When the Israeli met the 'other'

Many youngsters, who return from the traditional trip to the Far East, flirt with Arab culture. At first, the connection is unclear but it seems that the experiences in India cause Israelis to finally succeed in seeing the 'other,' not as inferior but as different

Reuters | Published: 08.27.07, 20:02

Seven months after we met on the bus to Rajasthan, Eitan and I meet again. A minute before going back to Israel he stops to visit me in Jaipur. A closure of sorts. We spoke about the same old stuff: India, Israel and the Israelis. Yet, something was different this time around, we've changed.

We stroll through the street of Jaipur talking about we saw and experienced. Then he nonchalantly said that he wanted to learn Arabic. Maybe even become involved in promoting the language in Israel.

'Other' Israelis

This is not the first time I hear it. Many Israelis return from India and express a wish to learn the language, to open Arabic seminars and meet the Arab Israeli community. Many Israelis return from India and start flirting with Arabic culture.

At first, the two seem unrelated. What does a trip to India have to do with Arabic? Most Muslims who live in the subcontinent don't even understand that language. So what brings some Israelis backpackers closer to the Middle Eastern culture?

I think the curiosity and readiness to discover the "other," the different, is awakened after spending a long period in India. The encounter with Indian culture enables us to open up towards the "other" – whoever that may be.

In Israel it is almost impossible, every encounter with the "other," the Arab, awakens geopolitical questions that are at the top of the national agenda. The average backpacker arrives in India after three years of army service during which, every encounter with another culture was problematic. No matter what political opinions the people have, the ever-burning fire of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is present.

Opening up to different cultures (Photo: AFP)

But in India things are different. India offers other options to the Israeli youngsters. There is no conflict, no struggle for land and survival. What separates the backpackers from the locals is the difference in the cultures. Some Israelis are vain and aggressive; others allow themselves to be influenced by the Indian culture and by that turn to "other Israelis."

Opening-up to 'others'

The Israelis are different not because they act differently than other backpackers but also because of the schism that their experience creates between them and the society they come from. Israeli society does not always understand them. Spending time in India is more than a trip or an experience, it's a lifestyle. They try to understand the Indian culture, decipher it, and decipher themselves.

They spend months and years in India, studying and traveling and when they return home they have a hard time settling in. Some return to India, looking for an alternative lifestyle, trying to fill the spiritual void modern society creates.

I go back to the Arabic language – the desire to know another language is an attempt to trace a different culture. When the walls of politics, conflict and stereotypes are stripped off, the other is seen in all of his different glory.

The "other" is not bad, inferior or dirty. He is different. The same backpacker, who found Indian culture intriguing, wants to find out more about the other culture he shares his homeland with.