Typical Israeli experience

Boarding the bus to Romema the driver shouts that it's a school bus. It isn't technically a school bus. It's a public bus, an Egged bus, with a number on it. The number was 99 or something like that. Evidently, the bus company was using it as a school bus. That's fine, but there was no indication as such on the outside of the bus. And the driver, rather than saying calmly, "Sorry sir, this bus is for kids only," he shouts as if you just committed a crime by boarding a public bus.

This goes on in Israel all the time. It's how people 'communicate.' Indeed, a second bus came, this time it was empty and the bus stop was empty too. So when the door opened I asked, "Is this a school bus?" And the driver responded with shouting again.

The anger here and the lack of respect for people, the absence of patience and sympathy for a fellow human is depressing. It makes for ugly encounters all day long. 

And the kids grow up with this. It affects everything they do, including their Torah study. I hear from Zionists often that the Torah learning in Israel is on a higher level. I can't imagine what they use as a basis for such a statement. How would you know that? Did you give out tests? 

I have found that it's on a lower level because minds lock up here. They stubbornly lock into a position and shout. Don't confuse shouting with thinking. I have seen this in the workplace too. People can't think creatively. They battle each other, wasting time, wasting energy. It's no wonder that this is such a primitive society. The people act like primates.