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Teaching Hebrew at Bangkok Airport

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In “Sallah Shabati,” one of Israel’s most famous films, Sallah Shabati, a new immigrant from Yemen forced to live in a government settlement camp, takes his son aside and reassures him: “now we’re on the bottom of the ladder. But just wait – once we’re real Israelis, we’ll make the other newcomers suffer!”

It’s a funny line in the film, but it’s sad that instead of thinking, “once I’m a comfortable member of Israeli society, I’ll help other newcomers,” Sallah Shabati has the more typical attitude of, “once I move up, I’ll be able to make someone else suffer!”


And it’s no mistake that in Hebrew, the word for tolerance – sovlanut – takes its root from the word for suffering – seivel. Tolerance, if you can have any at all, is something that makes you suffer. The otherness of another person – that’s what’s so painful, and that’s what makes tolerance such a tall order.

I was thinking about all these things last Wednesday, as I waited in the Bangkok airport for my flight back to Israel. I noticed a group of Thai men and women who were on the same flight, about to start new lives as migrant workers in Israel. None of them had any luggage, not one had a watch; they were dressed in their best possible clothes – it was clear they owned little else in the world.

I approached them, speaking in English. But these were not people from Bangkok or other large cities in Thailand; they had little English, and of course, no Hebrew. They taught me the Thai words for “rain” and “left hand, right hand.” I tried to teach them some vocabulary that would come in handy at Ben-Gurion airport and afterward – how to say, “I need food, I need water,” and “that’s enough!”

It’s clear that Israel needs a strong immigration policy, but it’s also clear that we all could use a lesson in tolerance every now and then, especially since the newcomers, the strangers among us, contribute so much. In Judaism, we are commanded to welcome the stranger: “you shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:20). The stranger, the migrant worker, if you will, has come to Israel to find work and support his family.

Although many of you may remember when Israeli agriculture was run completely by kibbutzniks and international volunteers, Israel’s agricultural economy is now primarily supported by migrant workers. Our agriculture, of which we are all so proud, would be decimated were it not for Thai workers like the friends I made at the Bangkok airport. The men and women who will grow all our fruits and vegetables – we should welcome them with open arms, instead of seeing them as something to be grudgingly tolerated, suffered.

We at IRAC support the children and families of migrant workers through Keren B’Kavod, our humanitarian aid project. We distribute food packages and develop cultural and educational activities for children, regardless of religion, race, or nationality. But our interest goes beyond just providing material assistance. Everyone at IRAC is proud that our associate director, Reut Michaeli, is soon to become the director of the Hotline for Migrant Workers, an organization dedicated to the rights of migrant workers and refugees in Israel.

At IRAC, we also specialize in leadership development. We train some of the top leaders of Israeli civil society. Next time I’m at the Bangkok airport, I’ll be able to finish my Hebrew lesson with the gift of Reut’s business card.

P.S. IRAC’s offices have never been cleaner. We’re getting read for our Hanukat Bayit (housewarming party) this Wednesday, June 30th, at 5 p.m (Click here to view the invitation). We’re hanging pictures, placing flowers in strategic places…getting ready to welcome all of you to our new offices and celebrate the new location of one of Israel’s leading civil rights organizations – IRAC. Click here to read our press release.

The post Teaching Hebrew at Bangkok Airport appeared first on Fresh Updates from RAC.


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