The first time I met a Jew

[King_David]

When you live under Arab autocracy, having Jewish friends isn’t exactly an option.

Until recently, I had never met, spoken to, or interacted with, a Jew.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read my fair share of Einstein, Freud, and Marx — but that has only allowed me to delve into the brilliance that Jewry has contributed to the world, and nothing more. I can’t play a game of football with Freud, nor can I exchange anecdotes with Marx. I knew what a masterful Jewish genius was like, but I was yet to meet an ordinary, everyday, Jewish person.

Having grown up in nations that publicly denounce Israel and uphold anti-Semitic organisations, propaganda here dictated that Jews were – at the least — stingy, greedy and insensitive, and — at the most — genocidal, cruel and abnormal. I was raised in an environment where the skullcap was seen as revolting, and the fine line between Jews and Israelis was getting fuzzier by the day. Israelis were banned from setting foot in the country, and Jews that did found themselves harassed.

For the longest time, I began to accept the seemingly axiomatic fact that I might never meet a Jew in this life.

My time at the Yale Young Global Scholars Program changed that.

http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-first-time-i-met-a-jew/

[MosheFeingold]

1. His other posts are interesting, as well

For whatever reason, it reminded me of when I went to law school. We were assigned seats so the prof. could call on us (the joys of the Socratic method). Anyway, I set next to a very smart guy from some goofy town in New Mexico, who ended up being my study partner.

Some time later, he confessed I was the first Jew he had ever met.

Same thing happened in the Army (less so) and when I was a policeman (more so).