posted by Sam Richards
Arab and Jewish children doing what they naturally do -- play!
It seems as though there are some people in Israel who don’t like the idea of people taking the dictum “Know thy enemy!” too literally–who have, one might say, taken it to heart.
I’m talking about the story going around the wires of Jewish groups who are patrolling lover hangouts so as to ensure that Jewish women do not get too intimate with Arab men. I’m not sure if they care about Jewish men and Arab women. Probably not; (straight) men seem to be like that; the more women the better. Hmm…
In any case, my guess is that there are Arab groups looking to put an end to those hook-ups. Not sure why THAT story hasn’t made the headlines yet.
I’m struck by all of this because it’s tough to stop love when people live so intimately on such small parcels of land. Having been to Israel and Palestine twice, I can say that most Jews would laugh at the insanity of trying stop the inevitable–and probably a higher percentage than would Arab and Christian Palestinians. And I’m also struck by the irony of such a committee for pureness. I can only imagine what some of these love detectors might say if vigilantes of white people roamed the United States looking for cross cultural love affairs. My guess is they’d have a long list of critical commentaries about the racist backwardness of Americans.
But here you are. Listen for yourself.
A committee to promote pureness. This really made me laugh. I didn’t laugh at the situation because the situation is messed up. But do they really think keeping people apart that like or even love each other promoting pureness. I would go on a limb here and say that most people would say it really isn’t promoting pureness. One of the most pure things in life is love. Its is pure emotional feeling that two people have for each other that they would do anything for their significant other. So if anything this committee is taking away from pureness. It is just plain stupid because these people will always be in contact with each other. By these people I mean Jewish people and Arab people. When people are in close contact feeling for people are going to happen even if it is between people of a different religion. I go back to what I said to the blog about when the judge wouldn’t let the white woman and black man marry. I thought we were out of this old way of thinking that people of different race or religion in this case couldn’t be together. I guess not and those two articles prove this to me. It not fair to people would genuinely care about each other. Religion shouldn’t be a factor if you love someone, and it really should be a factor to bring in an outside force like a committee that promotes “pureness”.
Another thing that disturbed me about this article was the sexism that it promoted. It was wrong for Jewish women to be with an Arab men but it is perfectly fine for an Arab woman to with a Jewish man. It seems to me that Arab men are getting the short end of the straw. With all joking this is blatant sexism.
Why do people care about other people’s lives so much? That is one this I don’t understand in these articles. Why cant people let other people just live their lives. Is religion that important anyways? Does it really warrant keeping people that love each other apart? In my opinion that answer is no but I never really felt strongly for any religion. I think it is more along the line of pure ignorance of the “pureness” committee. They just want to see their people choosing a person of a different religion. Maybe they should try to understand people before they try to regulate a situation.
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I found this article to be interesting, especially after Sam’s discussion about the LGBT community on Thursday. Like Sam spoke about, people really don’t really have a choice if they are going to be attracted to the same or opposite sex (regardless of what some people think). People are going to love who they love. It is as simple as that. Society places way too much emphasis on what a socially acceptable couple should be like. The perfect couple would consist of a man and a woman of the same skin color who also share the same religious beliefs. Very narrow minded.
What I found to be so interesting about this article was the fact that essentially strangers to these Jewish girls are trying to break up their relationships with Arab men. I know that a lot of times parents maybe do not approve of their daughter’s boyfriend, and it is their prerogative whether to condone the relationship or not. But to essentially have a group of strange Jewish men try and breakup a relationship is so ridiculous. In fact, what these “vigilantes” appear to be doing seems borderline stalk-ish. They are going to well known date hot spots where they know teenage girls will be with their boyfriends. They have gone so far to have actually followed one Jewish girl and her Arab boyfriend for 30 minutes by car.
I feel as if interracial dating is still a problem in many places, not just between Jewish girls and Arab men. I don’t mean it is a problem, but instead that people still have an issue with it. My best friend, a white female, is currently dating a black male. She has already encountered many comments and looks whenever she is out with him. However, she has yet to have anyone come up to her and try to break up her relationship. Nonetheless, it is still a struggle for them, and no one doubts that it she would not have to deal with these things if she was dating a white male. But, she chose her boyfriend based on their compatibility- not his skin color.
In a perfect world people could believe what they choose to believe and love who they choose to love. Even better- people would be free to love someone who maybe didn’t believe the same things they do. I think that the bottom line of this issue between Jewish men trying to stop relationships between Jewish girls and Arab men has a lot to do with control. They want to feel as if they can control all aspects of these girls life, including their personal relationships. Maybe if this issue could be resolved it could result in a better more peaceful relationship between Jewish people and Arab people. However, if it continues, I think it will have the opposite reaction.
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I think that this whole situation is outrageous. I do not see why anyone has the right to say anything about whom someone else dates. It’s is some what understandable where these vigilantes come from because of the huge void and hatred between their two cultures, but still, that is no reason to continue that hate. The only thing that these vigilantes are doing is perpetuating the hate throughout their younger generations. The news report stated that these Jewish vigilantes have been targeting spots where Jewish teenage girls spend time, and mingle with Arab boys. I don’t think that they have any right to dictate what these girls do with their personal love lives. One of the vigilantes, interviewed in the news report stated that he felt that he was saving these girls. I wouldn’t go that far with my reasoning’s if I were them, but I understand where their sense of protectiveness comes from. I can’t help but kind of understand what they’re trying to do, but only because they don’t go as far as harming anyone, or acting out violently against these Arab boys. From what I heard in the news report, it didn’t seem like that. So, as long as they are simply warning these girls, in a non-physical, threatening matter, I agree with their cause. The only thing that doesn’t sit well with me is their reasoning behind it, and their particular mentality about what and why they do what they do. I don’t agree that they are saving these girls. I understand their sense of having a need to protect these girls because they are their girls, and know what the hate between these two groups encompass. I don’t know but maybe it’s the same reaction I see white kids have when they see a white girl with a black guy. I’ve experienced guys expressing distaste at the sight of seeing an interracial couple especially when the girls white. It’s obviously insecurities within those people who are threatened by something new, and different. Also, adapting to the fact that now a days, race is not a big issue at all when it comes to love and relationships, and I see where that is an issue for people to adjust to. Nevertheless, it is no reason to act out on that distaste. The world keeps changing, society does, and culture does. People need to simply start going with the flow and embrace the advantages and equality that comes with this change. Although it is a not so much of a problem in more developed countries, I see this situation as if say, a black man and a white women were to have a relationship immediately after the civil war. We have had a lot of time to adjust to that perspective of equality. Now, It is Israel/Palestine’s turn.
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True love can’t be stopped. So why do people try to stop this unbreakable force? If a couple is truly meant to be together then it is going to happen. It might not happen at that moment in time, but it will still happen. Fate is something that can’t be stopped.
I don’t think it is a big deal for the world to have interracial couples. There’s no written law saying that we can’t. If we didn’t have interracial couples, the world would be without some of its most profound political figures and entertainment. Without interracial couples there would be no Barack Obama, Halle Berry, or Christina Aguilera. Even though this might be taking it kind of far, breaking up these couples could possibly affect who are feature leaders are.
What about the white Jewish men that are going after Arab women, Like Sam mentions in the original post? Aren’t the Arab women just as, or maybe even more likely to “seduce” or “lure” the Jewish men with their “money” or “bad girl” personalities? I don’t see the problem with either couple. The race of any person in the relationship doesn’t matter if these are the only reasons why they shouldn’t be together. These types of people are throughout every race. There are white, Jewish “bad boys” just as there are Arab “bad boys.” There are white, Jewish men that use their money to get women just like there are Arab men who use their money to get women. Some of the people that are out searching for these couples are probably guilty of the same crimes that they claim the Arab men are guilty of.
If some of the Jewish women want to go out with some of the Arab men, they should just let them. It has nothing to do with them so they should just leave them alone. Even if the mixed relationships were their business for some reason, it still isn’t their life. If the relationships turn out to be a mistake, let the Jewish women learn that on their own. Life is about learning lessons and how can they learn if they have people dictating whom they can and can’t date and what they can do.
I feel this is both racism and sexism. The Jewish men are holding a double standard and using racism to back it. There’s nothing wrong with the Jewish women dating Arab men. Everyone has the right to make choices in their life. Besides God, we are the only ones that have control over our life. No other human should be able to take this power from us. In reality, this never happens 100% of the time due to the “King of the Mountain” idea.
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In this situation, there is fundamentally more at hand than racial “corruption”. While yes, people are being discriminated against because Jewish women are not allowed to fall in love with Arab men, note that it is a problem when it is Jewish women and not Jewish men. Of course, this falls in line with cries of double standards and racism. If Jewish men are against such unions, is it because they are Jewish women? Or because they are Arab men? When you first look at the concept, it seems that they are one and the same, but honestly, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Because it is only women targeted, the issue is not wholly racist. Personally, I think the concept the religious and racial preservation. In Judaism, the bloodline – which is fundamental to orthodox belief – is passed through the mother. If the mother is Jewish, the children are Jewish. If the mother is not, but the father is, the children don’t actually have a chance to be racially Jewish, but they can still be brought up Jewish. When a Jewish woman marries a non Jewish man, she often renounces her Judaism and brings up the children with Jewish blood in a non Jewish manner. This could be seen as more of a heinous corruption than the other way around.
The same issue is actually seen in the Shakespeare play, The Merchant of Venice. In it, a Jewish girl falls for a Christian protagonist and eventually marries him and converts to Christianity, much to the anger of her father, Shylock. Told from a Christian point of view, it’s a huge success, as the Christians have essentially stopped this Jewish bloodline and made it Christian. For Shylock, however, his entire culture and religion was basically removed from him.
The same is true of if a Jewish woman were to marry an Arab man. Now, I personally believe that you can’t choose who you love, and if you choose to be with someone of a different religion or race, you should not denounce your own culture in any way, nor shelter your children from it.
That there are groups of men who go around separating these unions is nothing short of terrible. But then, a person separating unions because of any reason is terrible if the two truly want to be together and everything’s legal and the like.
Of course, not everything is cut and dry. There are men in these groups who are separating couples based on race alone. That still happens all over the world. I know a lot of my Indian friends have parents that would disown them if they married or even dated a man or woman who wasn’t Indian. But then, you have to try and figure out why people feel this way. Just telling them that that isn’t right won’t help at all, but trying to show them that the offspring could be brought up Indian or Jewish, or whichever way is best for the children could help the families accept the ideas.
