A strange thing happened as we were trying to get a cab from the bus station to Mayer and Sandy's hotel, though. I approached a cab driver and told him where we wanted to go. "100 shekels," he said. Offering a set price is a common way for Israeli cab drivers to 1) get an unrecorded fare that they won't have to declare to the tax authorities and 2) fleece unsuspecting tourists. "No, we want it on the meter," I replied. "Fine, 90 shekels," said the driver. "No, we want it on the meter," I replied again. So he passed us off to the next cab driver in line. The next driver asked why we were being passed along, and the first driver said by way of explanation, "Ashkenazim."
What on earth does that mean? What does ethnic background have to do with anything? Was this a reference to a cultural stereotype of some kind, that Ashkenazi Jews are...I don't know...pedantic? If so, I would like to point out that the cab fare on the meter turned out to be less than 50 shekels. I was right to be suspicious and insist on the meter. Why does that make me Ashkenazi?
When we got home, we found a pile of four kittens in our garden. Here are two that didn't run away after we stopped to look at them.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Tonight's Activities
This evening, Adam and I went to Tel Aviv to see my step-dad's father, Mayer, and his partner, Sandy, who are visiting Israel for Sandy's grandson's bar mitzvah. We had a lovely dinner at a Yemenite restaurant called Maganda. It's good to see family in Israel.
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Are you sure he wasn't calling the other taxi driver ashkenazi? as in all ashkenazim are ganavim? Anyway you shouldn't be surprised that a Jew would hate another Jew because of background, color of kippah, shoe size. We are idiots and it won't be anti-semetism that does us in but our own hatred and distrust of each other. Don't feel too bad about the driver, you are in the middle of tourist season and the first guy was just hoping to fleece some tourists. Happens all over the world, from Bombay to Boston. It is the g-d given right of all taxi drivers to remove a few more dollars than necessary from unsuspecting travelers.
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