Lots of Noise, Always Changing, Fast & Furious

      There is a small burger joint in the garage and car dealer section of Tel Aviv called "The fast and the furious" like the movies about stealing cars. In Hebrew the literal translation is "Quick and Nervous" - which essentially gives the burgers a double meaning: we are fast and always nervous about the service AND we picked a name from the car lore industry. The idea of doing thing fast and furious makes sense to Israelis. Somewhere between the second aliyah (1914) and the Yom Kippur war (1973) the military and Israelis in general became fast and nervous. Israelis are split when it comes to this phenomena. Some simply ignore this idea and tell you that Israelis are just as nervous as Koreans or Latin Americans. Some will give you all kind of reasons and say that Israelis are just more "motivated" or "serious", which translates into simply better than "relaxed" or "not-serious".

      So why is this craziness concerns Israelis? Simply because it seems to work. Israelis literally started from the ashes of the Holocaust and recovery from centuries of prosecution in Arab lands. Working fast and hard, seemed to be working for Israelis. This is one quality most foreigners see first hand and relate to the Israeli unique way of life. This form of lifestyle is easy to see when you come from outside. So some Israelis seem to feel nervousness on the verge of paranoia is just fine. Actually they would prefer more of it. After all, if everyone is paranoid, it really does not matter. The level of "nervousness" is not a problem when looking at it in relative terms. If everyone is nervous and quick (paranoid), we simply do more things and get them done. There is a small problem, again, when dealing with people who don't like to be always nervous. Even here in Israel, most people don't see the world through "the sky is falling" perspective. The days when Israel was on the verge of destruction are over. The fears of being thrown to the sea by Nasser or blown daily by Arafat are long gone. The same is true for hyper-inflation of the 1980s which did not cause riots or a fall of government. But as we all see, change is hard. So some people have not changed. The others who live with the paranoid set simply adapt. To adapt is easier and we do it all the time. Well, if you live here in Israel, let me know what you think. If you come to visit, don't worry, things are not always as they seem. There are a few of use who are not always fast and furious will take a coffee break and talk about the weather...