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I’ll start by saying that I do not consider myself knowledgeable on the topic of Jewish/Arab pressures. What I do know is that religious tension has formulated here for years, and with the proximity of these two ideologies, conflict erupts frequently. And although I could validate a Jewish or Arab perception on this matter, I do not understand it as means of encouraging a love-deterring vigilante group. When a young girl dates a young boy that her father disproves of, then it is the father’s position to express such distain – not a group of self-elected men who feel as though it is their duty to protect the entire Jewish race. I also strongly feel that there must be some legal protection that inhibits strangers from stalking and pestering a targeted group of individuals; that targeted group being young Jewish women. As an American, I strongly feel as though these interfering acts cannot possibly be justified with government support; which could be seriously wrong, but that is the equality perception that I have obtained being an American. And secondly (and more importantly,) as a woman I harshly dispose any accusation from anyone unknown that he/she has the right to suggest whom I may or may not have personal relations with. It would be the actions of my close family, friends, and peers that would most greatly influence any decision making made in reference to a chosen lover. These self-proclaimed “Jewish protectors” are only inhibiting the person choices of others with his/her personal feelings about the sanctity of the Jewish culture.
One of the other disturbing aspects of this story is the language used by David (the disguised vigilante) throughout the discussion. It brings color to the reality of this problem. David describes Arabs as “enemies” and questions “how did we (Jewish people) descend to this level”? These are truly strong when they are spoken to a whole culture or group of individuals. I have come back to this point several times this year with my feeling about prejudice for groups verse hate for individuals. People as a whole are generalized, giving no varying the option to an individual to be anything than what he/she is already generalized. It is supremely unfair, and simply scary, when people use such harsh words to describe groups. These kinds of attitudes unveil a philosophical sense of blindness. Not in terms of sight, but in terms of an inability to recognizing difference beyond general characteristics.
This brings me to another point: unless I am assuming incorrectly, David is a 30 year old man, who has no children (more specifically daughter) of his own. Maybe David is just a unfortunate-looking man, who has yet to find love, and choices to search the teen hot-spots as a posed “vigilante,” when really he is checking the Jewish female market for himself.
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Regulating love, in my opinion, has been something that has been going on for probably all of time. While it’s disappointing to hear about I would be shocked to hear that people are surprised by it. Even look at American history. Ok, so slavery, imagine the incredibly high number of African American women who were raped by white slaveholders/white dudes in general. Granted this isn’t exactly the consensual “love” that is being talked about in the Israel, but it’s pretty much the same. The guys get away with a lot. Ok, so imagine if a white woman had sex with a black guy, whether consensual or not, the entire white community would go nuts. Heck, white people killed black people for simply being black, imagine if on top of that the black dude hooked up with a white girl. Same thing applies to this example and the example in Israel/Palestine. It’s the same story we have heard over and over, men make the rules, women follow them, if men break the rules its ok, if women break the rules, then they are doing something wrong. I think the bigger problem here is not the guys trying to stop the girls from hooking up with men of a different ethnicity/religion; the problem is that men are twisting the rules to work for them and no one else.
Guys have been doing this for too long. It’s time for men to step up and follow the rules that they are forcing on other people. It’s really frustrating to hear about the entire Israel situation. First, they are killing each other, that’s been going on since Israel was formed in 1948, which that in itself is sad. So, it’s kind of obvious that the people here hate/ or at least strongly dislike each other. What’s a good way to solve this? Hmm, well obviously it’s to make sure that the two sides never interact. Yeah, that makes sense, if we make sure that two people from the different groups don’t interact, then everything will get better. Wow, that logic, if you can even consider that logic is disgusting. The best way for the two sides to get together and solve this problem is to start some form of positive interaction. And personally I feel like men and women of the two sides getting together is a positive interaction. So try to follow me here, if an Arab man and an Israeli women get married and have babies, then there will be kids of both cultures, and there will have to be some kind of understanding. So then these kids grow up and get married to kids of the same integration, sure you begin to lose some of the culture, but it’s better to lose some culture than to lose thousands of lives, I’m just saying…
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This blog, again like most others that I have responded to thus far, gave a lot of information that I had not previously known before listening. The two main points that interested me so much were the mix cultural dating, and then people trying to stop it. The first part was confusing to me, because maybe I am showing how naïve I am to this situation, but I am surprised that Jewish women are wanting to date outside of their religion. Going off of stereotypes and things I have heard, I had always believed that people of the Jewish faith liked to date people who also practiced their same Jewish faith. Maybe that isn’t true and then I have just learned another thing about cultures today. The other part of this blog that caught my interest was the fact that these men were going around trying to stop relationships, when it was really none of their business in the first place. By the way the story is told, it seems as if these men do not even know the people involved in these relationships personally. At what point did these vigilantes decide it was their responsibility to go out and break up these relationships? Who are they to stop romance, and possibly love, that they seem to know nothing about? I definitely do not think it is fair to the men and women involved in these relationships, if they are real relationships. If these so called relationships are used for some other reason or benefit, besides the idea of romance, then see where these vigilantes are coming from in trying to break them up. It is stories like these that make me release how advanced the United States of America is in situations like these. Sure, there are certain individuals who do not approve of the idea of interracial dating, but there is no law against it. It is hard to imagine how these vigilantes would act if they were visiting or living in America. Personally, I would think it would be different if they were raised here compared to if they were to move here. First generations to grow up in America, tend to have more of a broader spectrum when it comes to situations like this one. Although heavily influenced by their parents and culture, generations born here tend to be more understanding of the social changes that have occurred in the United States of America. I find it hard to believe that if these vigilantes were born and raised in the United States of America, they would feel as strongly as they do where they live. This blog again is just another story that shows how different people and cultures are, especially from the people here in the United States of America.
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This story brings up the question of “where does racism go too far?” The thought that there are individuals out there who choose to spend their time with the sole purpose of separating couples based purely on their ethnicity seems very 1950’s for such a modern nation such as Israel. We haven’t seen this kind of negative activism with regard to mixed race relationships in years; even in our own history it wouldn’t go this far. In the United States model, if a girl brought home a boy of a different race, it was typically the family that would take action against the stability of the relationship. Strangers would often give dirty looks, but they would seldom interfere with people that they had no business getting involved with. To see a perfect stranger patrol the streets just looking to break up mixed couples is preposterous.
I understand there is tremendous animosity between the Jewish and Arab people, there has been for thousands of years. The conflicts that these two have participated in warrant hate, but I think that such modern times give an opportunity to end such enmity. If men like these “patrollers” didn’t exist, perhaps there would be more Jewish Arab couples. And perhaps, if these relationships were allowed to flourish they may develop into marriages, and with marriages come children. I personally believe the simplest way to settle the conflict in the Middle East would be to blend the two people together. If this concept is permitted, the two peoples will become one within only a few generations. As an example of this concept I call upon the example given in Sam’s class where he brought the mixed race people to the front of the class. No one could possibly identify everyone’s race and herein lays the solution to the Israel-Palestine problem. If people cannot recognize who is Israeli and who is Arab, how can the racism of these patrollers truly exist?
One of the more interesting parts of this story is how the young Jewish girl responded in her interview. Although subtle, you can detect the racism that has been drilled into these people’s minds. She mentioned that some Jewish girls go with the Arab boys because they are “wild”. She continues to explain why Arab boys choose not to pursue those of their own decent because they are “conservative”. This girl immediately polarizes this group not only based on race but on gender within the race. She identifies Jewish people as dressing “normal” and assumes the position that the Jews are innocent in this situation and that the Arabs are the perpetrators. This is a clear cut example of the social separation that these people face and some of whom are facing resistance in breaking.
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I cannot believe what I read about here in this blog about the vigilante groups wanting to stop the romance between Jewish woman and Arab men. Craziness, craziness, craziness; that is what I have to say about that. I have mentioned in a previous blog, about a judge denying the marriage rights to a mixed race couple, what gives someone the right to say someone cannot love another person just for a certain reason like race or religion. I mean I understand what why they are being the way they are, but it is just such a ridiculous reason. Why can’t they just live on with their own lives and worry about themselves. No, they have to terrorize these poor people who are just trying to love each other, not because of their religions, but just because they have a special feeling about this other person who happens to be another religion. And again the question arises: Will racism ever end or will it escalade to a more complex level?
So our discussion group was fun this week. We were paired up randomly and we were instantly married to each other and had to figure out whether we would work out. I thought it was very interesting to see how everyone commented on this activity after when we all discussed it as a group. I knew I could make my marriage work, because the girl who I was paired up with had a similar up bringing as me, we actually grew up near each other in Hunterdon County, NJ. Not only this but we were both just so laid back and were willing to accept the others differences. The only problem I could see us having is the fact that she would push Judaism on our kids and not let them choose their own path in religion or even choose not to be religious. She said her mother would probably do the same. She also said that she was pressured by her parents to marry someone who was also Jewish, however, she said that she may be willing to be a little outside the box and marry someone who was not Jewish. I just want my kids to be able to pick what religion they want and that’s it. My parents did not pressure me into doing anything, but at the same time they did still bring me to Sunday school and see if I wanted to go to church and I just hated it, too boring for me. Marriage is a whole other story for me. There are just way too many factors which go into marriage besides just religion, to make it complicated like it truly is. I would definitely be willing to try out a marriage just to see if it works.
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This article is particularly upsetting for me. I can not approve of anyone that is interrupting with opportunity for true love. I feel that it is fine if someone chooses to only date people that coincide with their religious views. If a person truly feels that they cannot fall in love or marry someone that doesn’t share their religious views than I think it is ok to select a significant other on the basis of religion. However, when a person is being told that they are not free to choose whomever they feel to be with, that is when I have problem with this situation. I believe that individual should be free to date, marry, or befriend whomever they feel like.
Another thing that bothers me in this situation is that they chose the primarily Islam, eastern part of Israel. I am not saying that It would be ok with me if they did this event in a primarily Jewish neighborhood, but you would expect that if you lived in a primarily Arab area then you would be more tolerant to these kinds of things. It is ironic how these gentlemen display blatant discrimination on the basis of religion and sex, because they only prevent girls from hanging out with Arabs, yet they are so open to the public about this manner. These men truly believe that they are doing the right thing by trying to talk these girls out of hangin out with Arabs. They say they only talk to the girls about the situation, and never invoke or participate in physical contact, which I guess is a lot better than what some of these extremist groups are involved in. At the same time, I would be very interested in hearing what one of their “convincing” conversations with these girls would go like. I cannot think of any ethical or polite way to say theat you should not be with these Arab men because you are a Jewish girl. No matter what kind of positive spin they try to put on this situation it is still a clear act of discrimination.
