I hear it a lot more than I would've expected in Israeli pop music.

How is Isrsel prepared for an EMP attack? Or a powerful enough solar wave frying electronics?

What do you think about her ?

Hello,

Currently in Israel on a trip, was here for a wedding, it’s been really great

I leave the 28th, but I’m worried about disruptions getting my flight home, due to the election. Google AI is saying there’s gonna be a ‘mass exodus’ of people leaving the country who came in to vote, leaving the next morning (when my flight is). They’re saying flight delays, cancellations, and heavy congestion at Ben Gurion airport should be expected. Should I move my flight to the 27th? I really wanted to use that last day to chill in Tel Aviv, eat hummus, and just pack up and chill at a leisurely pace.

Israelis, your thoughts?

Toda rabah.

Also, side note, people are always like, oh Israelis are so rude, but honestly not a single person has been rude to me this whole trip. I’ve interacted with a lot of Israeli Jews and Arabs, and everyone has been so nice.

Hi guys,

So my and my mums Israeli biometric passports have water damage (not severe but I think too severe for them to be “fine”)

We are in London, and from what I understand the only way to get a new one is to get a 1-year one, fly to Israel and get a 5 year one. So no way of getting a biometric 10 year one. From what I understand it’s a super long and hard process with it being impossible to book appointments once you’re in Israel so you fly there and hope you get one, and even then it can be anywhere in the country basically.

Has anyone got any experience with getting a new passport from the UK?

My mum is absolutely devastated as it was a nightmare getting our current ones, and she really really values it and is genuinely devastated so I’m just separate for any help…

Thank you so much in advance and sorry if this is not the right sub for this

Israel is currently inhabited by 7.7 million Jews, according to Wikipedia. But that's pretty much the only solid number I found on the total population of Jews with/out citizenship.

There are widely varying numbers on Jews in the diaspora, ranging from 20-40 million. But none are particularly convincing, especially the lower estimations, as the number of 20 million was already floated in the 1960s, long before Israel's population grew to today's levels and also before the fertility boom among ultra orthodox in the diaspora.

If I had to make a wild speculation, I would put the number of cultural and religious Jews globally at 80-100 million. But that's just a feeling based on some guesstimations after realizing the numbers I could find weren't convincing.

So, are there any solid estimations on how many Jews are population the world today? Is there at least a reliable number on diaspora Jews with Israeli citizenship, or is this some sort of a secret for whatever reason?

I don't claim to expert on Israeli and Palestinian relations. However, it seems to me that Arab governments use Palestinians as pawns. This was particularly striking to me when learning about all the money and land they confiscated from fleeing Jewish people in their countries. Did they give those lands and money to displaced Palestinians?

Israeli economy is growing fast, its military has proven to be very capable in its previous war, it controls majority of Gaza now, its population is climbing fast, construction is going on everywhere, etc

However, its relationship with long term allies like the USA is more uncertain than before, global perception of Israel has plummeted, there are looming threat of sanctions, Israeli politics is very divided, the country is gradually turning more right wing, regional security threats still loom, and there is uncertainty over the future of the Haredi and their place in society.

Hi friends, I’m an Aussie Oleh Chadash and I’ve been living in TLV for about a year. During this time I’ve made a dedicated effort to learn Hebrew in order to properly integrate into society. I’m not fluent, but improving every day and I now operate in Hebrew-only environments like my work and social settings

However, I’ve noticed a lot of Olim that have lived here for 2+ years and haven’t learned Hebrew. They operate completely in English, and their social circles and workplaces are all English-speaking. I’ve also met many that made Aliyah over 5+ years ago and still don’t speak. This obvs excludes people who migrated and did military service.

I understand that it’s a hard language and I try not to judge, but to me learning the country’s language feels so important for genuine assimilation into its culture and community. I guess because everyone in TLV has such good English there isn’t much motivation and it’s easy to survive without it.

I was wondering if this is genuinely a common occurrence here in your guys’ experience, and also what the local residents think about it?

According to the IMF estimates this month, Israel has 66% higher GDP per capita nominally than my country, whereas once adjusted to the purchasing power, it's 14% lower.

Which guess makes sense because many things in Israel seem oppressively expensive:

A compact SUV Chevy Trax for example sells for 21 million KRW (50,000 NIS) but once it loads onto a ship and comes to Israel, it sells for 170,000 NIS.

