An Interview with Anna Z

An Interview With Anna Z

Israel is often referred to as the "Holy Land". The customs and traditions represent a highly spiritual culture. I, unintentionally, have many friends of Israeli decent in my life. For the purpose of this assignment I have chosen one to interview to obtain a better understanding of the Jewish heritage and an outsiders' perspective of American lifestyles. My pre-interview research was enlightening and informative. Lacking experience in interviewing others beyond informal interaction created uncomfortable feelings of anxiousness. However, curiosity and a desire to learn more about a different culture put any negative feeling at ease.

My pre-interview researched lead me to a number of facts. One reoccurring theme was correlation of Israel to the term "war". When Americans think of Israel, most think about the current war going on in the Middle East. Iraq is a close neighbor, but Israel has remained uninvolved in the war between the United States and Iraq. Historically Israel has been involved in a number of conflicts in an effort to protect its country, the most recent being the Gaza War. This was a three week long bombing from Israel on the Gaza Strip. Israel is geographically small, but its military strength has proven itself to be massive and highly capable of protecting its country.

A contributing factor to the strength of Israel's military force, I learned, is the requirement of all its citizens to serve. Men and women must serve for at least two to three years. However, special circumstances, such as women who are pregnant married or have children, are grounds for exemption. I also learned through my research that Israel is an educated focus culture. Education is taken seriously and encompasses a broad knowledge base including the Jewish Heritage.

The individual I interviewed, Anna, is Jewish, as are all of the individuals in my life from Israel. This being the case, I also researched information on Jewish traditions. I learned Judaism focuses on one God that cannot die, suffer, or bleed. The Jewish bible is called the Torah and its contents include six hundred and thirteen commandments. Judaism is also very community oriented focusing on unity and service to one another. Reform, Conservative and Orthodox Jewish dominations exist from less stringent to more stringent ways of following traditions. The holidays are important and observed in one form or another by each domination. Amongst them are Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, and Chanukah. Jewish dietary Laws are the Laws of Kashrut, meaning "fit" or "proper". The basics are meat and dairy are kept separate, meaning food, utensils, and cleaning supplies. Also shellfish and pork are forbidden and considered unsanitary. Judaism is a complex but beautiful religion. One day I hope to able to study it more thoroughly.

The most interesting information I discovered was compared to other cultures, Israeli's manner of speech and interpersonal relations are less formal; Israel is much less hierarchical than other cultures expression of opinions is highly valued. Israeli's can be more assertive and spontaneous about their point of views and opinions and can be considered "pushy," conflict avoidance is less popular among Israelis in which they tend to confront differences in order to resolve them using direct communication styles. I thought that because most of my Israeli friends came from New York that possessed this type of mannerism, now I know it has no correlation to America what so ever. I respect this type of communication style above all others which is most likely why I am drawn to these types of individuals.

I met with Anna at Starbucks and bought her coffee and pumpkin loaf for her time. She came to New York from Israel which is where she says "is more like Israel than Georgia". She came to America with her mother father and two brothers nine years ago. Her father worked as an auto mechanic and her mother managed the household. She lived in Brooklyn and attended Public School 399. She began school as a junior, and moved to Georgia after graduating to attend Oglethorpe University. Her older brothers, one now twenty-nine and the other thirty-two, stayed in New York and her parents moved back to Israel two years after her move.

Anna described the initial move to America as exciting. She states, "Every day was an adventure, from meeting new people to getting lost in the city. I loved it". Her parents had been to America before Anna was born and her Grandparents