The final thing that I heard, that I found to be quite interesting was the notion of the stereotypes between the Jews and the Arabs. According to this audio, the Arab men are very wreck less, the Jewish girls are big time partiers, and the Arab women are very conservative. It is easy for me to understand that the Arab women are very conservative because that is part of their culture and their religions. However, it is interesting to me that the Arab boys desire a woman that it is wild and outgoing, I had always thought that they mainly prefer conservative woman, but I guess that is me just stereotyping.
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It is a shame to see what the world has come to and how people view things in life. I understand that everyone likes to follow their religious values, but I feel like when it comes to love, their religion should not get in the way. To me, love is a type of indescribable feeling that once you seek something special in someone; nothing should be able to get in the way. Since religion is not necessarily an obvious thing to determine off hand, race is a better example. The rate of interracial dating has increased and in my opinion, I am completely content with it. However; from the views of other people, they may tend to feel some type of way and not fully support it. Other people should not be judgmental of how couples are just by the way they look. Outsiders have no reason to judge because they have no idea whatsoever of what goes on in between their relationship. They do not see what the actually couple sees in each other. Therefore, they should mind their own business. If anything the people who are judging and having issues with different couples, they are bound to have love issues their selves because they are not open-minded and appreciative. So in terms of religion, it should go the same way. It is completely understandable that people may have issues with someone dating another person out of their religion, but like I mentioned before, nothing can get in the way of love. It is a shame that there are ‘Jewish groups’ who are patrolling kids who hang out so that the women do not fall in love with Arab men. If anything there should be no worries because they are children and all they want to do is play. The last thing they are thinking about are relationships. I know for a fact when I was younger, I always thought guys had ‘cooties’ and never thought of wanting to be with a boy. It is weird how that it does not work in reverse that Jewish men can not fall in love with Arab women. This begins to question how does this support their religion. They are jeopardizing one gender of Jewish but not the other? I guess what they are trying o say is that Jewish men are more dominant and should know better not to be with other people of different religion. Or maybe they are saying that since women reproduce, they want to keep their religion alive so they must only fall in love with Jewish people. Honestly, I do not understand the message this article is trying to get through. If I were Arabian, I would feel offended and would want to take some type of action so that Jewish women are allowed to fall in love with me.
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Reading the article about the Arabs and Jews was very interesting. I never knew that this was a problem that has been existing over a long period of time. The information that I gained from this situation is truly an eye opener of how different cultures are looked upon. Obviously there are always going to be people who will never accept interracial couples or marriage. One thing that people have to realize is that no matter how much you might dislike this union, it is not always going to end. So it is best to let it be and continue on with your lives. In the situation with the Jews and Arabs, allowing the interracial couples to be will not happen. It is very understandable that the Arabs are still your enemies because of the events that took place in the past, which is legitimate reason as to why they do not want their women to have an intimate relationship with the Arab men. The things that has to be considered is that are all Arab men bad or not fit to associate with Jewish women because of what they inherited???? It is not their fault of what happened in the past, if anything blame on their ancestors instead of putting all the blame on the innocent ones. I know that all Arab men aren’t good, but there are always a couple of gentlemen amongst the bad. Arab men are known as men who spoil their women by giving them everything, which will eventually turn the Jewish women bad, as the Jews say it. Once again you cannot judge everybody based of history because everybody are not the same and might have a different mind set in what they want out of the women that they are dating. The part that is somewhat disturbing is how the Jewish men are taking matters into their hands to do everything possible to stop this interracial coupling. I do not think that the Jews should be monitoring the whereabouts of the Jewish women in making sure that they do not get intimate with an Arab or trying to end the interracial relationship of the Jews and Arabs. This to me seems a little too crazy. If a couple seems happy and is progressing in the stages of the relationship, why is it necessary to go out of your way to make sure it is ended? Some people do not find love within their own culture, so they go out and look for it in another. I am pretty sure that these Jewish women who are in relationships with these Arabs are aware of the history between them, so if they still decide to engage with an Arab they know the consequences and situations they might face. So just allow them and if the relationship was not meant to be at least they found out through experience instead of being forced to end it. In conclusion, if the couples are truly in love let it be and allow them to live their lives.
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In all reality you could probably write an entire report on the picture alone. To think that somewhere along the way during the journey of childhood we become of our surroundings and judge them more harshly is beyond me. The children in the picture are doing what children ought to do, play! But as the years go by, that little ring will get smaller and smaller. Because of experience, and what people have told and taught us, we build up walls and barriers as we get older between us and the races of the world. When we are young, we are blind to this, we don’t see the hate that people of a much older age see and live, laugh, play and enjoy each other for what we are, friends.
But in the rumor of Jewish people going around to secluded spots to make sure that Jewish women aren’t getting to comfortable with Arab men is straight up absurd. Purely ethnocentrism in its prime. The Jewish people, some of the most oppressed throughout history, going around telling people what they can and can’t do, wow, who would have thought. Its understandable if parents don’t want their son or daughter to date someone because they may be a bad person or a bad influence but its ridiculous to think that officials or leaders of a church to go around and say who can date or who can hook up together. This is one of those topics that can really get me going, and give me a ladder to get to the highest soap box.
Why do we cry for freedom and then hate on other people. People can be so out right selfish its staggering. I don’t understand why people do this. I can see the the oppressions, I just cant see the reasons why. I suppose that’s why it makes me so upset. Would be wrong to say that we should all cross culturely breed? That way we don’t have so many pains and hate going around. Or is that more blasphemous than not? I mean, yea we wouldn’t be different, but people would have to experience so much pain .
Where is the law here? Why isn’t this illegal ? If I were jewish why can’t I go and marry someone of arab decent. Ugh, this is really angering. I actually no why though, because these councils of purness are racist and ethenocentric. They can’t accept that someone of their own decent wants to produce offspring of a mixed race. What I don’t know is why It is such a big deal to begin with. Because in the end, we all die, every last stinking one of us will die anyway.
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This blog posting is very similar to other postings where couples of different color cannot be together. Just like how I felt towards the other postings, this also annoys me. I just can’t comprehend why someone would prevent a couple from being together just because of their ethnicities or race. Like Sam always says, how could something like that affect those “vigilantes” or anyone else who opposes it?
First of all, it is apparent that there is hypocrisy among those vigilantes. If they don’t want Arabs and Jews to be together, then why would they only break up Arab men with Jewish Women but not the opposite? This is just like the other posting where a black gang beat up a white guy because he dated a white girl. But it’s fine for them if a black guy dates a white woman. These examples here are apparent examples of hypocrisy and sexism.
There are several things that I heard on the npr radio segment that shows that those people are sick in the head. For example Frankel says “It’s extremely upsetting. I asked myself: How did we get to this situation? How did we descend to this level? It is a serious step backwards, in our eyes.” What situation is he talking about? I can’t believe that he thinks it is that bad for people of different ethnicities to fall in love and be together. I know there is a conflict between Israel and Palestine, but this definitely won’t help the cause. It will only worsen it. Imagine how those vigilantes’ children would think when they know that their fathers’ job is to break up couples. Those children would definitely end up hating arabs and there would never be peace.
Also ethnocentrism that can be seen from what the Jewish girls where saying in the segment. One girl was saying “I think they like us because Arab girls are all conservative and wear the covering on their hair and we dress normally.” The fact that she said “normally” is an evidence of ethnocentrism. Because for Arab women, covering one’s hair is normal.
I really hope things like these would end in our society. The couples who fall in love or who are together are their business and not ours. Also I think that especially in Israel and Palestine situation relationships should not be broken up. I totally agree with sam’s point that” I can only imagine what some of these love detectors might say if vigilantes of white people roamed the United States looking for cross cultural love affairs. My guess is they’d have a long list of critical commentaries about the racist backwardness of Americans. “
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After reading the article on “regulating love”, I could not help it but to connect the many similarities between how Israel and the Arabs deal with relationships to how white people and black people deal with interracial relationships in the United States. It surprises me how much people have a problem with people of different colors or in the case of the article, of different ethnic backgrounds that it causes such an issue. I know people in the United States are still becoming accustomed to seeing mixed couples but I feel like a vast majority of the U.S. citizens are becoming okay or used to seeing mixed couples and interracial relationships. Personally I do not have a problem with people dating outside of the race or ethnicity group. I believe that if you truly love someone, it does not matter if they are a different color, a different religion, or are a different ethnic group, it is love. Nothing can change what two people chare between them no matter that person’s individual views or thoughts.
I thought it was ridiculous how in Israel a group of about 40 guys, who are pretty much almost a type of secret police force, to go around and stop Israeli women from being in a relationship with Arab men. I could not understand how citizens took it upon themselves to go around and stop these people from being together. It is very similar to our culture in the sense that people do not want to see people who are white with people who are black or brown or Hispanic or Asian. I know many people today in the United States are doing what this Israeli group is doing. I believe though that the United States as a whole is much more open to mixed relationships than these people from the article.
Something that really stood out to me while I was listening to this news report was when the Israeli woman was talking. She said something along the lines of that Arab men want to be with Israeli women and not Arab women because they are mean and that they do not dress right by being covered up all the time. They wanted to be with Israeli women because they dress “normal”. Whenever she said this, it stuck with me even after I finished listening to the clip. What makes what she is wearing “normal” and what the Arab women not normal? If the woman from Israel went to an Arab nation and wore what she was wearing, she would be the one who was not normal and would be looked at or stared at for dressing wrong. I guess when it comes down to it, many problems that people in the United States face with race issues exist in other parts of the world as well. This issue of race is globalized and does not just exist within our borders which I believe is what many people believe. It is not just a black and white issue, but a world issue that involves every type of race, ethnicity, culture, religion and color as well.
