One of the frustrating things about Israel is that for most Israelis, there is either "religious" or "secular" and not a lot of grey space in between. This is a big problem for us in choosing a school for our kids, which maybe I'll write about another time, but it also affects little everyday interactions as well, sometimes in ways that are just breath-takingly astounding and appalling.
For example, as we get settled into Modi'in, we've started thinking about whether we would want to buy a place here. We started speaking with a couple of realtors/estate agents, and this morning we went with one to see a place. Half an hour before we were due to meet her, she called my cellphone and said: "I just realised I forgot to tell you that this place is on a street where there are lots of datiim [religious people]. Is that a problem for you?"
I said no.
And after I hung up, I thought to myself: can you imagine an American realtor saying "there are lots of African-Americans on this street. Is that a problem for you?"
Or: "There are lots of Jews on this street. Is that a problem for you?"
And the worst thing is, the fact that she asked the question implies that she knows that there are some clients who would say "yes, it is a problem. Let's look somewhere else".
When you read about "the religious-secular divide" in Israel, it's not just about Russians needing to get married in Cyprus. It's about estate agents too.
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3 comments:
Bro - sometimes you do live in your own little world...of course estate agents ask the questions you pose. Worse still - sometimes they say "you know poor people live near here too". That's when they really stoop.
Yes, we all know that Alex lives in a special world.
But I don't think that this is the same at all. Racism is the mindset that people's behavior is determined by their race, which we know is a spurious correlation.
But religious observance (being dati) IS behavior and it does affect the neighbors in reasonably predictable ways. A response to the realtor's question might be to inquire whether it is homogenously dati (e.g., all Satmer) or whether there is a mix. That might also provide some indication of the neighborhood life.
Of course, if you move in, then realtors will start whispering to their clients, "There is a Masorti family on this block, is that problem?"
Admit it - you'd never live in a place full of black, religious, poor people.
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