I wrote about this in the talkback of another article about the manners with the foreign tourists in Israel. I was one of them last year. I knew Isreali tourists and workers here in Spain, and, as we say here, "everyone is everyone and has his 'everyoned' ". Spanish tourists have almost the same manners than Israeli here and abroad, but the 'rude' one. When I visited Israel found all class of behaviors: rude, lovely, not one neither the other ... The only thing I can say it's that the general behavior with tourists must be better; but one thing I said then and now: I love Israel and, if G*d wants to, I'll be back there again so many times I could.

The French are totally arrogant, but they are not hated as much. There were no Israelis before the WW2. Unfortunately the reason for their hatred is far deeper, and not very understandable. its called racism, and there is a specific name, Anti-semitsim. And it is not rational.

While it isn't an excuse for rude behavior, one of the things that's being overlooked is the fact that Israelis have never had the luxury of being able to focus their attention on the niceties of social interaction. Reading etiquette books is something more often left to people who don't have to spend their lives worrying whether they'll end up in a body bag any time they step foot out of their homes. But, having said that, it would certainly be helpful for Israelis to be more cognizant of the fact that when they travel abroad they are representing their country, and, as we used to say, " You can catch more flies with shit than you can with vinegar."

B"H Daniel Gigi says: "Europeans hate us not because of the Middle East conflict, but because of our rude behavior". This may be wishful thinking. Europeans would still hate us if we behaved like angels. The fact is that Europeans hate us [Israelis] because they perceive us as Jews. By now it should be clear to everyone that the "Middle East conflict" is a rationalization and a direct consequence of irrational Jew hatred. That doesn’t mean Jews shouldn’t behave with modesty and judgment wherever they are. This should begin with going abroad only for reasons allowed by Torah: to get married, to earn a living or to learn Torah. Vacationing is a symptom of G-dless, secular times of a Jewish nation that is rapidly losing its heritage.

Israelis are so rude they even out rude the French.

..are essential in shaping our character ! We are an occupation force and this fact comes back to us and shapes our behaviour in extremly negative ways. Once we treat our non jewish neigbours with more respect we will be able to bave and treat others with more respect ....

Israeli's are the worst tourists ever. they don't tip, steal towels, and harass other customers, and destroy property. Even worse, they push and cut thru lines like its their neighborhood makolet. and then they try to get a discount

.... I can ASSURE you that the negative sentiment Europeans have against Israeli has NOTHING to do with their behavior abroad. Though I canno't rule out the fact that us Israelis tend to be a bit louder and rude, there's no question that there is a deep sentiment in Europe against everything that is Jewish. It is not so much a consequence of Israel's policies in the Mideast. Whether it comes unconsciently from a sentiment of guilt or not, people here are genuinly unconfortable with the fact that, after everything, Jews are still here...

Many Israelis visit Sydney where I live. I have always found them to fine people. In fact they are much less inclined to whinge than the Australians. Frankly I love Israelis.

part of being jewish is being stiff necked, the torah complains about this allot, do you think that you are going to change something that GOD could not --- good luck

I don't find this article to possess verisimilitude. Many Europeans create ire when they travel in foreign countries as well due to their manners. I don't see Israelis as any better or worse. More frank, perhaps, but not less couth. Rather, I propose the issue is that Europeans do not like Jews who are not submissively deferential and sufficiently oppressed. Israelis are symbolic of Jewish strength and success. That, more than anything, raises their ire.

It's well known! My Jewish friends in London typically imagine an Israeli to be rude, arrogant and to 'try it on' (try to get things cheaper than is acceptable). This includes Israelis who have moved abroad and have businesses, where they are seen as trying to scam other people by under-offering etc. It's well known. It drives me mad.. but then I, like most people, avoid Israelis in the UK when I see them. I love it in Israel, but when in the UK I can see how they have not picked up the term 'when in Rome'. It's well known that many Israelis, especially less obnoxous ones, avoid other Israelis when they see them abroad, for fear of being associated with the other persons rude behaviour. Nothing new, but what do you think you can do about it? This is not a problem of Israelis abroad, this is a problem of Israeli culture overall, where you cannot 'lihiot frier' (be a sucker and pay too much), where you cannot be seen as the one getting the bad end of a deal. It's ingrained in the mind of many Israelis to stand out and try to rip people off. It's a sad result of our Israeli culture where the word 'frier' is one of the most demeaning terms.