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Learning about the issue of Jewish groups patrolling ” lover hangouts” was really eye opening for me. For starters I was confused as to what a lover hang out was. Is it the movies, or restaurants? I don’t get that. However, I don’t think anyone should ever be allowed to regulate who people love. If someone is lucky enough to find someone they care about, that should never be interfered with especially based on something like religion or heritage. I found it all to be so hypocritical as well. I understand the type of perils everyone faces in Israel, as I have been educated on them in hebrew school for years. Regardless, what better way to start peace and understanding between the two groups than for them to start loving each other. Also, all that the groups would do is promote negativity and a step backward in the way of peace in Israel. I know that in the Jewish religion they aim to preserve their people, because it is a minority religion many feel it imperative to marry among your own religion. My own parents have always tried to assure me that it would be ideal to marry someone of the Jewish faith, because that it was I have grown up with and they hope that I would want to rise my children Jewish. This has always frustrated me, as I have hoped I would find love and be able to marry who I wanted despite their religion. I have just never seen a need to narrow down my pool of people only in my religion, how boring. Jessie Levin, my roommate was questioned (by me) about the issue and said that people should be allowed to love whoever they want. In a way I could compare this to the conversations we’ve been having in class about gay marriage. If it doesn’t personally affect anyone as Sam reiterates then who cares? If it’s not hurting or causing harm, then let it be. Why would anyone need to meddle in other people’s romantic business. I completely agreed. I find it sad that things in the middle east are so bad that there would need to be a group delegated to breaking up inter-faith dating. Who wants that role? I would never feel comfortable with that. Especially because these people of inter-faith relationships are making a statement for the rest of the world to follow. They are loving without paying attention to the supposed lines they are crossing, and looking past faith, heritage, and the war torn nation. I encourage this, and truly feel that this is the only way to eventually achieve peace in a strife filled country. I think that if people are being told who not to love this will only continue the pattern of hatred that currently plagues Israel.
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I listened through the entire voice audio, and unfortunately, I’m not surprised at all. Even though it’s not really a joking matter, I always joke around with my friends about how I’m Jewish and the guys I talk to/hangout with. I have to admit that even though I identify myself as Jewish, I can’t call myself someone who is fully devoted to my religion, and kind of only act “jewish” when I have to be – if that makes sense? I could not say my parents are the same way because they are more devoted to the religion I guess. However, my parents along with the rest of my family have this belief that I need to find a Jewish husband, and if I don’t our marriage is going to fail. I definitely disagree with them regarding interracial relationships failing, but sometimes I agree with them regarding looking for a Jewish husband. It’s more the idea of a Jewish husband that could potentially make my life easier, rather than marrying someone of a different religion. My parents will accept him more, we’ll have more in common, our kids would follow the same religion, etc.
The thing is that even though I always say I’m “going to” marry someone Jewish, I have not dated anyone. I’ve only been in one serious relationship, for about three and half years, and he was half Dominican/Puerto Rican. He didn’t really “look” like either of the two cultures, as most people thought he looked almost German. Basically, my parents loved him, thought he was a great guy, but just assumed that I was not in a serious relationship because he was not the same religion as me. We recently broke up, but I really never saw myself marrying him, just because I’m only 19 and I’ve had one serious relationship. Then again, I also think about how my family would not approve of our marriage, and it’s almost like I keep the thought in the back of my head the whole time. At this point, I don’t even care who I marry, I just want him to be accepted by my family. My parents use the excuse that Jewish men know how to treat women better, but that’s a complete lie. I’ve only had two associations with a Jewish guy. One guy, I was talking to for about three weeks, and he turned out to be a total creep. The other guy, I hung out with three times in a span of two weeks, and he ended up ditching me for another girl. So basically, at this point, I don’t know and don’t care about who I want to marry. I could probably write a book about this topic but the funniest part of “my life story” is that I actually met an Arab guy two weeks ago. We’ve been talking for like two weeks and I told my parents to see their reaction.. they didn’t believe me. I don’t know where it’s going but probably nowhere because I haven’t even told him I’m Jewish. Oops.
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After listening to that article, I agree that this entire situation is completely ridiculous. The Israelis and Palestinians have been fighting over everything from land to control for years. After learning about this Israeli man’s attempts to prevent Jewish girls from being with Palestinian men I can see how severe this situation continues to be. It is basically impossible to regulate relations between people of these two nations because of the close proximity of Israel and Palestine. Despite the constant fighting between these countries, not everyone is in support of this war, as many Israelis and Palestinians remain friends. It is somewhat surprising to me that a Jewish man would try and prevent something like this. There is nothing in the Torah or any of the holy books that says that Jewish girls can’t have relationships with Palestinians. The only reason he is doing this is because of the extreme hatred that has torn people apart in Israel and Palestine ever since the Jews moved to Israel. This is not fair to both the Jewish Women and the Palestinian men. Love is a feeling that has nothing to do with where someone’s from, or what he or she looks like. Love is a feeling, not a physical characteristic and that’s why it’s so special when people achieve it. To prevent people from achieving this feeling is unjust and wrong. These Jewish men simply don’t trust the Palestinians (and I’m sure its vice versa also) and by preventing these relationships they think they are protecting the Israeli women. This is the main justification in an ongoing struggle of people condemning interracial relationships. One of the main ways to remedy the situation of violence between Israel and Palestine would probably be for people from the two nations to develop relationships and maybe even marriage between each other. The more the two cultures become assimilated, the more they will realize that they are both just human beings and the conflict is kind of pointless.
This topic of interracial dating and interracial relationships in general is a topic that is has stirred up controversy all over the world. Now, more than ever people are venturing out of their race to form relationships and it still angers many people. Many people see this as a problem. In America, justices have gone as far as to deny a marriage certificate to a black man and a white woman as shown in a previous article that Sam posted. Whether it’s judging relationships based on skin color, nationality or religious beliefs, all of the judgments are formed because of feelings of racism. This shows that we all, meaning people from all different countries and all different races and religions need to become more accepting of each other, and accept the fact that love is a great feeling can be achieved with anyone no matter what sex, skin color, nationality, religion, etc.
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I always find it interesting when people try to regulate who can date who and who can’t. We are free to make our own decisions yet if they are not the “right” ones, we are harassed for it. There is no reason why a Jewish girl can’t get into a relationship with an Arab man. If there are feelings, there are feelings; if its love, then its love and race or ethnicity should have nothing to do with the equation. I always thought that we were in a time now that didn’t put so much emphasis on where a person was from or what a person physically looked like when it came to relationships. The further along I get into this class; I realize that my whole thought process on the issue was wrong. People will find any reason they can to pass judgment on someone or something and its wrong. Its wrong that an interracial couple would have to defend themselves all the time to people who don’t understand or don’t want to understand that every couple no matter who they are should be accepted the same. When the phrase “know thy enemy” comes up, I am pretty sure the Israelis mean it to be taken as be aware of who your enemies are so that you can keep yourself and your families safe. They never thought that people would interpret it as actually getting to know your enemy on personal level. Personally, I don’t care how you interpret the quote, it should all be allowed without question or ridicule. The prejudice in this world to me is appalling; I personally try so hard to not judge people and to be accepting of all people. But these people out there aggravate me with their narrow mindedness or their ignorance. What do these Israelis really think is going to happen if their son or daughter gets involved with an Arab man or woman? It’s the same as any other relationship. You could say the reason is because of religious differences and such, but that can be gone about in a different way. And why haven’t the Arabs said anything back about this? Is it because it’s true and they don’t want to seem like the bad guys? If this is the way they both feel, it should be known fact that this can’t happen. Just typing that sentence makes me cringe to think we are back to those days, where certain people can’t be together. You can’t control how you feel about someone, it just happens. They are practically choosing who their son or daughter can become involved with, which as we’ve seen so many times, never turns out well for the son or daughter. This article aggravates me, because I just don’t understand the logic, at all.
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This is actually a really interesting topic because it almost directly relates to my life. I am of Indian descent and my family follows the Hindu Religion. As some people may or may not know Hindus and Muslims have had a social as well as religious conflict for almost sixty two years. It all started because of the 1947 Indian Partition when the British divided into East Pakistan, which is now Pakistan, West Pakistan which is now Bangladesh, and India. The separation was done based on religious majority. Pakistan wanted to be an Islamic state. This caused one of the greatest migrations of people in world history. Muslims in past-day India migrated to East and West Pakistan, while Hindus in Pakistan moved to India. During this migration many people’s lives were lost because of religious conflict. Muslims killed Hindus who crossed the border and Hindus slaughtered Muslims who crossed from the other side. To this day many families are still suffering from the aftermath of this uprooting. Both of my parent’s families are originally from West Pakistan and had to migrate to present day India during the 1947 Indian Partition. My great grandfather was deeply distraught by this migration because he lost everything when he left West Pakistan. In his mind this entire partition was caused by Muslims. To this day my family still believes this. Thus my parents would never approve of me dating or marrying a Muslim man. This summer my cousin made a decision that changed her life and my family’s life forever. She decided that she wanted to marry her college sweetheart who happened to be Muslim. She told her parents that she would never get married unless they allowed her to marry this man. My father was so disappointed. He told me that she should know better, that she should have thought of her parents before she made her decision. My cousin went through with the marriage and her parents did support her but with a heavy heart. I could never disappoint my parents like that. Honestly, it sucks that even two generations after the partition of the aftermath is still present. I want to be able to date whoever I want no matter what their ethnicity, race, or religion. Why do the mistakes of my ancestors have to affect me? I love and respect my parents so I would never do anything to disrespect them. But what if I did meet someone who I could see myself marrying and he happened to be Muslim? Would the religious background stop me from marrying the person I love? It’s something that many girls and boys in my generation have to think about. It’s a sort of responsibility that we have to carry on our shoulders to make our parents happy.
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This story about patrolling to make sure that Jewish women are not getting with Arab men is particularly disturbing to me. As a Jewish male, it is ridiculous to me to think about stopping someone from doing what they want, regardless of who they are. Since I have been to Israel before, I understand that there is obvious tension between Jews and Arabs, but I have never felt that Jews have ever been known to be hateful to others and not open-minded. While we talk about in class how there is fanatics in every religion, this would not be something that I would have expected to happen. No matter what the circumstances are, I feel that everyone should always be free to choose who they are with and what they want to do with their lives. It is ridiculous that anyone should decide that what they believe is better than what someone else does, and that people are not able to make decisions on their own. If a Jewish woman wants to be with an Arab man, than no one else should be able to decide that she can’t be. Now I understand that there is obviously pressure to stay within one’s race, especially among elders who are not as open-minded and understanding, but that does not make it right. Growing up in a Jewish family, I was always “strongly encourage” to end up with a Jewish girl. To say that is putting it lightly, as I know certain close family members would be very upset with me if I did not. That being said, however, I still feel that it is a choice that I myself would have to make, and not one that my family can make for me, even though they would be upset. If it was something that was that important to me, then it wouldn’t matter what anyone else thought. And that brings me back to this story. While these groups can try to encourage people to not be with Arab men, it should not be their job to make that decision. If a woman really wants to be with a certain man, then they really should be able to do that. It’s a thin line even now in a time where every one is very open-minded, there are still many people who are primitive in their thinking, and that are not open to change at all. It is a shame that this is still something that we are forced to deal with, but that is just the world we live in. People will always have their own opinions, which is fine, as long as they keep these believes to their own lives and not for other people.
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Regulating Love
I think this entry really signifies how messed up the things in the Middle East can be. The media can basically spin any story the way they want. How do they decide what they report and what they don’t? This seems like some more biased reporting. Of course we hear about the Jewish men “patrolling love” but like it was stated, why hasn’t the story about Arab men doing the same thing come out? There is something wrong with that. Either the whole story should be told or none at all.
It is interesting to wonder why this story (or half story) has only come out. Why no backlash on the Arab men? Is it really because of the anti Jewish/Israel that engulfs some people, or is it actually because it doesn’t exist to anyone’s knowledge. Lets hope it’s the former. I also wonder if this is a continuation of the conflicts in the Middle East. Is the reason people are doing this because they don’t want their girls having relationships with their conflicting race, or is it because they don’t want them in inter-racial relationships at all. It is an interesting debate. I would think it’s a combination of both. They don’t want inter-racial relationships, and they DEFINITELY don’t want these relationships with Arab men, so I think that’s the case.
It is certainly appalling that people would even attempt this, because it really is tough to stop true love. No matter how hard you try, it would be nearly impossible to try and stop love. I don’t know what these men are doing to “patrol” this but I doubt it is in a nice manner. I can’t imagine how they would even go about this, and maybe I don’t want to know.
Another issue is with this whole thing entirely. It is obvious to see why men would do this, it is natural that they would want as many women for themselves, but this seems to be a bit extreme. It is not like you will be able to actually curb someone’s true love. I’m sure some of these men act by force and try to look down upon dating someone of another race. It’s obvious that this is a small minority doing this though. Like it was stated, most people would not support this, even if it were someone of their own race. It is just not the right thing to do. With that being said, they’re a lot of odd people in the world that do strange things. I can’t say this surprises me because it seems like it would be almost expected, especially in the Middle East. It’s a whole different culture there and things are done very differently.
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The article I took a look at for this week was the one about Jewish men patrolling “date spots,” trying to break up dates between Jewish girls and Arab men in Israel and Palestine. After reading this article, this whole process that’s been going on just seems totally idiotic. I can’t believe that some men feel so strongly about their Jewish faith to actually waste their nights patrolling these “date spots.” Makes you wonder if these people have anything better to do with their time. I realize that the Jewish faith and Muslim faith are extremely important and intrical parts of their lives, but is it so strong that people are going to lengths like this to keep the two sides from being with each other? On top of that, I don’t care how hard these people try to break up these dates; you’re still not going to be able to catch them all. I got a big kick out of listening to the radio broadcast regarding this as well. I know that if I had some random guy came up to me while I was in a car with a girl I liked, and tried to convince me not to be with her I would just look at him like he was nuts. I also find it amusing that these Jewish patrol groups aren’t bothering Jewish men who are trying to date Arab girls. They only are after Arab men who are trying to date Jewish girls. Why not both huh? The one guy who was interviewed said that, “He was doing his religion a service,” through what he was doing. I personally think that these people need to find something better to do or get a hobby of some sort. I just can’t get over how some people in this part of the world are such huge religious fanatics. I really can respect the fact that they feel so strongly about the religion they follow, but it isn’t a good thing to be pushing your religious beliefs on other people. People are going to do what they want regardless what you say or think, just like these kids. They are dating people of the opposite faith because they like them for who they are as people. Like Mr. Richards said, “What would happen in our country if people went around in patrol units looking to break up interracial couples?” It would be absolutely ridiculous and wrong. People in this country would be up in arms in protest, and I wouldn’t blame them. One last thing I’d like to add and found really interesting, is how Arab men were stereotyped by Jewish people that were interviewed. They claim that Arab men are “bad boys” and are all up to no good. This sort of stereotyping really just takes you back and goes, “Really man? You serious?
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It is strange to say but this story seems like a real life “Romeo and Juliet” on a very extreme level. These two races are in love with each other despite the large amounts of hate that the Jews and Palestinians have for each other. I think that what this story says is important cause as a whole the two hate each other but in actuality there are probably hundreds of thousands of people from these two races that really don’t care and by coincidence fell in love with each other. It is a good symbol that what the Jews and Palestinians are fighting about is just plain stupid and that there is much more at stake like the lives of young people who are in love and what to start families. Even though I might not necessarily agree with how they don’t fight over Jewish Men marrying Palestinian women or vice versa but it definitely makes sense to me why they would not care as much because in return they get bigger and have more of a population. That is why I would not say that it is sexist. It would be the same thing if a White Man dated a black women, the white culture might not beat up the black woman but if it was a black man dating a white woman the black man might get beat up by the white culture because they see this as wrong.
On a totally opposite opinion I could maybe understand a little bit about why these two people would be so upset about mixing of cultures. As a Christian girl growing up in a Christian family my mother gave values to me how much she wants me to marry inside my own religion and the fact that I am dating a Jewish guy gets her very upset. Now I’m sure that his family does not care as much that he is dating a Christian girl because since he is the guy and we were ever to get married then they might think that I would take his religion which might not necessarily true.
I think that this story is sad because these people that are in love are not doing anything wrong except for that they are in the middle of a war between to cultures that hate each other. These people are trying to take the first step in stopping the fighting and it might take many more decades but if everyone would just follow what these people are trying to accomplish then the world would be a much better place. I think that one day people would see that this whole argument is dumb and that it is a total waste of time for fighting.
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In response to the “Regulating Love” post, I see hypocrisy right off the bat in this situation. The particular Jewish men who are going around breaking up dates between Jewish girls and Arab guys do not apply the same logic to Jewish Men and Arab women. Why would they only try or focus to restrain one part of the spectrum? This is also definitely expressive of sexism thrown in here towards these Jewish girls. The Jewish guys who are doing this vigilante thing are trying to control the Jewish girls. David says the mixed dating is a growing epidemic, one that his group hopes to stop by handing out explanatory discs and pamphlets to girls they call known-problem cases. The Jewish guys involved with this are trying to lay down rules and guidelines for dating for Jewish girls when no real restrictions have been placed upon them. I think that this post is reflective of one of the earlier posts about a gang of black guys beating up a white guy for dating a black girl. Also, there have certainly been situations of white guys being upset or uncomfortable with white girls dating men of another race. I do not understand why this is such a recurring theme throughout males of any race. “My heart hurts every time I see a Jewish girl with an Arab. It’s extremely upsetting. I asked myself: How did we get to this situation? How did we descend to this level? It is a serious step backwards, in our eyes.” It seems crazy to me that this one guy and his crew of vigilantes is really this upset about Jewish girls dating Arab guys. Could it be that they are feeling threatened by the other race? Or maybe they feel betrayed by their own race? Neither alternative makes much sense. It probably just comes down to all these males who are upset about women of their race dating outside their race because they are uncomfortable with themselves. But, then again, it could be even deeper than that. After thinking about it I realized that this whole thing about not wanting Jewish girls to get with Arab guys was something that they have been exposed to probably their entire life. The young Jewish men were probably immersed with this mentality from a very young age. Tensions have been high between the Jewish and Arab peoples for quite some time. This particular situation seems even more messed up to me though because of how strongly these Jewish guys are against inter-racial relationships between Jewish girls and Arab guys to the point that they think God is on their side for breaking them up and that the Arabs are the “enemy”.
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Eastern cultures are very conservative in comparison to western cultures. Inm other words eastern cultures desire for their own cultures to stay alive and are passed on throughout generations. Nobody wants their culture to die. Some people don’t even want cultural fusion to occur. This is understandable. However, I think multi-racial relationships are fine. They show how humans are able to adapt to other cultures. It is very difficult to have a multi-racial relationship. You can cross situations such as what religion to follow, what is the child’s name going to be, what language is being spoke in the household, etc. This situations are very sticky and some of them aren’t event resolved. Some of these relationships end up in divorce. Additionally, many of the other family members don’t approve of the relationship. I know of situations where family members distance themselves from the multi-racial relationship.
Parents are aware of these consequences and are therefore afraid of having their kids participate in multi-racial relationships. Additionally, the general community might look down on this relationship because they know that it looks bad compared to all of the other families. Therefore, people avoid this as much as they can. It sucks for these relationships that end because of a difference in race. People should just accept the difference a race and find some common ground—put their differences aside.
Furthermore, the parents think of their kids. The kids will be confused since they are of mixed of race. They will not what culture they are or what religion to follow. The chances of continuing culture with a hybrid culture are very, very slim—next to impossible. This explains why people are trying to regulate love. True love really can’t be regulated. Once you’re in love, they two are pretty much in for the ride. There is only some much you can do to keep two love birds apart. Additionally, even if two people are truly in love there is virtually nothing you can do to separate them—not even acknowledging their differences in ethnicities and race. People that are in a relationship are break up because of racial and cultural conflicts are selfish because people should learn to work things out. Yes, it sucks that race plays such a big role in people’s life but it something that people need to learn to deal with.
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I can not believe that Jewish group patrol lover hangouts to make sure that Jewish women do not get to intimate with Arab men. I think that this happens in every country because of their religion maybe. But what I do not get is that a Jewish man can be with a Arab girl. Is just weird but there will always be a different between men and women maybe that is the reason they let the men get with who they shows to be with. Especially fathers they will do anything to try to separate them if he thinks that the boy is not right for his daughter. But if it is a guy that is going out with someone that is not from their culture or religion it is ok, that is not fair. It would be ok if adults were trying to keep young people in line but it does not matter what country they are from or their religion. I feel that it does not matter where they are from or what religion they are from but what really matters is if they really love each other. People should not be able to control other people life. That is not people business if someone want to be with someone and they are old enough they should be with the person they love. I would have never guessed that Jewish and Arabs could not be inter-racial and they are living in Israel it should not be a big deal for them to be together. I’m Catholic and I really do not agree with everything the church say so I do not know why they have to always agree with your religion.
I think that Jewish girls still have the same problem if they live in the United State but not with Arabs but with every other culture they really must be in pressure because of their family. My family are really open they do not care who am dating but that he treats me with respect. That is what they should do, they should not care who they are going out with but that the guy they are going out with is treating them with respect. It scary how they are going out trying to find and persecute if they find then together, that really is an extreme measures. But I can not judge their religion or try to interfere with how they do thing in their culture and religion even thought I think is wrong. It is sad that these types of problem exists in the world. That to me feels like racism because some people do not let people that are from another religion to be together.