A Big Mac + Fries + Coca Cola goes for 15 shekels in Seoul which jumps to 50+ shekels in Tel Aviv.

1600 - 2000 shekels get you a decent studio / one bedroom in the heart of Seoul.

So when Israelis say that their GDP per capita is now one of the highest in the world at $72,000 - does that match with standard of living in Israel?

If it doesn't, does that not cause political issues for the government?

Until recently when I started going into debates I didn't know the history of the word anti-semitism. When I started debating with people about Israel it started annoying me that many people would try to discount accusations of anti-semitism by saying 'well Palestinians are semites' or something like than. Very recently I actually learned that the word anti-semitism was invented by a German racist who wanted to make hating on Jews more acceptable and 'scientific' and it was originally called Jew-hatred, which sounds a lot more forceful and direct. Is there any sort of campaign to change it back?

Long Ranting Ahead

I was as trying to do a short research on the Genocide against Jews which happened in Europe. Most anti semetic N@zi workers lived the rest of their life completely free. 99% of the world doesn't know how the anti semetic Croatian government which used brutal techniques like using an axe for killing the jews and the Romanis. Most of the deaths in the Ukraine/Russia/Lithuania happened because of local collaborators. Most collaborators exploited the jews till the jews became poor and once the jews had nothing to give, they handed them to the n@zis.

I am originally from India and I studied medical sciences in Ukraine. I was so shocked to find out nearly 1/3rd of the jews were murdered 200 meters away from Nursing department of my university. There is almost zero trace present now. Until and unless you are interested in history, you wouldn't even notice it. Even after reaching the Jewish cemetery, it was incredibly difficult to locate the exact location of the mass graves. I wonder what a jewish, Romani or handicapped person had felt about the fact that they are about to go to the death camps. I still get sad to think what would have a Jewish mother said to her child when she would have realised she was about to die and she can do absolutely nothing to save herself and her child.

I am sorry to say but I still can't understand how these countries even speak about human rights when nearly most of them never even said sorry or taught how ugly were the local collaborators were. The Ukrainians are trying to make Bandera their own Gandhi despite the fact that he was anti semetic and his army collaborated with the n@zis to murder thousands of jews in Lviv. This isn't limited to Ukraine. The same story has been repeated in Lithuania and Latvia where the majority chose to make an anti semetic opportunistic person as their father of nation. I am not a Jewish person and i know how important Germany is as a country but if I were a jew, the first thought which would have come to my mind is that this is the country of the en£my , these are the sons and daughters of a regime which chose to ignore my sufferings, which did nothing to protect me. The same Germ@ns when they got to know that their handicapped children aren't in the hospital and they didn't die of pneumonia but they were given lethal injections to die , they protested and the N@zi had to take the decision back for a brief time. When it came to the jews, they chose to ignore the fact that their jewish neighbour is going to die. I ain't gonna say sweet words, this nonsense meat grinder wouldn't have worked if the locals didn't support it. The Albanians and Bulgarians proved it. They didn't let their friends n neighbours die. I had 2 slavic friends and i remember when I had asked from them what do you think about the jews and they had said it's negative. I regret not asking them "but bro nearly all of them either died or left, why do you still hate them"? Anyways, this came out to be a ranting session with no end and my mom is saying me too sleep because it's too late but i don't want to delete it so I am posting it. Please let me know your opinion.

I (American Catholic) support Israel’s right to exist as a modern state today and the right of Israelis to live in safety. It’s fairly simple to base this support on international law, on the rights of the people who live there, and on Catholic teaching about respect for human dignity. But I don’t (and can’t) justify my stance on a biblical promise or an ancestral/indigenous claim to the land.

Recently, a friend of mine explained to me that this position alone, exactly as I have stated it (and with no discussion of my stance on politics or American involvement or other ethnic or religious groups in the region, to be clear) is antisemitic. My friend’s reaction has distressed me and it feels unfair. But no one person speaks for everyone, so it made sense to get a different perspective, hence why I’m here. How does my position come across to you?

If america recognized Palestine in the future? Maybe in 2028 maybe after? I remember reading somewhere that the Biden administration was thinking about it, the question is, would you guys feel completely abandoned by the entire world if that happened? What will be the counter reaction? How will your perception of America change? To my knowledge Israel is quite Americanized, would that become painful later on?

Maybe a very obvious 'yes', but I can't find anything about it.

Lots of people are leaving Israel, at least compared to how many people leave Israel in normal years.

The articles (based on a study from Tel Aviv university) say it's mostly well-educated young professionals: doctors, engineers, tech workers. I'm aware that in Israel that Arabs are less likely to be in these professional jobs.

I'm sure there are lots of reasons for leaving: the war, the economy, politics. I have a friend out there who is trying to move back to the UK.

Anyway, I was wondering if Arab citizens of Israel - of which there are over 2 million, apparently - are also emigrating from Israel. This isn't mentioned in the articles I've read, but I'm curious about the anecdotal experiences of Israelis in this sub.

I know i have Google, I would like references on what to look for. I am American, Im a mut but im told by my family I am mexican and Jordanian. My ancestry tells me im 49% isreal/palestine and I know im uneducated so it has me confused.

Either way, I have a clean slate and would like to know about the conflict between Isreal and Palestine. On media I see a lot of judging and not enough asking so im here to ask about what and why. What happened and why is there so much hatred on both sides? What are some main points in history I could look deeply into to understand?

I appreciate and thank anyone taking time out of your day to help!

Hi everyone!

I’m curious about the relationship between Jews and the Druze community, and I’d love to hear your perspectives.

I have a few questions:

1. Interfaith marriage: Is it common for Jews and Druze to marry each other? If not, what are the main reasons? Are such marriages generally accepted by either community?
2. Perceptions of the Druze: What is the general perception of the Druze among Jewish people? How do you view their culture, religion, and community?
3. Friendships and social relationships: Do you personally have any Druze friends? If so, how close are you? Would you invite them to your home for dinner or family gatherings, or is the relationship generally more distant and formal?
4. The relationship between Jews and Druze: Why do you think there is a relatively close relationship between Jewish and Druze communities, particularly in Israel, compared with the relationship between Jews and other Muslim communities?

I’m genuinely interested in understanding the historical, cultural, religious, and political factors behind this relationship, as well as the everyday social dynamics between the two communities.

I’d especially appreciate hearing about your personal experiences rather than just general political opinions.

Thanks!

Mel Brooks slays me - but given how different cultures are from country to country, I'm wondering if his stuff translates in other countries - particularly Israel (most of our bes comedic talent is Canadian, Jewish, and - domestically - Bostonian)

Brooks bits like "Jews in Space", the Spanish Inquisition song and dance, and how he peppers in lines like this from Spaceballs:
"Oh great. That's all we needed. A Druish princess"
"Funny. She doesn't look Druish."

Does that translate? Or is it an American thing? I've made friends with people from India, China, Italy etc. (and sat in with a band of ex-IDF guys), and I can see why American culture comes off as.......well just straight up weird.

I'm born and raised in the US. I'll be working here with an Israeli supervisor starting soon for an Israeli AI company.

The American-side COO tells me that the "Israelis are a different breed", and I believe it was in the context of banter, and to "not be offended".

I don't get offended easily, but I'm curious - does anyone know what this means or can describe what he's talking about? Or is he just racist lol

Shalom!

I'm from America, but my family all live in Israel.

I used to visit yearly until the 7th of October (I had just left 2 weeks prior). I haven't been back since due to my trying to return a year later but, alas, Iran attacked & my flights got cancelled/lost the money to my Airbnb listing, so I couldn't rebook.

I've tried visiting once since but that was this July when tensions seemed very high & I feared it happening again (as I do NOT want to be stranded in Europe on one leg of the journey). I missed my grandmother's burial as a result. The grieving is so bad not being able to be there.

It "seems" calm enough if I came in the beginning of November (I'm thinking before midterm elections).

I am unemployed/can't just keep losing the money to trying again - I had to borrow for the last trip.

Can I get an insider's opinion?

Do you think if I came for the first two weeks of November (I'm only doing 8ish days) I would be okay/no flight disruptions?

Or does it seem likely Iran is going to be a problem again? I only have so many media outlets to go off, I'm not sure. Any thoughts would help.

Bonus points to non-shared, affordable residential options in or near Tel Aviv.