Demographics, or how I've discovered being a minority sucks

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So there were a lot of things that I could have written about this week but I decided to write about minorities. Or specifically how weird it is to be a minority for once in my life. At least a legitimate minority as I was pretty much in the political minority while I was in undergrad but it’s really not the same at all.

I always took for granted the real lack of religiosity there is in the states. My area isn’t devoid of religion but it’s definitely not as upfront and in your face as it here. And I understand that in other parts of the US, such as the Bible Belt, religion is probably much more prevalent and overt. The most overtly religious things we have in my county are the Churches, as they are pretty numerous but we also have a Jehovah’s Witness Temple and a few synagogues about 20 minutes away. Other than that there wasn’t really anything that religious in my town.

Here there is religion everywhere. Hopefully I don’t come across as too naïve but I really didn’t expect this level of religious prevalence. Of course I knew a decent amount about the country and studied even more after I applied to the program but my studying didn’t prepare me for the real experience.

I don’t think I’ve met one other white Christian, excluding Rush and anyone else from the program. That just completely blows my mind. Obviously Israel is a Jewish state and I didn’t expect there to be large Christian contingent but the lack of any Christians outside of the West Bank (at least that I’ve met) is almost disturbing to me. Of course after the seminar at the beginning of the program I’m a lot more knowledgeable about the demographic problem Israel is facing so I guess that explains the lack of a large Christian minority but Christianity, for all that I love it, is rather like a really horrible fungus. It grows anywhere and everywhere.

I can get over the lack of Christians here but what really rubs me the wrong way is the reactions I get when I tell someone about my faith or they figure it out. I think I’ve had about four people tell me “You know Jesus was a Jew right?” After the third time this happened to me I wanted to start responding, “He was? Well why did you let him be crucified then?” but not only is that incredibly anti-Semitic it’s also rude and just because I was treated in a rude way (or behavior I consider rude but maybe not for Israeli culture) doesn’t mean I have to respond with rudeness of my own.

Also, I’ve noticed there aren’t many churches in Tel Aviv. The only ones I’ve been able to locate are in Jaffa. And I know that Israel is a Jewish country but sheesh. There are a lot more churches in Jerusalem because of all the holy sites.

Well, that’s just my rant about how strange it is to be a minority (for perhaps the only time in my life) and I just have to say I don’t like it at all and I can imagine being more sympathetic to minorities when I get home. I’ve also come to the conclusion I don’t like religion being this prominent in government or the running of a state.

I've had three offers to convert. No joke. One of them I don't take seriously because it was right after on offer of marriage. That's another thing, the guys here are incredibly straightforward. I've been straight out propositioned a couple times. (Also, just a note Kevin, making kissy noises at girls does not endear you to them. That's right up there with clapping and barking like a dog. Don't do it.)

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