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This reminds me exactly of the white man and black woman that were dating. For some reason, some people cannot get over the fact that interracial and inter-religious couples will exist in this world, regardless of culture or any other factors. Love is love, and it overcomes the rest; it justifies everything; people cannot properly justify why two people of different religions or color should not be together. The only thing that really can be justified is that those two people have found each other. I don’t know exactly what stage these Jews or Arabs are at from the six stages, but I want to guess the immersion stage. The Jews are immersed in their culture, and they want to make sure that their fellow Jewish women do the same. After all, dating or marrying an Arab when you are Jewish is terrible! Just kidding. But apparently this dating intervention is happening here in the United States. I would expect this in a Jewish or Arab country, but not over here. Then again, this country is full of surprises, and I continue to be surprised more and more as I attend every class. The views of the people in this world are ridiculous, and some of us really don’t take the time to sit back and reflect on the endless views of others. Like I have said before, we are all trapped in this bubble, and some of us already have a set view on life. We have our own sense of right and wrong, good and bad, so on and so forth, and for these select Jewish groups, their sense of right is for Jewish women not to date Arabs. I am brown (not specifically Arab). I am offended. Should all Jews offend me? Absolutely not. Like that article you showed in class of the woman responding to the man in the truck, I will not take offense to what is happening. I will respect the values of others, and I will not assume that all people are like the Jews in these groups. I’m not Arab, but I have to stick with my brown (not that all Arabs are necessarily brown) people (immersion baby!). I know plenty of Jews, and they don’t think it’s wrong to date anyone of any other culture, religion, or color. Some people just haven’t been introduced to the real world. Some things are hard to accept, and I can only hope and pray that everyone will become open minded to the idea of interracial relationships and a diverse world.
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I am a Catholic, pretty rigorous at that, and think that homosexualality is not really ok. But, people misconceive how Catholics perceive homoesexuals because of some ridiculous outlandish Catholics. People say that we are gay bashers, homophobic, and everything under the sun that hates on gays. In truth, I, and most of us, condemn the sin not the sinner. We are not homophobes because we are taught by Jesus to accept everyone. A few summers ago I traveled to Germany to attend the world cup. I had to sleep in the same bed as another dude for 2 and a half weeks. did i have a problem with that? no. If i see a gay dude on the street, i’m not going to hate on them or yell at them. To me, they are people walking down the street for the same reason I am walking down the street. I feel frustrated when people are horrible towards gays because they are gay. They are people. I do not agree in any way what they do sexually, who they are attracted to, or what they like or whatever. But, they are people, they have a conscious, they have alife, they have a family, they are like me but have different tastes. This does not give anyone anywhere permission to hate on them. In my rrc group, there was a bisexual dude who told us a story about how he was walking home from a party with another bi dude and got jumped by these frat losers because they were gay and walking home together. I was angry at these people who jumped them, despite the fact that I don’t believe in homosexuality, because there is never a reason to attack someone because of beliefs or skn color or religion or whatever. These kids who jumped them are the real faggots because they are such homophobes and such fuckin losers. Yeah when im sitting in a group of 15 people, and one kid is gay, I might think in my head “haha this kid is gay.” But I will never, ever think that they are less human than I am and attack them because they are of such a sexuality. Just the same as if a black kid or a muslim kid or a kid who has blue skin and rainbow eyes.
My sister is 3 years older than me. She went to Brown University, which everyne knows is a very liberal university. Her roommate freshman year was a lesbian. Did my sister care? No. Did I object to that? No. Did my parents? Yes. They forced my sister to switch rooms but she faked the application process because she really had no problem. Peole have to get in grip with the times, that gays, blacks, whoevers are just as same people as we are.
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I think that it is very unfortunate that the historical tension between Israel and Palestine has carried through the generations. It should not matter what ethnicity or nationality the person you love is. It is also very unfair that Jewish men and Arab women are allowed to be together, but Jewish women and Arab men are not. The idea of having Jewish groups who patrol lover hangouts to see if the two people are of different backgrounds is ridiculous to me. It is none of their business!
I also don’t like the double standard when it comes to men and women. It disgusts me that women are still treated as property in those countries. Women are just objects that men are entitled to have in these countries, and it is not fair that Jewish men do not get punished for mingling with Arab women.
The picture that Sam included in the blog of the Arab and Jewish children playing together warms my heart, because it shows how human beings are born without prejudices. It is very sad to see how our cultures and upbringings can create such extreme differences in perspectives. It would be so interesting to see a similar group try and do the same with cross cultural love affairs in the United States.
I feel like the American society is generally more accepting of interracial couples than in other countries, solely because the United States is more diverse and there are more opportunities for people to mingle with members of another race. It is also a physical representation of how our society is making steps towards the end of racism. It is very interesting to see how interracial couples are inevitable these days, and I look forward to the day when multiracial couples and children become even more common than they are now!
I also think it is unfair that these patrolling groups search areas that are right on the boundaries between Israeli and Arab territories. One of the people in the NPR broadcast says that his heart really hurts whenever he sees Israel and Arab couples. One of the Jewish girls said that she and her friends are harassed by Arab guys at least three times a day and that they probably like Jewish girls because they are less conservative than Arab girls. Jewish adults feel the responsibility to go and “save” the Jewish girls from forming relationships with Arab boys. One Jewish man felt the need to hit an Arab boy in the leg with his car to embarrass the Jewish girl that he was dating. I think it is very sad that these older Jewish people are sickened by these Jewish-Arab relationships and feel obligated to break them up! Love cannot be confined to specific races, and I do not think it is right for anybody to tell them that they cannot love a member of another race or ethnicity.
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I find it interesting that these vigilantes make it their business to only target Jewish women who are dating Arab men but when the Jewish men date the Arab women it is not a problem. This whole monitoring of who dates who is very unfair to me especially the difference in sex issue as well.
I remember growing up hearing stories of how my father and uncles (since there are 6 of them total) would try to dictate who my 2 aunts dated and I always thought that it was just so unfair. I could never really sit right with people trying to force others to life their lives they way that they believed was correct. I just cannot understand how these vigilantes spend their time patrolling for people “doing wrong” in their eyes. I do not think that this is anyone’s place to decide who can and cannot see each other. I also find it incredible how there is a double standard for this dating rule as well. I do not understand how it is fair for the Jewish men to enter a relationship with Arab women and no one seems to have an issue with it. I can’t help but wonder if this is these peoples way of saying that the Arab men are not worthy of their precious Jewish women? And if so what exactly is the dividing line that makes the Arab men so much different than the Arab women that only one group is allowed to date the Jewish people. On the flip side the same question can be applied to the Jewish people as well. What is the dividing line that makes the Jewish women so much different from the Jewish men that they should be ‘only saved for Jewish men to date’. If there is someone that can actually answer this question my next statement would be ‘Who made up these rules? And who made it anyone’s job to go out and enforce these rules?’
I feel that there are so many other crimes going on in this world and I feel that these vigilantes would be the perfect group of people to go and ensure the safety of others rather than try to tell people who they should and should not be dating.
I believe that marriage should be a bond between two people who have strong feelings for each other. I do not personally feel that two people should become a couple just based on the sole fact that they share the same religion. I understand and agree that religion plays a vital role in many people’s relationships but I do not feel that this should play a strong role in who one chooses to mate with.
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Regulating Love
After reading Sam’s post on regulating love, I find myself thinking the same thing I did last week. Last week I wrote a journal entry on the judge denying an interracial couple the right to be married, and I have similar feelings towards this blog. In last weeks journal I wrote how one person shouldn’t have the right over anyone else’s life or decisions. Ultimately, when it comes to an important, life long decision, that decision should be made by the person that has to follow through, unless they are incapable of making that decision. However, this case doesn’t seem to be an isolated decision, but a whole way of life by a culture. Unfortunately, with this case there isn’t any easy remedy, but would take a mass movement to overcome this case. But even then, the problem is rooted deeper. This problem runs further than skin deep. The discrimination in this case is a religious, and not racial issue. The racial discrimination between Jews and Arabs hasn’t just started recently, but has been going on since the two religions were formed, so this is hardly a new problem. Religious wars have been going on for thousands of years, and religious wars are some of the most brutal and intense. With religious disputes, the battle could be within a country, as with India’s early history, or it could be international- such as the Middle East waging war against non-Muslim nations. I feel that ultimately, if the involved couples are old and capable enough, then they should make their own choose. How could their parents or anyone else tell them who they love? Obviously this situation needs fixed, but because the wars have been going on for thousands of years, it might take a century of race and religious relations classes. The only way to fix this problem is by starting slowly. What might seem as very little progress would eventually turn into large scale turnover, it’s similar to moving a very large heavy object: at first you might move it a little, but then you could use the momentum to push it further, and once you gain enough speed it takes very little effort. An example would be the United States. Some people might disagree and say that there is still rapid discrimination, which could be argued, but one can’t deny the fact that we’ve come so far. That’s how this situation should look at it. Slowly but surely the task gets achieved.
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What people seem not to understand now a days is that intertwining races is not only something that is becoming the norm, but on the flipside it is also looked down upon by many people. I can understand there might be tension between Jews and Arabs but love knows no color and knows no race. I can somewhat understand this blog. My parents come from two completely different backgrounds. My mother is from another country, Aruba to be exact which is in the Caribbean. My father is from Brooklyn born and raised with two immigrant parents. When my mother came to this country when she was about 18 years old she told me it was difficult adjusting and getting to meet new people. When she was about 30 she met my father in the workplace. She was a secretary for a law firm and my father was a new fresh out of law school graduate. She and my father were attracted to one another my father being Italian and my mother being West Indian. When my father told his parents that he met someone who he really liked and though about possibly marrying, they were astonished because he told them she was black. As I think about this it registers in my mind how sometimes people look at things differently, like different races being together intimately. My father explained to his parents that if they did not accept my mother she would have nothing to do with them and never speak to them again. It took a while for my grandparents to take in the fact that my father was dating somebody outside his race. My mother being on the other side of this whole thing felt very hurt and unwanted by what my grandparents had told my father. My mother was ready to just up and leave but she told me something kept calling her back. My mother said she did care a lot about my father but the fact that his own parents did not want her dating him because she was a different race was difficult to take in. My father had made it very clear about his love for my mother and my grandparents came to their senses and saw what they were saying was ignorant. They personally apologized to my mother for trying to prevent my father for talking to her. They explained they were from a different era where interracial dating was something that was widely accepted and normal. My whole point behind this story is that race, religion, creed, or ethnicity should not be a barrier when it comes to love. In this day in age people dating outside of their races is common and becoming almost widely accepted.