I have a better idea. How about teaching Israelis who do or do not travel abroad elements of civility, politeness and general courteous behavior. Maybe a good part of the negativity comes from foreign visitors to Israel. Is it really necessary to honk the horn just before the light turns green, to shout into cell phones at restaurants and cafes, to throw garbage everywhere, and to smoke i national parks that are overcrowded and frequently the victims of careless disposal of lit cigarettes? There's no reason to expect Israelis o behave any differently than they behave in their own country.

If I were not Jewish, I could easily become anti-Israel and particularly anti-semitic based on observing the rude, crude, loud, and often, illegal behavior of Israelis in European countries where I have been a consistent visitor for business reasons since 1991. Too many of them are the Palestinians best friends because of their obnoxiousness.

During courtship, one is usually very attentive, courteous, on his/hers best behavior, in order to continue or cement the relationship. When in school/college, the extra good behavior, attentiveness,hard work,even good grooming, is " de rigueur " in order to get the coveted ' Cum Laude ' diploma. When one starts a job as a clerk with a Co., hard work and knowledge are required in order to reach the top --- not enough, behavior is of paramount importance ; as it is in all walks of life. Being a Jew in today's world is not much different. The world enjoys and respects famous Israeli musicians, research and medical scientists, computer wizards, electronic magicians, and more. The ONLY thing they ponder, is how come Jews get the highest % of Nobel prizes in the world ; why are they so smart?. Quite a compliment. As you can see, all we have to do, is to respect/ behave like the French (or better), in their land, like the Spaniards in Spain, Italians in Italy, etc. ........ And stop criticising them because of some unforgivable trashing of an hotel room, or worse.

THEY HATE THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE JEALOUS, ANDTHEREFORE HATE JEHOWAH ALSO. THEY CAN NOT ADMIT THAT JEHOWAH CAN HAVE A CHOSEN PEOPLE, AND IN HIS FOCUS. THEY WANT THAT PLACE FOR THEMSELVES, BECAUSE OF THEIR EGOS. THEY CAN NOT STAND THAT JEHOWH CAN BESTOW MORE BENEFIT TO A PEOPLE, WHOM THEY DEEME NOT WORTHY, THAN TO THEMSELVES. IT IS THE OLD STORY OF - KAIN AND ABEL. JEALOSY !!!. ITS FOUNDATION IS - "THE LIE " !!!. Orao.

really only dealing with Israelis? Most Jews living abroad probably have some sense of etiquette and proper behavior. The problem is with the behavior of Israeli Jews.

In my travels the drunken louts who vomit and make noise and bother people are all Europeans. Where did you get this information from? I travel quite a bit and I don't think that the Israelis are better or worse tourists than anyone else. I also never got the feeling that everyone hates us. Anyone connected with tourism is interested in money and could care less about int'l politics.

The Ministry of Tourism should create a brochure which should be given to everyone who goes abroad, explaining how to behave; what the mores are; and what behaviour is unacceptable.

Yes, it would help if Israelis weren't rude when travelling abroad. But how much help would this really be? It's naive to think that the entire continent of Europe is hostile towards Israel simply because of its tourists, even if all these tourists are rude (and surely many are not). Anecdotal information about a few unpleasant encounters with rude Israelis can't account for the fact that, even though most Europeans have probably never met an Israeli, they still hold anti-Israel, anti-Zionist views. Europe has traditionally been antisemitic for reasons of religion and race. Their media has a decidely anti-Israel bias. European children are raised in this political climate. Rude Israeli tourists might intensify this prejudice somewhat, but they don't have the power to reverse it by being polite. The author ascribes too much power to Israeli tourists, and not nearly enough to cultural factors.

TELL IT LIKE IT IS

It's stricking to see how aggressive most of the comments one can read on haaretz, ynet or jpost are most of the time. Actually it's worthless to invest time in reading them...most of the time it's just round after round sb blaming sb else for sth...from all sides! thats rude!

the average israeli isn't staying at the ritz carlton but in youth hostels,they just finished 3 years of army service.so what after they buy a coffee and a sandwich they leave a 50 cents tip.thats about right .oh you forgot to mention that 99% of the jewish population were murdered by the germans and the local population.i'm sure they still love jews in the czech republic today.

