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■MiKiimein
Uptight Israelis must learn to chill out
DAVID WEINBERG THE JERUSALEM POST
The palpable tension in Israel whacks you across the face the second you ix'tum I'wm a tinp abiXKid, Jis 1 just have. Kverything here is |)oliti-cal or d(K'trinaire. From schooling to vacations to which hfchsfwr (kosher symbol) you Imsl and what radio station you listen to. Wouldn't it be nice to leisurely rake the leaves, without once having to discuss Bibi and Barak with the neighbor across the fence who's unhurriedly trimming his hedge?
Space, physical space has something to do with the problem. We don't have enough of it. Heaven forbid developi-rs and city planners from allocating more than two inches of park spaw [XM-1,00() families, or moiv Uian tliii* metres lxitwt«n apiut-ment buildings. Kven the big American superstores that have
come to Israel undei^go a trans-fonnation. Their aisles are half the widtli of tlie motlier stores in the United States.
Roads always are jammed here too, and nobody abides by the three-second keep-your-distance rule. By contrast, take a drive down Canada's basiest 16-lane art«ry - Highway 401 in Toronto. Even at rush hour, when traffic crawls, no one tailgates.
Psychological space is the dt^eper difTiculty. We relentlessly inti-ude on each other's lives. Some people don't have enough nwm on their cars for all the political bumper stickei-s they need in order to shove their pet perspective or multiple perspectives up your nose. We're not content to believe in things. Israelis are compelled to project their beliefs into every last corner of the
public space. And if you don't like my way of life, there's always i-ecourse to the Supreme Court. Perhaps we don't know how to relax or to step back from the great national skirmishing because, in this society, there's little time to do so. We need to slow down the pace of society by creating more enforced leisure time. I suggest an attempt to tame the Israeli temperament by introducing civic, secular holidays like Thanksgiving, Washington or Golda's Birthday, Victoria or Ben-Gurion Day - one each month. Soon thereafter, Sundays-off should be instituted, along with afternoon football, Walt Disney at 6 p.m., and an obligatory evening barbecue.
No news media would be allowed to publish or broadcast on this holy day of tranquility. Tlie vegging-out or peace of mind
would be therapeutic.
Love your neighbor by giving him space is in fact a Jewish value. The Jerusalem Talmud tells of worshipers coming to the Temple, who kept a distance from one another when bowing before God, so that one could not overhear another's pleadings before Heaven.
And one of God's names is makom - spaoe or place. "It is not man who honors the makom; rather makom honors man," says the midrash Mechilta. Either way you interpret this aphorism, space means dignity.
As a people, we've got to stop breathing down each other's necks and chill out. Since tolerance doesn't grow on trees around here, it's time to give ourselves some space, and learn to wrap ourselves around relaxation, instead of confrontation. LJ
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