Are Israelis okay with indian tourists? My Persian friends don't think so?

Question

Are Israelis okay with indian tourists? My Persian friends don't think so?

Answer 1

Well, Persians kind of have an unfair bias towards Israel. Israelis love to go to India, so mentioning that you are Indian will earn you big points with some Israelis. If they think you are Arab, I admit, there will be some who might not like you; however, many Israelis look like Arabs themselves so it will take a lot for them to think that you are one. Israelis aren't rude; however, some have the tendency to be loud and have no inhibitions on asking for personal things such as age or weight. That sometimes can be seen as rude, but truthfully the majority aren't. As for getting arrested for no reason, that is a complete myth. I suggest you still go to Israel. It will a fun and amazing time!



Edit: Michael, anyone from who is from or whose family originates from the area now known as Iran is still called a Persian. The language of Iran, Farsi, has been corrupted in our language to be Persian, since P and F are close in pronounciation.



Jabbajj: You do realize that there are Arabs who are lighter than Jews, and Jews who are darker than Arabs. You'll be surprised how dark many of the Ashkenazi really are, and they are the "European" Jews. Please stop spreading your filth here, please. I probably should also add that I have been into the projects of New Orleans. They actually were a group of nice, friendly people. I might add that while most were black, I was white.

Answer 2

To answer you, you will be treated very well and if you decide to go will love the place as well.Lots to see and do and people love tourists and are very friendly.

The Israelis will not hate you, many Israelis are dark, who come from middle eastern countries, plus did you know Israel has a very big Indian community.

Israelis treat the same as the rest of the population, plus the Israelis are not stupid they can tell the difference between an Arab and an Indian.

Answer 3

yes - i forgot how unbiased those iranians can be when it comes to jews and israel...



what you have to realise is that Israel has something of a security issue.. there are suicide bombers and terrorists that regularly try to blow up israeli citizens... and so naturally security will be more tight..



its possible that you may be mistaken for an arab and be subject to more security checks..



you have to realise that Israel - unlike some other countries doesnt have the diverse ethnic mix that you might find in other places...



for instance - i as a resident of the uk can spot at a glance the differance between a roma gypsy, a gulf arab, a north african arab, a pakastani and people from india just by the way they look and dress...



but when my cousins came to visit from hungary - they had real trouble telling these kind of people apart. to them they all looked like the Roma they are used to seeing in Hungary, and thats just cos in hungary they dont have such a mix of people there...



does that make sense ? its the same in Israel, and im guessing that equally people in india would have trouble telling apart a person from the UK, or france or norway etc ..



In israel people are trained to recognise terrorists.. israel is a democratic country and you wont be thrown in jail for no reason..



its not fair that you might be targeted more just cos some israelis cant tell apart indians and arabs but that is the situation out there...



my advice to you is to act like a tourist... dont go wearing heavy coats in the summer etc and be aware of how your actions and behaviour might be percieved by other israelis - ie dont do anything suspicious...



if you are stopped, even if it seems unreasonable- stay calm and polite... remember - its not racism - its the situation there... israelis live with this kind of security every day and many of them will have experienced unfair or unreasonable security checks etc just cos they may look arab or palastinian...



its not a reason not to go to israel... despite the situation israelis are warm and welcoming and happy that people from any where come to israel...



dont mix up the security situation with the poeple - becuase the two arent the same... if you have any questions or fears then the best thing you can do is to contact your local israeli embassy ...

Answer 4

Your Persian (i.e. Iranian) friends don't think so. I suggest you look up the Iranian president's comments on Israel.



In Israel it is impossible to tell the difference between most Arabs and Israeli-born Jews. Most people won't even give you a second glance.



You won't get arrested for no reason, that's absolute rubbish. Many Israelis visit India, it's one of the top destinations for Israeli's holidays.

Answer 5

Cher and lakhota butterfly have both given you good information. I'd also add that there is a significant Indian Jewish population in Israel - most of the Cochin Jews have moved to Israel and some of the other Indian Jewish populations too, and they look just as Indian as anyone else. One of my cousins is married to someone from a Cochin Jewish family and I don't think he has any particular problems, so I don't think you will either.



Israel is very racially mixed, but of course, racism exists everywhere and Israel is no exception. Israel has the added problem of having had decades of threat, suicide bombers, wars etc, so the security situation is pretty intense. As a fairly average looking white European, I felt under suspicion at times - but it was nothing personal, and while you might understandably feel a bit bad about treatment at times, just remember it happens to everyone.

Answer 6

I don't see why there would be any problem.



Enjoy!

Answer 7

Dude listen, i was born in israel, and i moved to NY when i was 2 years old, and ever since ive been going every summer, and believe me, people there dont care becasue a lot of muslims live in israel, and even if they look at you, thats just how they are in israel, caus ethey can be very rude, thats how thay were born.

when i was in israel and i was talking in english, people where like treating me like loyalty because i was speaking english fluently.



go there, its an amzing place, and u will NEVER regrette it!

Answer 8

An Indian tourist!

That would be a first!

Not only that, but in Israel too!

We have a winner here!



If you are worried about your skin tone, friend, well, please don't.

You'll be surprised to see that most of us have darker skin than you.

You see we Jewish people are black in reality.

Purple black to be more precise.

But everyone knows that black is beautiful.

Shalom!

Answer 9

you'll be fine.

just don't make eye contact.

they bite!

Answer 10

Nonsense. Let your friends know that many, many Israelis travel through India during the time off after their national service before they start their lives. They love it, talk about it, & it's a favorite travel spot (including over US & Europe.)



Arabs aren't randomly arrested nor randomly treated rudely. If you don't do anything provocative like corner a car & start attacking it there won't be a problem! Or put a large object like a bomb under your coat.



(In East Jerusalem, some Arabs do that with cars driving through when upset about some news item -- hence the advice that if you don't have a reason don't wander into East Jersualem. However, for locals Jews & Arabs, East Jerusalem is the hot spot for certainly things for instance for car repairs & everyone goes there.)



Your Persian friends are getting their news from Arab & Iranian sites which

1. Don't have accurate information about Israel.

2. Have an agenda to see Israel negatively.

3. Project their own way of dealing with things onto Israelis. For instance, I've heard Arabs in Israeli hospitals (taken there for treatment) comment that they expected to be treated poorly the same way they would treat, & were shocked that Israeli culture was so different & took them in just fine.



Keep in mind that some Israelis Arabs are great citizens & very much a part of the country. Others are part of the war to annilhate Israel, so you get some bad interactions. Act accordingly. Don't start up political arguments with strangers & expect that you can tell them how to think.



Also visit your country's national security travel advisory site for current details. The US & Israel also maintain ones. They will be much more accurate than your friends :).





On a different note, it helps a lot to take tours while there. You'll get a lot more understanding than if you try it just on your own.

Answer 11

your friends are right.

now i really do hate israel but im gonna be real with you



what will happen to a white guy if he goes in one of newyorks or new orleans project housings which most of the are all black people?

the same thing that will happen to that whit guy will happen to you because of your skin tone.



don't belive people on this section when they tell you that jews and arabs have the same skin tone :)

Answer 12

You have friends from Persia? You must timetravel since Persia doesn't exist. Maybe you have Iranian friends.

Regardless, I wouldn't go. Not exactly safe.

Answer 13

Yes go, and take your whole family there, and your relatives.

And if you are Muslim, stay there. I know they don't like that. (:

Yeah yeah, you should go, and if they bother you, you bother them back, ok?

Answer 14

They would kill you.