Comments on: Too Hot, much too Hot http://www.onejerusalem.com/2008/03/25/too-hot-much-too-hot/ Israel news, politics, people, pictures, video and much much more .. really! Trust Us .... Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:19:36 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: AR http://www.onejerusalem.com/2008/03/25/too-hot-much-too-hot/#comment-160799 AR Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:55:28 +0000 http://www.onejerusalem.com/?p=1236#comment-160799 True, N.R., this should all be done in Hebrew, theoretically. I will tell you from personal experience-- since I speak Hebrew well enough to use it when I want, even though I don't speak it well-- that if you want something done in Israel, do it in English. It changes everything. I don't 'hate' young Israelis who can't speak proper English. It makes no difference to me. But you are completely right to say that Hebrew is our language, and the one we should be using for all things. In this case, when someone at Hot couldn't speak English, we spoke Hebrew. No prob. The real issue is the level of expectation people have from institutions that serve them in Israel. People here expect to be screwed, to put it simply. And when they do get screwed, they scream and shout for a few minutes (or hours, in the case of Hot) and then drop the issue. And all the crappy service providers, from Hot, to the Ministry of the Interior (Misrad HaP'nim), to the government itself, know this. My comment about the 18 (or 19 or whatever) families who dominate Israel and the lack of protest here is about the root of all this. Trace back this problem: service is bad because there's a lack of competition; there's a lack of competition because of the high level of corruption and collusion; which in turn is a structural feature of the government that stems from the fact that we (the public) are not doing enough (or anything) to change it. The government represents its people-- both in theory, as delegates of power, and in fact, as a sample of the kind of people who inhabit the country. Saying, as I did in the post, that we simply need more protests is glib and not totally correct. What we really need is wholehearted, on the ground change. Before the public can reform the government and all other Israeli institutions, that is, we need to reform ourselves. P.S. I just want to mention that as I write this I'm waiting for the 5th Hot technician to come fix the problem that the other 4 couldn't. I'd ask the Minister of Communications to help me but he'd probably tell me to wait for the Meshiach to come and fix it. True, N.R., this should all be done in Hebrew, theoretically. I will tell you from personal experience– since I speak Hebrew well enough to use it when I want, even though I don’t speak it well– that if you want something done in Israel, do it in English. It changes everything.

I don’t ‘hate’ young Israelis who can’t speak proper English. It makes no difference to me. But you are completely right to say that Hebrew is our language, and the one we should be using for all things. In this case, when someone at Hot couldn’t speak English, we spoke Hebrew. No prob.

The real issue is the level of expectation people have from institutions that serve them in Israel. People here expect to be screwed, to put it simply. And when they do get screwed, they scream and shout for a few minutes (or hours, in the case of Hot) and then drop the issue. And all the crappy service providers, from Hot, to the Ministry of the Interior (Misrad HaP’nim), to the government itself, know this.

My comment about the 18 (or 19 or whatever) families who dominate Israel and the lack of protest here is about the root of all this. Trace back this problem: service is bad because there’s a lack of competition; there’s a lack of competition because of the high level of corruption and collusion; which in turn is a structural feature of the government that stems from the fact that we (the public) are not doing enough (or anything) to change it.

The government represents its people– both in theory, as delegates of power, and in fact, as a sample of the kind of people who inhabit the country. Saying, as I did in the post, that we simply need more protests is glib and not totally correct. What we really need is wholehearted, on the ground change. Before the public can reform the government and all other Israeli institutions, that is, we need to reform ourselves.

P.S. I just want to mention that as I write this I’m waiting for the 5th Hot technician to come fix the problem that the other 4 couldn’t. I’d ask the Minister of Communications to help me but he’d probably tell me to wait for the Meshiach to come and fix it.

]]> By: N.R. http://www.onejerusalem.com/2008/03/25/too-hot-much-too-hot/#comment-160685 N.R. Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:38:45 +0000 http://www.onejerusalem.com/?p=1236#comment-160685 First, HOT is not an Internet Service Provider. Second, speaking Hebrew in a Hebrew-speaking country can prove itself useful at times, and third, not all people go to the army in Israel. I too hate young Israelis that can't speak proper English (and I am not a native anglo), but it's in our best interest to speak the language of the state we live in at an acceptable level, and not rely on the language skills of others to make ourselves understood. Other than that, you are right about the general level of service in Israel, and especially Hot. I usually blame on the incredible degree of incompetence (I avoid saying "extreme dumbness", I'm too kind). First, HOT is not an Internet Service Provider. Second, speaking Hebrew in a Hebrew-speaking country can prove itself useful at times, and third, not all people go to the army in Israel. I too hate young Israelis that can’t speak proper English (and I am not a native anglo), but it’s in our best interest to speak the language of the state we live in at an acceptable level, and not rely on the language skills of others to make ourselves understood. Other than that, you are right about the general level of service in Israel, and especially Hot. I usually blame on the incredible degree of incompetence (I avoid saying “extreme dumbness”, I’m too kind).

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