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This story was very interesting because this is something that Americans do not hear about very often, that being relationships of people in other countries. I find it very upsetting and offensive to women that vigilantes in other countries deem is appropriate to dictate someone else’s love life. It would be one thing, if it was an even one way street that Arabs and Jews were not allowed to date each other at all, even though I still think that is horrible. But it is even worse when people are saying that Arab men should not be with Jewish women, but when a Jewish man wants to date an Arab woman that is completely okay.
I firmly believe that it is an individuals own given right to choose who they want to spend their time life, especially when it comes to the rest of your life. How is it fair that that one person or group of people can tell you who to date or who you can spend the rest of your life with?
In American we do not have that problem as much as some countries do, but you can still see the looks that are given when some interracial couples walk around together or even when a gay couple is together. I feel like America is doing a good job of being just like the vigilantes are towards the Arab men and Jewish women. How is it fair for the government to say that two men or women cannot be together if that is who they really love and want to spend the rest of their life with? Or tell them that they have to go to another state to live with their significant other.
Going back to the interracial couple subject though, I am a product of an interracial couple. If my parents were not allowed to be together then I would never exist. When I think about something like that, it is really eye opening. I talked to my parents about this topic, since my dad is a pilot and been all over the world and seen so many things, and my mom is from Hong Kong. They said that they are so fortunate to be living in a country where not only do they have rights and freedom on all levels, but that they have the opportunity to date, marry, and live with whom they want to. I think it is extremely sad to hear the stories of the of the vigilantes about “saving” the Jewish women from being “doomed.” The only thing that these women need to be saved from are these radical vigilantes who are trying to control and dictate their life.
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It surprises me that there are people in Israel that are regulating the interactions of younger members of their communities in the way that they are in this news report. I guess it is somewhat like that story of the minister who refused to marry an interracial couple. With that being an example, it is difficult to say that nothing like this happens in the United States, because it obviously does. In the US, it may be race that is the deciding factor in who a person will hang out with, whereas in Israel it seems to be that different ethnicities are the deciding factor. If it is Jewish tradition to marry within the Jewish faith, I can understand why people may become upset if marriages between the Jews and Arabs were occurring. But in this case, it is simply Jewish girls hanging out with Arab boys. What is surprising to me so how those who were interviewed on the newscast presented themselves as superior to the Arabs.
The one girl who said that the Arab boys like to hang out with Jewish girls said one thing in particular that really surprised me. She said that the Jewish kids wear normal clothes unlike the Arab girls. This really shocked me because it shows that the Jewish girls are taught that they are the normal ones and that the Arabs are the others. How can people ever get along if they are always being told that they are better than someone else? This makes me think of how if you tell a little kid not to do something, they are absolutely going to do that something. People like to rebel. These girls are taught not to date Arab boys, but then the Arab boys start showing the girls some attention, and the girls decide to rebel against what they are taught and date the boys.
I really can’t believe that there are these vigilantes that will travel to the hang out spots for young couples and try to break up the relationships between the Jewish and Arab children. I wish I knew what they would say to the girls when they arrive. The only thing that the members of these groups said is that they try to talk to the girls so that they now the Arabs are the enemy. Does that mean they insult these boys to their faces when they confront a girl with an Arab boy? If that is the case, I wonder why the Jews and Arabs have so much tension between them…seriously, let me insult you and say how horrible you are, and now I expect you to not retaliate. It seems as those these groups may end up doing more harm and good in the long run.
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As a Hindu girl brought up in a strict Indian family I have always been told that I can marry whomever I want just as long as that person does not follow Islam. A lot of people might be wondering why this is the case. It all started in 1947 when the British partitioned the subcontinent of Indi a into the separate countries of West Pakistan, now the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, India, and West Pakistan which is now Bangladesh. Many Muslims living in the present day country of India were forced to migrate across the borders to East or West Pakistan and many Hindus living in current day Pakistan and Bangladesh had to migrate across the borders to present day India. It is notable one of the greatest migrations in the history. During this time there were many riots that broke out in the cities between Hindus and Muslims. Hindus massacred Muslims and Muslims massacred Hindus. East and West Pakistan were supposed to be predominantly Muslim thus many people were forced out of their homeland to move to another country. This is exactly what happened to my family. My grandfather was a very well known lawyer in the city of Dhaka in current day Bangladesh and when he had to move to India, he lost everything which threw him into complete depression which he eventually died of. For some reason my family thinks that Muslims are to blame for this. But I have no idea why! Both Muslims AND Hindus were uprooted during the 1947 Indian Partition. It isn’t just one side who is to blame. It really is just one group of people from both sides of the battle. Any ways for this reason I would never be allowed to marry someone who is Muslim. But this summer my cousin decided she wanted to marry her college sweetheart and he happened to be…Muslim. She told her parents that she wouldn’t marry anyone else if she didn’t marry him so they gave in. Her parents were so disappointed and on top of that, so was my own father. He just didn’t understand how she could disrespect her parents like that after everything that they have done for her. From this I learned that I would never do anything like that to my parents. But what if, by chance I met and fell in love with someone not knowing anything about their religious background and he turned out to be Muslim. Would I just give it up for my parents? But then again my parents who have done everything for me? I know many other girls and boys like myself who are in a similar situation. One of my best friends who is Muslim actually is currently dating someone who is Hindu. She sees the relationship getting serious but she knows that her parents would never approve. I ask her why she’s putting herself in this position but sometimes you just have to live in the moment and take it day by day. Something to think about.
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The picture of Jewish and Arab children playing together is a reminder that most often the most innocent people affected by racism are children. At a young age, they do not realize that playing with children of other races is considered wrong by some people. It is sad to see how quickly children stop playing with other kids of different races just because their parents let their own racist views interfere. With that being sad, I think it is terribly sad that young Jewish men are patrolling Israel looking for Arab men that are dating Jewish women. It is especially troubling when I heard the Jewish man from the NPR clip say that he was hurt when he saw a Jewish woman dating an Arab man. I realize that major contributors to the Jewish man’s views are based upon cultural views and it is often something that they have grown up believing. However, it is sad to see this occurring because that Arab man could be identical to any other person, but the one main factor that makes him evil is that he is an Arab and not Jewish. In addition, I find it interesting that the Jewish men claim that the Arab men lure Jewish women away with kindness, money, and gifts. When looking at any relationship, I would like to believe that if a man is acting kindly to a woman and providing her with luxuries to show his affection, any woman would become fond of the man even if he was Jewish. However, the one main focus for the Jewish men is that if it is an Arab man doing these things, than he is simply taking advantage of Jewish women and he is evil.
Love is something that no one can control. It happens at random times and often it can happen between two people that are not meant to be together due to their own cultural beliefs. Even though people may believe that two people should not be together, it really is not up to them. The only thing that matters is if those two people truly do love each other and as far as anyone else is concerned, that is all that should matter.
It is easy for me to sit back and ramble off my beliefs, but the key point is that I will never be able to grasp this story because it is not my culture. My cultural beliefs are completely different from those of Jewish and Arab people of Israel. They each have their own cultural beliefs and practices and they are difficult for me to understand because I am not a part of either of those cultures. If I had grown up in those cultures, it may even be plausible that I would even share their same beliefs. However, I grew up with a completely different culture and so my views are views that most likely do not fit any of the beliefs or views of Jewish or Arab people of Israel.
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As I began to read this article, I realized how much I could actually relate. It makes me uncomfortable to actually say that, but it really does hit home. I am a Jewish girl who lives in Long Island. I personally believe that if you find love, it should not matter what religion that person is. With that being said, the Jewish population in and around my area (especially my grandparents) believes that when a Jewish person marries, they should marry within their religion. I couldn’t disagree more. Why should you force love with someone just to make people happy? Regardless of how many times I’ve heard people jokingly see, “marry Jewish or you wont get the matzo ball soup recipe” I think it is easier to just say ‘OK” rather than to argue. I think people like my grandparents are so stuck in the old ways of life they do not even care about the changing times. Although they are elders, I think it is highly naive for them to believe that their words will stop the many Jewish teenagers from dating whomever they please.
In regards to the article I feel it very much relates to people in America. Why should Jewish women be unable to date Arabs? This idea is altogether ridiculous but in no doubt does occur. How can dating an Arab be “dangerous?” The fact of the matter is, dating outside of your own religion can only be exciting and a learning situation. You can learn the customs and beliefs of other religions and in time you will find that there are in fact many similarities between the two. The ways in which the Israelis are trying to promote this issue is by teaching and preaching. For me anyways when you tell me I cant do something, gives me more of a reason to defy your words. I highly doubt that a large number of Israeli girls will listen to a pamphlet in which it tells them not to date Arab men. I feel that if people tried to accept issues like these we can move past a large issue of ignorance and racism.
In conclusion, for me at least I feel that if there is love nothing else should matter. Have the freedom to love whomever you please should be an absolute right for all. I think the real issues are the people, like the older generations, who are afraid to accept the new ways of life. I mean this makes me think that woman have taken a step back in society. Are they insisting that Jewish women are incapable of choosing their own partners? Regardless of their reasoning’s it’s absolutely out of control. But unfortunately with the thriving hate between the races that still does, (although many will not agree) exist today, issues like these will promote prejudice all over the world.
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The young are accidentally the ones at the forward and pushing the edge of the social norms. So strange… patrolling for the girls who are being “rebellious” and being flirtatious with other men. “Not with our enemies.” “Rescuing”. Oh wow. How on earth is that rescuing? To define one’s placement in the kingdom according to whether they live in one group or another. To define one’s placement in the kingdom as to who they happen to be with at the time and who they want to spend time with. This seriously sounds like it is coming out of a Shakespeare play. In a way, I get that they want their daughters to remain with the cultural faith and grow up and marry and raise children in that belief. To be with a muslim man would be horrific. Seen from that perspective, perhaps it is more understandable. But it still seems quite mad for these grown men to be so obsessed with what other people’s daughters are doing that they chase them around in the night to scare them into obedience. I if I know anything about teenagers, which I should since I’ve spent the past ten years or so being one, that is not going to solve anyone’s problem but rather encourage it beyond control. Some girls might physically and verbally submit to this control. Inside though, the rebellion will be planted and will grow with every ridiculous move. Let there be conversations! Let it not be so banned that it is the irresistable lure! Sheesh. I wouldn’t want my daughters running around at night with men I didn’t know. I don’t think it is the business of my fantatic and paranoid neighbor to go get her! Boys and girls will talk. Other things will also happen which I’m not so okay with… but this is just silly. Ah, the mother in me is coming out and I am starting to side with the parents and the community. But it is not the end of the world. They may see it so in some contexts but it really isn’t. There is definitely deep seated racial hatred here, going back farther than tensions with blacks and whites in this country. The young are pushing this, questioning its validity. The world wants peace for that nation. And these young ones, women and men my own age, could be part of bringing this about as the mindsets shift and question all the assumptions held by their parents. Where does the thread end? The holes we poke will be places our children try to drive mac trucks through. The allowances must be thought out. But caring for eachothers neighbors surely gets us nowhere if it is fought back with fear and emnity! Let them be neighbors and not be so silly about dating.
