Five Things You Got Wrong About Israelis

Your daily dose of the top videos, articles, and podcasts from the wide world of Judaism and Israel ✡️ 🇮🇱

Also in today’s dispatch:

• Israeli singers’ Madison Square Garden debut makes history (video)

• Most popular names in Israel this year (article)

• Exploring harmony: A black Jewish dialogue (video)

• The power of Teshuvah (podcast)

• How Yiddish became a foreign language in Israel (article)

• Israel and Afghanistan: Helping the oppressed (video)

• Israeli ambassador takes Berlin runway by storm (article)

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🔝 Today’s Featured Story

What images come to mind when you think of Israelis? Techies in sandals, the ultra-Orthodox immersed in study, soldiers guarding checkpoints… These images may ring true, but in a country with a richly diverse population, Israelis are a lot more multi-faceted than you might think.

Misconceptions about Israel and her inhabitants are rife, but five common stereotypes tend to circle around Israeli culture, religiosity and politics:

• ‘Israelis are rude’

• ‘Israelis are white’

• ‘Israelis are extremely religious’

• ‘Israeli soldiers are all Jewish’

• ‘Israelis are defined by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict’

Are these stereotypes familiar to you?

Well, the truth - as always - is a lot more nuanced and rich. So who are Israelis really, beyond the headlines and stereotypes?

Watch the video below to unpack each of these myths, consider where they’ve come from, and learn more about the reality on the ground: