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A few weeks ago, a senior Greek Orthodox clergyman in Israel attended a meeting at a government office in Jerusalem's Givat Shaul quarter. When he returned to his car, an elderly man wearing a skullcap came and knocked on the window. When the clergyman let the window down, the passerby spat in his face. http://wa-ne1.www.haaretz.com/hasen/images/0.gif (broken link)
The clergyman prefered not to lodge a complaint with the police and told an acquaintance that he was used to being spat at by Jews. Many Jerusalem clergy have been subjected to abuse of this kind.
I can't say I blame them. When Jews spit on me, it's ALWAYS upsetting....and I'm not usually cranky. I'm not a big fan of Christians or Muslims spitting on me, either. It's rude, annoying, and unsanitary. The clergyman has my sympathy.
Guess what? I'm a Jew, and the people in those neighborhoods spat at us when we passed through... please specify that you're talking about UBER RELIGIOUS (Chasidic/Lubavitcher/Haredi) Jews, which is hardly the norm in Israel. Despite what some people think, many - possibly most - Israeli Jews are fairly liberal, even bordering on secular. Anyway, what was the point of this thread? Are you implying this is a regular occurrence, or just trolling for a fight??
P.S. They didn't spit on our actual person, but towards us, which is a common practice in these Haredi/Chasidic neighborhoods... it's how they express their dislike of outsiders, no matter what religion or ethnicity they are.
Guess what? I'm a Jew, and the people in those neighborhoods spat at us when we passed through... please specify that you're talking about UBER RELIGIOUS (Chasidic/Lubavitcher) Jews, which is hardly the norm in Israel. Despite what some people think, many - possibly most - Israeli Jews are fairly liberal, even bordering on secular. Anyway, what was the point of this thread? Are you implying this is a regular occurrence, or just trolling for a fight??
Are they mostly liberal in Israel? I was under the impression the right wing won the recent election?
Some information on that neighborhood and the Haredi sect...
"The population consists of a mix of Haredi and Religious Zionist Jews. The northernmost part of the neighborhood, directly above Highway 1, is an overwhelmingly Haredi neighborhood, while the residents of the residents of the southern part, bordering Kiryat Moshe, are overwhelmingly Modern Orthodox - synonym for Religious Zionist."
"Haredi or Chareidi[1] Judaism is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi (Haredim in the plural).
Haredi (חֲרֵדִי) is derived from charada, meaning fear or anxiety, which in this context is interpreted as "one who trembles in awe of God" (cf. Isaiah 66:2, Isaiah 66:5).[2]
Haredi Jews, like other Orthodox Jews, consider their belief system and religious practices to extend in an unbroken chain back to Moses and the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. As a result, they regard non-Haredi streams of Judaism to be unjustifiable deviations from authentic Judaism.[3] Most Haredi Jews consider the term Ultra-Orthodox a pejorative label, although the term is used widely in secular academic and secular news sources. "
There are radical Jews, just like there are radical Christians. Jews, however, have some singularly different dilemma's to deal with that other Christians in this nation need not worry about. Any ultra-orthodox or conservative religion will have people like these in their ranks. We have seen religion cause their believers to do far more serious things than just spitting on people.
Are they mostly liberal in Israel? I was under the impression the right wing won the recent election?
I wasn't talking about political beliefs, I was referring to religious beliefs... many many Israeli Jews are Reform or secular, and "Conservative" is also a sect of Judaism (one step above Reform on the level of observance). Politics are a totally different subject, and one in which I'm not as well-informed.
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Seems like Israel has more than a few jerks?
Doesn't every country? To be perfectly honest, though, Israelis are known for being rude - kinda the French people of the Middle-East, LOL. One of the first words I learned there was "Slicha" which means "Excuse me," because I was constantly being bumped into on the street! And it wasn't because there was no room, it was because they didn't bother to move out of my way. Guess I can't really blame them, considering the constant stress they're under in that country.
Guess what? I'm a Jew, and the people in those neighborhoods spat at us when we passed through... please specify that you're talking about UBER RELIGIOUS (Chasidic/Lubavitcher) Jews, which is hardly the norm in Israel. Despite what some people think, many - possibly most - Israeli Jews are fairly liberal, even bordering on secular. Anyway, what was the point of this thread? Are you implying this is a regular occurrence, or just trolling for a fight??
Did you happen to read the intersting book "Postville" (as in Iowa). ?Interesting study written by a liberal American Jew on how the "Lubavitchers" of Brooklyn moved into 'small town Iowa' and opened up a defunct packing plant, turning it into what was at the time, the largest "kosher" operation in the US.
Intersting story of the rather conservative 'insular' locals coming up suddenly against the rather "abrasive" newcomers. LOTS of 'misunderstandings', for sure.
Postville more recently is in the news over some sort of "illegal immigrant employment" controversy, though I haven't kept up with it.
Your "Lubavitcher" quote rang a bell with me.
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To be perfectly honest, though, Israelis are known for being rude - kinda the French people of the Middle-East, LOL. One of the first words I learned there was "Slicha" which means "Excuse me," because I was constantly being bumped into on the street! And it wasn't because there was no room, it was because they didn't bother to move out of my way. 
Guess I can't really blame them, considering the constant stress they're under in that country.