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This is almost laughable. It is none of these vigilantes’ business. Who are you to decide what is best; what is and is not acceptable behavior? Get a life. I do not understand why this man cares about who a teenage girl does and does not date. I am just trying to picture how the scene would actually play out. A young girl innocently meeting up with her friends is stopped by a man trying to “save” her? This is ridiculous. This should be illegal. Medaling in other people’s business for no reason? Chasing them down the street? Come on. There should not be a complaint filed against the Arab man who accidentally hit the vigilante, there should be a complaint filed against the vigilante for stalking these people and potentially endangering their lives.
It is also a great problem that Jewish girls dating Arab men need to be saved, but Jewish men dating Arab girls is ok because men just need to get laid. So is that to say, who cares about Arab girls anyway? They are not of anyone’s concern. This is hypocrisy at its best. Men always “get away” with so much more than women. Men are held to a completely different standard all over the world. What is the problem with having a vagina? Why does that somehow make us less worthy of equality?
Perhaps these men should do something more productive with their time. Sex trafficking is a problem within their country, I’m sure. These are girls that actually need help and where an intervention would be very appropriate. Instead of fiercely trying to cripple their country, help it progress. Try to help make changes where changes need to be made.
With the time these men donate to “saving” Jewish girls, they could get a second job and donate the money to the poor people within their country. There you go. Now you are making a difference.
If I were one of these girls or one of these Arab men, I would be absolutely furious. These people are just so ignorant. Is there any sort of outcry about this issue?
This could be a sign of change to come, however. If these young girls see Arabs as people as opposed to “the enemy,” hopefully they will grow up and maintain those beliefs. In turn, the view of Arabs will change and perhaps generate a more peaceful and tolerant country. Hopefully, when this girl is a woman, she will take this experience and educate the people around her as to how violated she felt and how wrong it was. It seems that this country is just a bit behind the times. Hopefully things will change in the years to come.
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First of all, I want to say that it would be a lot better if there are some background explanations for certain phenomena. I do not know how many people know the exact relationship between Jews and Arabs. I know that this class is sociology class, especially focuses on race relationships, but there may be some people who are as ignorant as I am, and do not know what is going on between those two ethnic groups. I quickly looked up google for the relationship between the two. I already knew that they hate each other because of some territory issues and all other historical aspects, but I actually did not know anything about their relationship. It may easily come to Arabs and Jews, as the complex relationship between Korea and China easily come to me because of my nationality. Anyway, I found that this dating relationship between Jewish girl and Arab boy is very similar to that of Korean girl and Chinese boy. We, as Koreans, somehow simply view that any relationship between Korean and non-Korean are impure, or bad. Furthermore, I would say none of typical Korean would see the relationship between Korean girl and Chinese boy is okay. A relationship between Korean boy and Chinese girl would be little bit more accepted in general, though I have never seen any of these relationships in my life. I understand that because people see the guys should be responsible for economical matters and that is the traditional thought. Guys should have more money than girls do because the guys are the ones who supposed to feed the family, including his wife. In general, Korean people are wealthier than Chinese and people maybe unconsciously think that poor Chinese guys try to gain some financial support from rich Korean girl because girls are more moody and easily swayed by certain romantic languages or actions. Nobody sees the relationship between a wealthy, yet innocent Korean girl and a poor, but sneaky Chinese guy in a good way. I do not say this is always true and the case, but I can say that most people would consider those type of relationship in that way. It is quite interesting that wealth guys can take poor girls because the guys have money. I would say there would be certain sexism going on in these types of relationships. Guys should be taking responsibilities for girls, and therefore, guys should always be richer than girls in normal relationships. Then, we know the word, polygamy. Polygamy had practiced in Asian countries in the form that rich and powerful guys take many wives, but no woman had ever taken this form. Even though I am from Asian background, I can definitely see the relationship and consideration of those Jewish and Arab people. It was interesting for me to know that there are similar relationships and thoughts on the other side of the world.
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I think that this whole situation is ridiculous. How can you stop people from dating by stalking out popular teenage hangout spots and having a stranger try and stop a girl from getting into a car. If a strange man came up to me and tried to convince me that I shouldn’t be with my boyfriend I would probably be terrified and more inclined to leave with my boyfriend instead of talking to him. How is it legal that this guy can stalk around a parking lot and try to talk to teenagers about their sex lives? It is beyond creepy and pedophilic. How can you expect Arabs to live in Israel and Israelis to live in Palestine and to continue having them be enemies? Knowledge promotes tolerance and it is hard to continue to hate someone when you get to know them as individuals. I think that these men are looking at this situation all wrong. Instead of Israeli women and Arab men being together being looked at as a bad thing everyone should take this opportunity to embrace each other’s cultures and learn to work together. If we start to see our enemies as friends, lovers, and family we can start to bring down our guards and begin to work towards peace.
If history has taught us anything it is that love conquers all. You can try to stop it and you can ban it all you want but people are going to love who they love and there is no one that can truly stop it. People in history have tried and perhaps still trying to stop interracial love, same-sex love, and now we are trying to stop love based on who our country is fighting. All these vigilantes are only displaying their own ignorance and hatred. There are always going to be people who are so unhappy in their own lives that they have to throw themselves into weird problems. If these men were actually happy with their lives then they would be so enraptured in that they wouldn’t have time for this obsessive behavior about other’s relationships.
Just as a side note I think it is hysterical that the guy “David” who was hit by the car while trying to stop a girl from being with a guy is suing that guy. He says that he is doing it so that the girl will be so embarrassed that she will ditch the guy. The crazy things that he is telling himself are true are just purely ridiculous but what can you expect from a creeper that hangs out around parking lots looking for teenagers. I guess every culture and country have their crazies, even here at Penn State we have a guy who calls us all sinners and tells us we are going to hell. He is just as productive as this “vigilante” is.
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The blog entries in this class never cease to boggle my mind, and this account of the vigilante group attempting to save Jewish girls who are dating Arab men is no exception. The idea seems so absurd to me, that these men expect Jews and Arabs to live in such close proximity to one another, but not to form the kind of attachments and relationships when hormonal youths are in contact with each other. And why do the actions and habits of teenage girls concern men in their 30’s; that seems a little creepy to me. The men in this vigilante group talk about the “epidemic” of Jewish girls dating Arab men, like it is some sort of deadly disease that will wipe out the world population if something is not done about it. The one man says “the girls just blindly follow them. And with time, one friend follows another, and soon enough, you have a commune made up of these kinds of girls.” These men obviously don’t have any respect for or faith in the judgment of “their women.” Maybe that’s why these girls are drawn to the bad Arab men, because the Jewish men think they are weak and stupid and unable to decide things for themselves.
I don’t understand why people care so much about stuff that doesn’t affect them. Who cares if a Jew wants to date and Arab? Or if a black person wants to date a white person? Or if a man wants to date another man? If two people are happy together and can get past the fact that they have two very different belief systems, cultures or whatever obstacles they may face, then why should it matter to anyone else? These men say that Jews and Arabs dating is a huge step backwards, but I think it’s a huge step forward. It seems to me that none of the Jewish girls like the men in this group and they are upset that their supply of potential girlfriends and wives is shrinking because these girls are stepping outside of the bounds of their society. Maybe if they weren’t such close-minded fools they would have better things to do at night then attempt to break up couples. But maybe it’s better if these men don’t procreate; we don’t need more people to “save” girls who find love outside their own race or culture.
There are so many things wrong with this report. These sexist men don’t believe that the young women can handle their own business, and will get into Lord knows what kind of trouble if they do not date sensible Jewish men. Love is supposed to be a beautiful thing and these men have made it out to be something dirty and wrong. Being a teenage girl is hard enough, why must these jerks make it harder?
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The news report about Jewish organizations patrolling the streets to break up romances between Jewish girls and Arab men is so surprising, especially given the cultural and historical context of both groups. It is always in the news about attempts to create a peace settlement between Israel and Palestine, and how to get both groups to live together around Jerusalem. Also in an environment where the two groups live side by side in many areas and encounter each other on a daily basis. It seems natural that there would be relationships between Jews and Arabs, given their continual close proximity to each other, and what seems to be a mutual desire for peaceful co-existence by the majority of each population.
There’s no reason two people should not be allowed to date simply because of one’s religion and another’s ethnicity. As was mentioned in the radio program, the Arab men approach girls nicely, buy her nice things, and build trust with her. From an American perspective, we can’t see a problem with a man treating a girl nicely and having a relationship build from that. So I personally can’t understand why these organizations are protesting them aside from the historical and religious conflicts between the two groups. You can’t expect to move forward and establish peaceful relations with this kind of backward thinking. I could understand such actions if it was an issue of Arab men abusing, taking advantage of, or manipulating Jewish girls into bad situations, but there is no evidence in the program to suggest anything like that.
I also have to find the irony in these Jewish organizations trying to put an end to these relationships. While they probably are not the only ones who are uncomfortable with the situation, they do choose to try and keep the two groups from developing relationships with each other. And yet Jews were the once the target of the worst genocide in history, all because of their religion. Many of them migrated to Israel in the hopes of finding acceptance amongst a community they could build there in the religious homeland. But these groups now deny acceptance to mixed-culture relationships and are trying to break them up. There is an enormous amount of hypocrisy in that, which stands out to me almost more than the absurdity of trying to stop fate. If two people are going to be together and feel they are right for each other, they will end up together.
Despite seeming absurd, it is clear that these organizations are the minority and that most Jews do not care about the ethnicity or religion of the other person. There are similar groups in America, although we generally think of them as being fanatical. They try to discourage interracial, cross-cultural, or mixed-religion relationships. However they hit the barrier of accessing these couples since they are spread over a much larger area and are not always noticeable. The fact that they are not alone however does not make either groups actions less bizarre or unacceptable in such a modern, globalized community.
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