Bravo! This is a great article. Driver I always rent for travel inside Croatia was rented by an Israeli family this year during their stay in Croatia. For the whole weekend they didn't even speak to the driver, looked at him or showed any friendly gesture. I was shocked to hear that as the driver is one of the most friendly, nice and polite people I ever met. His English is good, he always provides good tips on transport, dining, any kind of entertainment and makes my day for past 5 years. Many Croatians think Israel must be rude and unfriendly country o foreigners as their tourist behave bizarre when abroad. Everyone should be a good ambassador of their country both at home and abroad. Creating negative prejudice is shameful behavior.

I think this is a very good point of view. I would add that Israeli may be rude, when they are in large group. But when they are in little group, as far as what I see, they seems well ( from France.) To go further in the analysis, I would say that Jews from local country are despite themselves also ambassadors, because Non-Jews by confusion or right vision see Jews and Israelis as one same people !

gosh Bunny, you take the cake... where do you get your wordly news? If you know how idiotic your remark is... Deary you are about 50 years behind the time- get a life, get real, go travel, improve your knowledge, please? No wonder the European idea of a typical American- YOU are it! The article generalizes again- so typical of Ynet article. One for all- all for one.... hahaha! too funny- and so wrong! There are polite and very nice Israelis, there are rude and loud ones, there are Americans who behave like morons... EVERY NATION has its share of bad ambassadors- reading this TB however: I hope you guys are not the TYPICAL ISRAELIS- because if you are the writer is dead on!

see- you are doing it too---- The French are arrogant? the Americans are stupid? the Israelis are rude? this is exactly what is wrong with this entire discussion- you are making an unfounded general comment about millions of people- throw them on one pot- what makes YOU an authority on AL FRENCH? This is called racism, and can the anti-semitism remark- it is not rational- your own words.

It is a sad reflection on Israelis when as an oleh I find myself being talked down to as though I were born yesterday with no idea of how the world works. Yet this is typical of most native Israeli's perceptions of foreign born and foreign people. The attitude that "we Israelis have a better understanding of everything under the sun than you possibly could entitles us" is the way most Israelis think. They assume that everyone else is naive. This arrogance is also followed by bad behaiviour. I can not forget the time when riding a train in France late at night I had to turn to two Hebrew speaking children and tell them to be quiet. I did it politely a few times and finally shouted in Hebrew for them to close their mouths. Only then did the mother come up and yell at me that she didn't want me talking that way to her kids. I had to inform her if she had disciplined her kids poor behaviour others wouldn't have to do so.

We run an Internet Cafe, and we see dozens of nationalities coming across our little shop. Empirically, most hardship comes from Tourists from Israel - hands down. They are generally nit-picking, noisy, disrespectful, and no matter how good a deal they get and how much time we invest to make them happy - there is never any sign of gratitude, although we treat everyone equal and for those who are dissatisfied we try everything to make it right. Prices are ALWAYS too high for them, prices are always subject to complaint. Another customer from another country would say: "Thank you for your efforts and good work". Dealing with Tourists from Israel, the general feeling is: Even if we would work for free, they still would not be satisfied. No way to make them smile, no way to come to a situation where everyone feels good. Sometimes it feels as if there is absolutely no common code of conduct, as if they come from another planet. Still, I have to say: 3 years ago we had a mid-aged couple from Israel as regular customers. They were humble, understanding, easy-going and simply lovely people, and I won't forget those two. They have sat things into perspective, and I wish there were more of them.

I find it strange that the author of the article"We are the real ambassadors", mainly focus on behaviour regarded to israeli tourists visiting Europe. Is it off less importence how people in for instence India are treated by israeli travellers? It seems like the author want israeli tourists to behave well while travelling abroad just to get symphati and hopefully support from europeans.What people in Ashia experience is obviously of less importance.After my opinion being friendly and polite to other people are ethical values that all human beings should aim for. Hopefully israelis will improve their Interpersonal relationship with people from all over the world and not treat people from outside Europe unfeairly. Anyhow, remember that people from Europe also are travelling and daily bring with them stories about people they met back to their homelands.