As if DATING wasn't already difficult enough, right??

JUST TO BE CLEAR:

I am responding to the last question on the list of blog suggestions. I chose to just discuss the chapter rather than answering specific question so I could give a more broad view of my understanding of the reading. An overview of the chapter along with discussing what the author is trying to convey with her writing is essential to grasping the concepts presented. I obviously looked at the other questions and tried to incorportate them in my post.

I'd like to begin this discussion with a video I found. It is a female muslim lawyer talking about a new form of resistance. In her opinion, Arab men should harrass Israeli women. ubtitles are provided so the english-speaking may understand, so I hope not too much is lost in translation. Something I found particularly interesting was that she mentioned that most Arab countries do not have sexual harrassment laws. Can you imagine the United States without sexual harrassmet laws?! It is so embedded in American culture that I could not imagine doing anything without the mention of proper conduct with the opposite sex. No matter what job or profession you plan on doing, you will surely have something to read or a meeting on sexual harassment. The lack of sexual harassment laws says something about the character and pursuit of Arab men. This is not to glorify Israeli men, but I think this is an important topic to examine.

This is a huge difference between Arabs and Israeli's. WAY TO STATE THE OBVIOUS KRYSTAL!! I know, i know!! But according to Rosenthal, there was no term in Hebrew for sexual harassment until Israel passed a law against it. The law seems to be very black and white. There isn't much room for other translation or manipulation. Even consensual sex between superiors and subordinates is forbidden. A complaint can be filed against a man or women for sexual harassment if this law is disobeyed EVEN IF IT WAS CONSENSUAL.

It'd difficult to determine how well this law is enforced. Army regulations obviously prohibit sexual relations between superios and subordinates, but a lot of the time they are notenforced. However, in 1999 the prmotion of an army official was blocked when he was accused of having sexual relations with a 19 year old soldier. Does that mean it's open to interpretation? The law leaves room for what Israeli law believes to be acceptable. Gay-bashing is completely illegal however. ILLEGAL!! A country that is in such immense turmoil 24/7 seems tobe the most developed in terms of equal rights. Equal rights for whom is the question though. Definitely not for Arabs. Israeli law on sexual harassment is seen by Israeli men as being a bit too strict. I can definitely see how it could be stiffling. You would have to be SO super careful not to cross any lines ever. Even though I personally feel like Israel is ahead of the United States in equal rights for Gays, there are "roughly ten years behind the United states (Rosenthal 44)" concerning public discussion of sexual harassment.

Dating someone of different nationality or culture sounds more challenging than dating someone who would automatically be welcomed and embraced into your family.

I found the story about Natalie and Gil very interesting as well. "In Israel, politics touches everything, even dating (pg. 42, Rosenthal)." Gil took his Jewish date to a binational

bar where Arabs and Jews could associate. He thought that because Natalie did not care about his status that she would be open to other things as well. He was clearly proved

wrong when she stated that she felt uncomfortable being around Arabs. It is saddening how many people's lives could turn out better than they would expect if there was not

such audasity between the nations. The history speaks for itself however. With all the civil strife, war, economic problems, and general hatred for each other since the creation

of Israel, it's no wonder dating between the two is generally undesireable.