in Germany where all the shops are closed too and there is also reduced public transport in rural areas. It is very astonishing to me that it took the shift of one day (from Sunday to Saturday) to realize how restrictive this day of pause can be.
Looking at it now, I think the reason why all of this this was overwhelming to me was not only because it was different to the society I am used to, but because I was not part of the majority. Not they are different, I am different. This was a very strange feeling that I had never felt before. I know now what it feels like to live in a place where most of the political decisions are made for the majority of society and the needs of minorities are sometimes overlooked. Even though I only lived in Israel for four month I felt the restrictions that come with this. Obviously, one learns to adapt and to accept these rules and customs but every time it reminds you that this society’s rules are not made for you and that you are the stranger here.
This has taught me to be more attentive with inclusive behavior. I see now how important it is to make politics for all the inhabitants of a country.